Engineering Firm Project Management

Part of the worlds-biggest-software-project initiative.

An AI-native, open-source project management platform purpose-built for engineering firms — combining project accounting, resource planning, and deliverable tracking.

Engineering Firm Project Management is a candidate platform for architecture and engineering (A/E) consultancies that need integrated phase-based budgeting, flexible billing, resource scheduling, and deliverable coordination. It targets the gap between heavy enterprise ERPs and lightweight task trackers, bringing AI-driven forecasting and reporting to firms that today rely on spreadsheets or expensive incumbents.

Why Engineering Firm Project Management?

Enterprise incumbents like Deltek Vantagepoint require $50,000+ annual commitments and complex implementations described as "built for accountants," with cumbersome reporting and a steep learning curve for non-finance users.
Mid-market tools (BQE CORE, BigTime, Productive) lack DCAA compliance and Earned Value Management, locking out government-contracting engineering firms from accessible options.
Purpose-built A/E tools like Monograph and Factor AE deliver clean UX but have limited accounting depth, no DCAA support, and small integration ecosystems.
Generic platforms (Microsoft Project, Wrike, Birdview) offer scheduling and automation but lack engineering-specific features such as AIA-aligned billing, phase-based fee management, and subconsultant pass-through.
Across all reviewed tools, no platform offers AI-driven scope creep detection, natural language status report drafting, or intelligent subconsultant compliance tracking — these remain spreadsheet-managed gaps.

Key Features

Project Budgeting and Billing

Phase-based project budgeting with live burn-rate tracking
Flexible billing models: T&M, fixed-fee, milestone, retainer, and percentage-complete
AIA-aligned invoice templates with payment link embedding
Approval workflow with billing review before invoice send
Subconsultant management with deliverable tracking and invoice pass-through

Time, Expense, and Resource Management

Web and mobile time and expense entry with billable / non-billable classification
Resource scheduling with capacity and utilisation visibility
Skills-based and capacity-based assignment recommendations
Multi-project portfolio resource optimisation with downstream impact modelling
Real-time profitability tracking including salaries and overheads

Compliance and Government Contracting

DCAA-compliant timekeeping with labour distribution and audit trails
Indirect cost rate structures for federal contract reporting
Earned Value Management with BCWS, BCWP, and ACWP calculations
ISO 9001 and ISO 19650-aligned document control hooks
FAR-aware reporting structures for government contractors

Reporting and Analytics

Project dashboards: budget vs. actual, margin, schedule status
Real-time project health with profitability and margin tracking
Cash flow forecasting from pipeline and billing patterns
KPI dashboards for principals, project managers, and finance roles
Customisable role-based views

AI-Native Capabilities

AI-driven earned value forecasting predicting cost-at-completion and schedule-at-completion
Natural language status report drafting for client and internal audiences
Scope change detection from correspondence, RFI logs, and drawing revisions
Intelligent resource allocation matching skill profiles and availability across the portfolio
Automated subconsultant compliance tracking covering deliverable milestones, payment triggers, and insurance certificate expiry

AI-Native Advantage

Existing AI features in incumbents (Deltek's Vantagepoint AI, Unanet's Champ assistant) are limited to natural language queries against ERP data and have received mixed reviews for inconsistency. This project goes further: predictive earned value forecasting that surfaces likely overruns weeks before traditional reporting, scope creep detection from project document corpora, automated client-facing status report drafting, and skill-aware portfolio resource optimisation. These capabilities are absent from every reviewed platform and address documented spreadsheet workflows in subconsultant compliance and audience-specific status communication.

Tech Stack & Deployment

The platform is intended as a cloud-native SaaS with self-hosted options for firms requiring on-premise deployment for DCAA audit posture. Integrations target QuickBooks (Online and Desktop), Xero, and Sage Intacct for accounting sync, with Jira linkage for engineering task workflows. APIs follow REST patterns aligned with the conventions used by Unanet, BQE CORE, and Productive (OAuth 2.0 or token-based authentication, JSON:API-style schemas where appropriate). Mobile-first time and expense entry is a baseline expectation.

Market Context

The global project management software market is valued at USD 9.6–11.3 billion in 2026, growing at 13–15% CAGR toward USD 23–39 billion by 2031–2035 (Mordor Intelligence; Grand View Research; Business Research Insights). The A/E segment is dominated by Deltek's installed base of 12,000+ firms, with enterprise pricing at $50,000+ annually for mid-size firms and mid-market tools at $20–$50/user/month. Primary buyers include small civil and structural consultancies, mid-size multi-discipline engineering firms, large government-contracting firms, and infrastructure project management offices.

Project Status

This project is in the research and specification phase.
Contributions, feedback, and domain expertise are welcome.

Contributing

We welcome contributions from developers, domain experts, and potential users. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Important: All contributions must be your own original work or clearly attributed open-source material with a compatible licence. Copyright infringement and licence violations will not be tolerated and will result in immediate removal of the offending contribution. If you are unsure whether a piece of code, text, or other material is safe to contribute, open an issue and ask before submitting.

Licence

Licence to be determined. See discussion for context.