Professional Services
Project margin and utilization from Dynamics and timesheets
Weekly portfolio view of health, utilization, and forecast margin — before month-end surprises.
- Operating since 2012
- Microsoft Power BI specialists
- NDA-ready data handling
- Fixed-scope first releases
- Independent — not affiliated with Microsoft
Table of contents
01 · Context
The situation
Engineering consultancy · Professional Services
An engineering consultancy ran projects in Dynamics, time in another system, and billing in finance.
Margin risk showed up late. Directors lacked one portfolio picture across practices.
They needed project health, utilization, forecast margin, and unbilled work on a weekly rhythm.
02 · Solution
What we built
A delivery BI suite: portfolio scoreboard, practice drill-down, and project manager detail.
Project key spine
Dynamics, time, and billing share one project ID — or they do not enter the model until they do.
Portfolio health board
At-risk projects, utilization, forecast margin, and unbilled work for the weekly directors’ meeting.
Practice and PM views
Same measures, right grain — so the conversation matches how the firm is organized.
Director portfolio
- Health flags
- Forecast margin
- Utilization heat
Project detail
- Budget vs time
- Unbilled WIP
- Resource plan gaps
Data sources
- Dynamics 365 project/finance
- Timesheet extracts
- Resource plans
- Invoice status
Connectors
- Dynamics 365 connector / Dataverse extracts
- Excel staging where needed
- DAX measures
Model design
Project dimension as hub; facts for time, cost, and billing; Import refreshed for weekly director reviews with a clear timesheet cut-off.
03 · Process
How we delivered
From the real meeting to a live report — with checkpoints, not a big reveal at the end.
- 01
Measure workshop
Defined health, margin, and utilization with directors — in business words first.
- 02
Key alignment
Fixed project ID mismatches between Dynamics and time before any chart work.
- 03
Weekly pilot
One practice ran the board for two cycles; then rolled out.
- 04
Validation cadence
Monthly check that finance still accepts the margin math.
04 · Technologies
Stack and why we chose it
Tools that serve the report — not a shopping list of buzzwords.
Power BI + DAX
Portfolio and project measures directors actually debate.
Why: Complex margin math needs tested measures, not spreadsheet copies.
Dynamics 365
Project and finance system of record.
Why: Delivery truth already lives there — reporting should not invent a parallel project list.
05 · Challenges
What got hard — and how we fixed it
Real delivery friction, not a polished success-only story.
Challenge
Late timesheet posts made “this week’s margin” bounce every morning.
Resolution
Agreed cut-off for weekly packs. Late posts land in the next cycle with a visible WIP flag.
Challenge
Three conflicting “utilization” definitions across practices.
Resolution
One documented measure with exclusions. Practice variants only as clearly labeled alternatives.
06 · Results
What changed
- Directors review portfolio risk weekly, not only at month-end.
- One utilization definition across practices.
- Unbilled work and forecast margin show up in the same meeting.
Continue exploring this topic
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What to expect in an engagement
- Named business sponsor and delivery ownership
- KPI definitions validated against source totals
- Security-aware workspace and refresh design
- Documented handover, not a black-box model
- First release scoped to prove value quickly
- Response within one business day on qualified enquiries
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