Frequently Asked Questions

ARES PRISM is project controls software that was developed by ARES Corporation in the 1990s by cost engineers who found that the cost management tools available in the market at the time were not adequate for large capital construction projects across many industries. From then until now, the software has become an industry benchmark for strategic capital projects, helping a variety of industries worldwide deliver mega projects on time and on budget.

In 2023, ARES PRISM was reborn as Contruent, launching a new name with an industry-leading new product called Contruent Enterprise. The company has continued to build on its award-winning project controls software to help owners and EPCs of capital construction companies build our world’s largest infrastructure projects with precision and speed.

The company chose the name Contruent to reflect the true visibility into capital construction projects, specifically cost, scope and schedule, that owners and EPCs need to deliver faster ROI.

Contruent Enterprise is a SaaS-based project controls software platform that is faster to deliver value to owners and EPCs at capital construction companies. It is project-ready, right out of the box, with more than 25 years of best practices and major capital expertise built right in. With it, users can manage the complete project lifecycle while delivering dependable forecasts, cost control and performance measurement.

• Owners
• Executives & Stakeholders
• Cost Engineers
• Project Managers
• Cost Estimators
• Schedulers
• Contract Managers
• Quality Surveyor
• Contract Administrators
• Procurement Specialists
• Risk Managers
• Financial Analysts
• Field Inspectors
• Cost Analysts
• Cost Controller

Contruent’s project management add-ons enable extended visibility project and portfolio-wide through integration with IT, ERP, financial, and legacy systems, as well as the control of project spend end-to-end by incorporating features like estimating, BIM, engineering, procurement, and field management.

Contruent Enterprise can help organizations around the world in four primary areas:

• Optimize project spend and performance through cost management, integrated schedule and earned value management.
• Improve visibility to make better-informed decisions through real-time executive dashboards, a structured data warehouse and pre-built configurable reports.
• Account for change and maximize efficiency through change management, workflow management and certified audit trail.
• Manage contracts and contractor activity through contract management, contract workflow design, RFP management, bid analysis and contractor portal.

• Faster to implement with no customization needed — it’s ready right out of the box. Get projects off the ground quicker, in as little as a few months, to ensure projects stay on time and on budget.
• Faster to integrate with leading ERP, IT, financial and legacy systems. Reduce the time needed to set up new projects by 85%.
• Faster to project accuracy by providing an earned value management system that meets ANSI EIA 748 standards to give comprehensive views into planned work, actual work performed and its associated costs.
• Purposed-built by industry experts with more than 25 years of experience and best practices.
• Break projects down into manageable tasks to oversee complex projects more efficiently.
• Integrate cost, scope and schedule to track performance against budgets that allow companies to scale as they grow.

Contruent Enterprise delivers value from project setup to closeout by optimizing project spend and performance, enhancing visibility for informed decisions, accounting for change and maximizing efficiency, managing contracts and contractor activity, and offering project management add-ons for extended visibility and control.

Contruent is purpose-built by experienced project controls professionals, incorporating over 25 years of best practices and intellectual property expertise to facilitate better decision-making and intuitive workflows.

Project controls is a subset of project management that specifically focuses on the measurement, analysis and management of project performance metrics. The primary goal of project controls is to provide accurate data and insights to support effective decision-making and ensure the successful execution of a project. Project controls activities include:

• Cost control
• Schedule control
• Earned value management (EVM)
• Change management
• Performance management
• Forecasting and reporting

• Budgeting and Cost Estimation
• Resource Allocation
• Cost Tracking
• Variance Analysis
• Forecasting
• Risk Management
• Change Order Management
• Reporting and Analytics
• Integration with ERP, IT and Financial Systems
• Auditing and Compliance
• Collaboration and Communication
• Invoice and Payment Processing

Using Contruent Enterprise for risk management offers several benefits that can help organizations proactively identify, assess, mitigate and monitor risks throughout the project lifecycle. Here are some of the key advantages:

• Early Risk Identification
• Risk Assessment
• Risk Register
• Risk Response Planning
• Real-Time Monitoring
• Contingency Planning
• Integration with Project Data
• Risk Analysis and Reporting
• Historical Data
• Compliance and Audit Support
• Collaboration and Communication
• Risk Reporting

The implementation process for Contruent Enterprise will vary according to the complexity of a project and an organization’s needs. However, a typical implementation can be realized in as little as a few months.

• Resource Planning
• Resource Allocation
• Resource Availability Tracking
• Resource Skill Matching
• Resource Load Balancing
• Resource Utilization Reports
• Resource Forecasting
• Resource Requests and Approvals
• Resource Allocation History
• Conflict Resolution
• Resource Collaboration
• Resource Cost Tracking

Contruent Enterprise offers a wide range of reporting and analytics capabilities that empower project managers, stakeholders, and teams to make data-driven decisions and gain insights into project performance. Here are some common reporting and analytics features provided:

• Standard Reports
• Custom Reporting
• Dashboards
• Data Visualization
• Schedule Performance Analysis
• Cost Performance Analysis
• Resource Utilization Reports
• Risk Analysis
• Earned Value Management (EVM)
• Trend Analysis
• Compliance and Audit Reports
• Portfolio-level Reporting
• Export and Sharing
• Integration with Business Intelligence (BI) Tools
• Scheduled and Automated Reporting
• Mobile Reporting
• Document and Records Management

Contruent Enterprise plays a vital role in facilitating collaboration and communication among project stakeholders. Effective collaboration and communication are essential for successful project management. Here’s how Contruent Enterprise supports these aspects:

• Centralized Platform
• Real-Time Updates
• Documentation
• Collaborative Workspaces
• Task Assignments
• Communication Tools
• Email Integration
• Mobile Access
• Notifications and Alerts
• Reporting and Dashboards
• Integration with Collaboration Tools
• Guest Access
• Change Management
• Audit Trails

• Change Request Submission
• Documentation and Description
• Approval Workflow
• Impact Analysis
• Cost and Schedule Updates
• Resource Reallocation
• Documentation of Decisions
• Communication and Notifications
• Change Logs and History
• Integration with Other Modules
• Reporting and Analytics
• Collaboration and Comments
• Compliance and Documentation

• Task and Activity Planning
• Gantt Charts
• Critical Path Analysis
• Resource Allocation
• Schedule Optimization
• Task Dependencies and Constraints
• Baseline Creation
• Schedule Risk Analysis
• Real-Time Updates
• Resource Leveling
• Collaboration and Communication
• Reporting and Analytics

Yes, Contruent Enterprise is a fully hosted, single-tenant SaaS solution providing users with dedicated resources and an isolated environment for each client, ensuring enhanced security, customization and data privacy.

Contruent Enterprise offers benefits such as multi-region cloud access, simple and secure access through multi-factor authentication and single sign-on, automated deployment via Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and improved performance using scalable cloud resources.

Contruent uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) to store and manage project-related data to ensure data reliability, availability and easy scalability as projects and companies grow.

Yes, because Contruent Enterprise is a SaaS-based project, stakeholders can access the software through a web portal.

No project size is too big for Contruent Enterprise as it has been developed for the largest, most complex capital construction projects. It can scale to meet your company and project needs.

Contruent Enterprise is hosted in multiple geographic regions, and customer data is hosted in the region that aligns with their business requirements, ensuring data security and compliance. And AWS provides a wide range of security features and compliance certifications to ensure sensitive data is protected and regulatory requirements are met. Contruent also holds itself to a high standard with ISO 9001:27001 certification and Cyber Essentials certification.