10 Project Portfolio Management Challenges Solved by Costbars Pipeline Scheduler

Summary

Project Portfolio Management (PPM) practitioners face numerous challenges—overwhelming data entry, slow reporting, poor visibility into project pipelines, inefficient resource planning, and missed early warning signs of project trouble. Costbars Project Pipeline Scheduler, built on the robust foundation of Timebars Resource Scheduler, delivers a modern, intuitive solution to these pain points. Below, we outline how Costbars addresses key PPM problems to streamline your processes, enhance decision-making, boost productivity, and keep stakeholders informed through intelligent, automated alerts. For a comprehensive guide to getting started, see the Introduction to Costbars Product Guide.

Key Points

Enterprise PPM systems are costly to install and maintain.
Project Pipeline reporting is difficult and time-consuming.
The pain of filling in bulky web forms.
Boring and slow Enterprise Reports.
Difficult and time-consuming process of creating and sharing reports and charts.
Updating and forecasting takes too much time, so it never gets done right.
Personal time loss when storing and referencing baselines for progress reporting and comparison.
Critical project risks go unnoticed until it's too late to intervene.
Executive alert fatigue from irrelevant notifications and false alarms.

Key Problems Solved by Costbars

Lengthy Setup and Approval Delays
Problem: Traditional PPM tools require lengthy approval processes and installation wait times, delaying your ability to manage portfolios effectively.
Solution: With Costbars, there's no installation required—simply visit our URL, purchase with a credit card, and start using our cloud-based tools instantly. Get up and running without the red tape. Getting Started
Data Security Concerns with External Storage
Problem: Storing sensitive project and portfolio data outside your organization raises privacy and security risks.
Solution: Costbars ensures peace of mind by keeping your data within your browser—no proprietary information leaves your control, offering maximum security for your business. Innovations by Timebars Ltd.
Time-Consuming Data Entry and Web Forms
Problem: Entering project pipeline and resource data into bulky web forms is tedious and error-prone, slowing down PPM workflows.
Solution: Say goodbye to web forms with Costbars' spreadsheet-based approach. Use our pre-populated templates (Excel and Open Office Calc compatible) to enter data efficiently, syncing seamlessly with Costbars for secure, swift updates. How to Use the Spreadsheet Sync
Lack of Visibility into Project Pipelines
Problem: Without clear visibility into in-flight projects and upcoming pipelines, PPM practitioners struggle to prioritize and make informed go/kill decisions.
Solution: Costbars provides a comprehensive, one-row-per-project pipeline view, displaying configurable data points like cost, hours, schedule, priority, and risk. Gain instant insights to manage your portfolio effectively. How to Use Costbars
Slow, Uninspiring Enterprise Reports
Problem: Traditional enterprise reporting tools are slow and fail to engage stakeholders, hindering timely decision-making.
Solution: Costbars offers super-fast built-in reports and an optional Cloud Data Analysis Dashboard via the Pubset feature. Access pre-built graphs, line charts, pie charts, and bubble charts to analyze portfolio performance and share insights effortlessly. Timebars Cloud Dashboard & Publishing Guide
Difficulty Creating and Sharing Dashboards
Problem: Building, updating, and sharing dashboards for portfolio analysis takes too much time, leaving little room for execution.
Solution: Costbars streamlines this process with its intuitive drag-and-drop interface and cloud publishing capabilities. Configure metadata and publish visualized reports to our secure cloud servers in minutes. Publishing and Cloud Features Guide
Resource Demand Forecasting Challenges
Problem: Balancing resource supply and demand across projects is time-consuming and often neglected, leading to overallocation or underutilization.
Solution: Costbars' real-time resource demand tracking links projects via custom templates, allowing you to adjust schedules dynamically and optimize resource allocation as projects shift. How to Use Costbars
Inefficient Baseline Storage and Comparison
Problem: Storing and referencing project baselines for progress reporting and comparison eats into personal time and complicates tracking.
Solution: Costbars integrates baseline management into its spreadsheet sync and local dashboard analytics, making it easy to store, reference, and compare portfolio progress. Create, Update and Delete Bars & Metadata
Outdated, Expensive Tools
Problem: Legacy tools like Microsoft's offerings are costly, difficult to use, and lack modern functionality, frustrating PPM practitioners.
Solution: Costbars provides a cost-effective, user-friendly alternative with a modern interface, built-in analytics, and seamless integration with Timebars—leaving outdated tools behind. Innovations by Timebars Ltd.
Complex Portfolio Decision-Making
Problem: Without strategic insights, deciding which projects to greenlight or terminate feels like guesswork.
Solution: Costbars' PPM Planner, built on Timebars' scheduling engine, integrates strategic drivers and portfolio analytics into a local dashboard, empowering data-driven go/kill decisions. Use the Tabular and Card Reports for Analysis
Reactive Crisis Management
Problem: Critical project risks—missed deadlines, budget overruns, strategic misalignment—go unnoticed until it's too late to intervene effectively.
Solution: Costbars' Portfolio Risk Early-Warning & Executive Alert Hub provides proactive risk management through automated monitoring and intelligent notifications. Configure precision thresholds for budget overruns, days overdue, strategic value, risk/complexity, and executive commitment levels. The system continuously monitors your portfolio and automatically sends context-rich alerts via SMS, push notifications, and email when projects cross critical thresholds—especially for executive-critical situations requiring immediate attention.
Executive Alert Fatigue
Problem: Stakeholders are overwhelmed by irrelevant notifications and false alarms, leading to missed truly critical alerts.
Solution: Costbars delivers noise-free communication by allowing you to personalize alert settings for each executive, including preferred channels, quiet hours, escalation rules, and specific portfolio health metrics. Run real-world simulations against live portfolio data to test notifications before going live, ensuring alerts are relevant, accurate, and actionable. Only high-value notifications that meet precisely defined thresholds reach decision-makers, eliminating alert fatigue while ensuring urgent executive alerts still get through during critical situations.

Why Costbars Stands Out

Costbars Project Pipeline Scheduler takes the power of Timebars Resource Scheduler and elevates it for PPM needs. While Timebars excels at resource planning and scheduling, Costbars extends this foundation with portfolio-level visibility, advanced analytics, proactive risk management, and tools tailored to manage project pipelines.

Key Differentiators:

Proactive Risk Management – Stay ahead of project trouble by catching risks early with automated monitoring and tailored executive alerts, before issues escalate into crises.
Complete Stakeholder Customization – Personalize alert settings for each executive, respecting time zones, business hours, and communication preferences while maintaining intelligent escalation for urgent matters.
Test Before You Trigger – Run live simulations against current portfolio data to validate notification accuracy and relevance, ensuring confidence in your alerting system.
Multi-Channel Executive Escalation – Automatically reach decision-makers through SMS, push notifications, and email when executive-critical projects hit danger zones, with optional multi-step escalation to senior leadership.
One Hub for Portfolio Health – Manage configurations, view active notifications, track portfolio performance, and oversee risk thresholds in a single, intuitive interface.

Whether you're combating slow reporting, wrestling with data entry, seeking better control over resources and priorities, or need to spot portfolio trouble before it escalates, Costbars delivers a unified, modern solution. Transition seamlessly from Timebars with a single license—your data stays intact, your executives stay informed, and your PPM productivity soars. Introduction to Costbars Product Guide