PowerPlan reviews

-You do work hard (9-11 hour days typically) and at times have to take on numerous roles (like fixing some base code or helping do some of the PM piece of the projects). Luckily you are rewarded well for it. -We need to work a lot more on building out better training and resources for people in the 2-4 year tenure range. The first two years has a ton of stuff to help, but then it gets much harder in terms of development and learning outside of your actual project.

"Foot in the Door" Misunderstanding Many people who embarked on their journeys at PowerPlan believed it would be a good opportunity to take on a prestigious position at an energy company further down the road. This is quite simply not the case. Most people who leave PowerPlan either take on positions at one of the big four or at large technology services and outsourcing companies. Technology The rumors are true, PowerBuilder is dying. That's why you have never heard of it before. If you have been programming since you were 6 and majored in CompSci but have only a slight interest in asset accounting, PowerPlan is not for you. If you don't believe me, research the PowerBuilder documentation. The obtuse functionality makes for a steep learning curve, knowledge of which is not useful anywhere else. Also, its rendition of an object oriented system is unlike anything you ever learned in computer science, for good reason. And, the IDE is dreadfully bulky, unstable (it crashes at least a dozen times per day), extremely buggy, doesn't lend itself well to refactoring code (deleting objects, changing names, function arguments, etc) or debugging, and is generally very very painful to deal with. And on top of that everything is stored in a one-file, proprietary zip-like file called a pbl, colloquially called a 'pibble', and if you decide to work at PowerPlan, you will come to hate this word, as well as PowerBuilder. And no, you can't use Eclipse or VS to manage the source code, you *must* use the IDE. Though PowerPlan has been trying to move away from PowerBuilder, I would like to note that they have been trying to do so since the early 2000's in various various forms, and have embarked on two separate resource-intensive projects since 2010 that failed miserably. Management Culture The management culture is shaky at best. You will find that the people with the longest tenure and most knowledge of the PowerPlan system are your managers and direct your efforts accordingly. You will also find that these people take immense pride in their knowledge of the extremely complex PowerPlan system, a system that they developed. The profile of this type of person is very introverted; your managers are absolutely willing to help you, and will always tell you that you are doing well, but they will never tell you what they really think about your work or what they really want you to do to improve. The people in charge of departments are also unable bring change and propel their department forward because they spend most of their day doing what they do best - working on the system, answering questions, and solving code-related problems. The result of all this is simple: top-down communication is broken despite constant training from HR, and no one at the department level has the propensity to create and execute a greater vision. The Wrong People PowerPlan continues to make a bottom line because it's a monstrous necessity. Current clients continue to demand work from consultants to update their aging, irreplaceable systems. Prospective clients are wary but buy because it's the most comprehensive software package. PowerPlan has tried to gain market share in other industries but has failed to gain significant traction. Time and time again, you see the right people in the wrong positions leading to squandered opportunities for expansion and innovation because everyone responsible was too busy working. It's clear that PowerPlan is failing to achieve the same levels of growth it did during its primetime. In the end, be smart. Do your research. Ask lots of questions. Is this the right place for you? It may or may not be.