Success Stories

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Daptiv Value Spreads Quickly at TV Guide

TV Guide Interactive is responsible for the Interactive Program Guide or IPG application that is accessed when clicking on the guide button for digital cable remotes. TV Guide products can be found in tens of millions of homes throughout North America. In late 2007, Macrovision Solutions Corporation acquired Gemstar – TV Guide to include both the Interactive and Media Properties.

Business Need—Better Insight

In 2006, TV Guide Interactive was using MS Project for project scheduling purposes, which didn’t cover their reporting needs. Although MS Project was in place, it didn’t facilitate a streamlined way of managing resource requests or prioritizing schedules. “The problem we had with MS Project is that although we had scheduling capabilities, there wasn’t a quick and easy way to pull reports or gain immediate insight into the progress of projects,” explains Kris Reynolds, Director, Project Management. To manage resource requests, emails would be sent out or people would make phone calls and often times there were small projects that took less than 20 hours to complete. They decided to establish a formal PMO and after 4 months, realized that they needed a tool to help facilitate project schedules and streamline processes.

Business Solution

TV Guide Interactive looked at Microsoft Project Server and other project management and collaboration vendors but Daptiv was chosen for the following reasons:

• Low cost, quick, on-demand. The fact that Daptiv PPM is on-demand meant that TV Guide Interactive didn’t have IT resources to implement or maintain.

• When it came to resource allocation and capacity planning, Daptiv is more robust.

• Cost-effective. “Other vendors like MS Project Server are not easy to use and too expensive,” says Reynolds. “Also, doing a 'home-grown' solution wasn’t an option because IT didn’t have the time to build a tool.”

Daptiv Support is also a quick phone call or email away if TV Guide Interactive has any questions regarding product functionality. “Daptiv support has been good,” says Reynolds. “Response turn-around time has also been good when we have any requests or need help.” TV Guide Interactive has been active in sending emails for product suggestions on a regular basis in the past.

“I think that the Greenhouse is a good step forward. Before, it was difficult to know if our product suggestions were going to be implemented but the Greenhouse really helps with this…we can see if our suggestions are a high priority among other customers and which ideas are being put into production. It’s great.”

Groups currently using Daptiv:

 

Product Management—Visibility

TV Guide Interactive’s Product Management group often submits a product feature deployment request – for example, “We’d like a feature trial by Q3”. Included with this initial request is the project scope for the other groups within the company to review and work on. The request is then pushed through the funnel and when company reviews take place, management is able to review the project requests and prioritize them based on the capacity of needed resources and the alignment of current company strategy. In that regard, Product Management is able to have their voice heard and ensure that the right projects are getting funded, worked and reported on.

PMO—Prioritization and Management Reporting

TV Guide Interactive’s Project Management Office uses Daptiv Advanced Report builder for regular reporting purposes, specific to project requests and the progress of active projects. “The project managers are very pleased with Advanced Report Builder,” says Reynolds. “It has become the backbone of communicating progress with management.”

Benefits of Daptiv: The Value is Catching On

Macrovision purchased TV Guide toward the end of 2007 and at that time, Macrovision’s project management group didn’t have collaborative business software such as Daptiv PPM to manage projects. Kris Reynolds and other groups within TV Guide are advocating the use Daptiv PPM throughout the Macrovision divisions. “Already, Macrovision’s data solutions group is on board and they want to implement Daptiv PPM because they’ve seen how simple, robust, yet cost effective it is. I’m pushing to have Daptiv PPM chosen as the single solution for the entire company. The Daptiv solution has proven itself to us,” says Reynolds.

About the Daptiv Community Greenhouse

We’ve created the Greenhouse, a new part of your experience with us as a vendor that makes you part of Daptiv’s innovation and product development processes. The Greenhouse is a new place in the Daptiv Community website (http://community.daptiv.com/) where Daptiv customers have the opportunity to collectively decide which new product features/enhancements are most important to them. Users can submit product ideas, vote or comment on existing ideas and get insight into which ideas have been implemented into our product. The purpose of the Greenhouse is to create a simple and direct product feedback vehicle while also giving our community better insight into our product roadmap.