SUCCESS STORY
The Business: The Tech - Inspiring the Innovators of Tomorrow

The Challenge: Creating and Maintaining a Virtual Exhibit Hall Requires Effective Project Collaboration

The Solution: True Collaboration and Sophisticated Multi-project Views

The Future: The Tech Installs Enact Organization-Wide

The Business: The Tech - Inspiring the Innovators of Tomorrow
The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California, better known as "The Tech," is a cosmopolitan museum singularly focused on technology. Established to engage people of all ages and backgrounds in exploring and experiencing the technologies that affect their lives, and to inspire the young to become innovators in the technologies of the future, The Tech houses more than 250 exhibits in its 132,000-square-foot, three-level facility.

A vast majority (97 percent) of the museum's exhibits are original or custom-made specifically for The Tech, and all of the exhibits are interactive, using the most cutting-edge tools to take visitors behind the scenes of Silicon Valley's technology think tanks and research laboratories. Through a variety of creative, engaging activities, visitors have the opportunity to try out and experiment with millions of dollars worth of technology. In addition, Tech Online, the museum's companion Web site (www.thetech.org) features continually updated virtual exhibits with real-time experiments and downloadable classroom activities, as well as "The Tech 10," an ever-changing list of the best technology sites on the Internet.

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The Challenge: Creating and Maintaining a Virtual Exhibit Hall Requires Effective Project Collaboration
The Tech's Online Services Group is responsible for creating and maintaining Tech Online, the museum's companion website and for creating all multimedia content for the dozens of interactive kiosks inside the museum's permanent exhibits. At any give time, the four-member group may be working on 12 to 15 different mid-size to large projects.

Since the Group is working on several projects simultaneously, effective project planning and collaboration is essential. Craig Rosa, Director of Information Technology, for The Tech needed an efficient means to do strategic planning and an effective online tool that his team could use to stay on the same page. After reviewing different options, The Tech selected Netmosphere's Enact Enterprise System. Enact makes it easy for Rosa to ensure that the Group's many projects stay on track by providing online access to accurate, up-to-date information.

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The Solution: True Collaboration and Sophisticated Multi-project Views
"I needed a way to create Web project schedules, map those schedules out over a period of a year and then communicate the schedules to the other group members and outside contractors," explained Rosa. "The best aspect of Enact is that I can look at 15 projects at once. I can sit down with my people, review the schedule and adjust it if necessary. No other system that we looked at would let me do that." "I had tried using Microsoft Project, but trying to track 15 projects in MS project was incredibly cumbersome," continued Rosa. "And there was no easy way to share the information. I was creating .PDF files and posting them manually and it was a mess!"

Rosa investigated several other systems, but felt that many were overloaded with features that were unnecessary and, in fact, counterproductive. Or, they were missing features that are crucial to effective project collaboration and communication.

"Then I found the Enact Enterprise System," said Rosa. "Enact proved to be the most sophisticated and the most intelligently designed. It not only offers the right number of features, but the right features; the system is well thought-out for actual project planning and implementation. My job has become a lot easier since we started using Enact."

The Enact Enterprise System enables Rosa and the Online Services Group to plan, coordinate and track tasks and activities for multiple projects in real-time. Additionally, all project team members, including outside contractors, easily and efficiently track and communicate all project-related activities using their familiar interface web browsers. These features, in particular, proved valuable in helping Rosa and the Online Service Group to plan, coordinate and track the development of an online exhibit.

"The Spirit of American Innovation" is The Tech's first new permanent exhibit since the Fall of 1998 and spotlights the 96 recipients of the National Medal of Technology. Sponsored by Applied Materials, SGI, Intel and other major Silicon Valley companies, the exhibit is a partnership between the Department of Commerce and The Tech.

"This was a very large project that involved the entire Online Services Group and several outside contractors," said Rosa. "We mapped the project using the ActionPlan component of Enact and kept the contractors up-to-date by providing real-time gantt charts. This let them follow all their project's progress on screen in real-time. We got things done on time, on budget, and everyone on the team felt both connected and informed."

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The Future: The Tech Installs Enact Organization-Wide
Netmosphere (now Critical Path) recently donated a 100-seat enterprise license to The Tech, and based on Rosa's recommendations, the museum is in the process of implementing the system across the organization in the year 2000. Rosa anticipates that the Enact Enterprise System will be a great boon to the institution, especially in planning, prioritizing and collaborating on projects distributed across several departments working together.

"I think we've only scratched the surface of what Enact can do," said Rosa. "By providing project planning and tracking for the overall institution, we can more easily prioritize and track our projects, keep on track for milestones, ensure that everyone meets commitments and, most importantly, keep everyone informed of project status. The bottom line is we're more productive and more efficient."

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