EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Municipality of Lota operated without a formal planning system: tasks had no follow-up, resources were underutilized, responsibilities were vague, and there was zero historical traceability. National studies estimate that Chilean municipalities could operate with 61% fewer resources if they optimized their management.

During my professional internship, I conducted a full organizational diagnosis (PESTEL, SWOT, interviews with directors) that confirmed the need for a centralized planning tool. I designed and developed E.D.P.C, a desktop software that manages projects, tasks with dependencies, key resources, and contingencies, while generating automatic reports. I trained over 20 department heads in its use.

Although the project was discontinued following a change in municipal administration, the first stage was successfully completed: functional software, user manual, and trained personnel.

Origen y Contexto del Proyecto: ¿Por qué una solución a medida?

El objetivo inicial

My professional internship was in the Institutional PMG and Cleaning and Beautification Department. Among the many tasks assigned to me, one was to evaluate and contract software to improve municipal PMG management.

absence of monitoring systems, resistance to change by older staff, limited technological infrastructure.

What I discovered when evaluating options

When analyzing software on the market and interviewing the directors of the main municipal departments, I realized that no commercial solution solved Lota's specific problems:

The proposal

Designed E.D.P.C (Centralized Digital Planning Ecosystem), a tailor-made solution that addresses exactly what the municipality needed, following a strategic framework adapted from the Strategic Planning Workbook for Nonprofit

Organizations, integrating the municipality's mission, vision, and values of transparency, and considering the requirements of Law No. 21,180 on Digital Transformation.

there was no maintenance plan for green areas, which led to the deterioration of squares, parks, and street furniture. The pest control service had an official deadline of six months, which was not met due to a lack of coordination. An information security problem resulted in the loss of data from the only existing registry (an Excel file).

lack of definition of roles and responsibilities, tasks assigned to departments unrelated to their functions (the PMG was under the head of environment), contradictory and outdated organizational charts.

In operational management

LA SOLUCIÓN - E.D.P.C

Tasks with Dependencies Window

When you select a project, its task structure is displayed. The main tasks

act as containers whose dates are automatically calculated based on their secondary tasks. Secondary tasks include: person responsible, dates, cost, key resource assigned, capacity used, and dependencies with other tasks.

When one task depends on another, the system prevents it from starting before its predecessor is completed. If a date changes, dependencies are recalculated in a cascade.

Tasks with Dependencies Window

When you select a project, its task structure is displayed. The main tasks

act as containers whose dates are automatically calculated based on their secondary tasks. Secondary tasks include: person responsible, dates, cost, key resource assigned, capacity used, and dependencies with other tasks.

When one task depends on another, the system prevents it from starting before its predecessor is completed. If a date changes, dependencies are recalculated in a cascade..

Contingency System

When an unforeseen event occurs (illness, equipment failure, emergency), the contingency is recorded, indicating the person responsible and the period. The system

automatically:

• Move the dates of all tasks assigned to the person responsible that fall within the period

• Recalculate affected dependencies

• Propagate the changes to tasks that depend on the modified ones

This avoids the chaos of manually rescheduling dozens of interconnected tasks.

Key Resource Management Allows you to register resources with limited capacity (e.g., water truck with 10,000 liters per week). When assigning tasks that consume that resource, the system ensures that the available capacity is not exceeded. It also allows you to enable/disable resources according to their operational status and generates utilization reports.

Notifications and Traceability

he system sends automatic emails when a task is delayed. When marking a delayed task as completed, it requests the reason for the delay, building a historical database for root cause analysis (the "5 Whys" technique). Each person has a complete history of assigned tasks, completed on time, and delayed.

Comprehensive project management system that automates hierarchical planning, dependencies, and date calculations. It allows for personnel control with delay alerts and performance metrics, optimizes limited resources by avoiding

over-allocations and automatically readjusts the schedule in the event of contingencies. It includes advanced reporting (interactive Gantt chart, analysis of causes of delays) and reusable templates to streamline planning.

Implementation Methodology

Stage 1 - Evaluation and proposal (completed): I evaluated software options on the market, conducted interviews with directors, and identified that no commercial solution

commercial solution met the requirements. I proposed developing a customized solution. I presented it to the department heads and it was approved.

Stage 2 - Design and development (completed): Development of the E.D.P.C software with all the described functionalities, including a 49-page user manual integrated into the system's "Info" window.

Stage 3 - Training (completed): In-person training for more than 20 department leaders and their assistants at a municipal school. The software was

stored on an institutional drive for installation by the IT manager.

Stages 4-6 (planned, not executed): Evaluation and improvement of the software, specific adaptation by management, and integration with other municipal systems through APIs.

Deliverables

Functional E.D.P.C software with all operational features, 49-page user manual with practical guide and use cases, SQLite database with backup/restore system, and more than 20 officials trained in the use of the tool.

RESULTS AND LESSONS LEARNED

What was achieved

The first stage of the PMG 2024 project was successfully completed. The software proved to be functional in tests with real users, the manual allowed for autonomous use without constant support, and the training covered leaders from all relevant municipal departments.

The system was ready to scale: the template architecture would allow recurring project structures (such as green space maintenance) to be replicated year after year, accumulating historical data to improve future planning.

What I learned

About developing real solutions: the difference between an academic project and an institutional one is the number of stakeholders, constraints, and edge cases that only appear when real users interact with the system.

On change management: technological resistance cannot be overcome with technical training alone. It requires demonstrating immediate value and minimizing friction. The comprehensive manual and practical use cases were key to

adoption.

On political context: projects in public institutions are subject to electoral cycles. Excellent software can be abandoned for reasons completely unrelated to its technical quality or usefulness.