Demand Management

Challenge

Thousands of ideas large and small compete for attention and resources in project and product portfolios. Resource demand management and due diligence requires a structured, often complex process, but the effort to define opportunities must be in proportion to the idea’s merit, size and viability.  The best ideas can come from various staff working throughout an organization; entrance into the project pipeline must not be restricted to IT or project management professionals.

Investment proposals (projects or products) must pass through the relevant collaborators and gatekeepers at the appropriate time.  This flow should be managed to avoid backlogs and “undue diligence”.  Finally, mature proposals need to be prioritized into a coherent portfolio, driven by business strategy.

Solution

The Microsoft Enterprise Project Management (EPM) Solution provides a collaborative platform featuring scalable workflow management, business case and schedule tools, and a portfolio analysis engine that organizations need to comprehensively manage the demands of their organization. 

Locate Idea Sources

Microsoft’s EPM Solution empowers employees from anywhere within the organization to raise ideas for consideration.  The pipeline can include marketing and product ideas that promote the organization’s competitive position, and process change ideas that achieve operational efficiencies.  In addition, IT managers can use the Enterprise Project Management Solution’s Application Portfolio Management (APM) framework to quantify the trade-offs among business, IT, and financial demands to generate the most fruitful IT improvement ideas.

Pre-screen Ideas to Create Proposals

Improvement ideas can be initiated by any employee creating simple list entries; classified by parameters and quantified by estimates.  These ideas can be categorized and aggregated into unique project statements (or product proposals), and prioritized by costs and benefits estimates.  With the Microsoft Enterprise Project Management Solution, project managers are able to define timelines and classify the proposals in order to apply the proper workflow type and manage demand.  During the planning cycle, the PMO can upload proposals into the Microsoft® Office Project Portfolio Server 2007 for business case development under a structured workflow.

Tailor Workflow to Opportunity Classification

The Enterprise Project Management Solution workflow becomes a business case assembly line.  Based on the idea classification, each idea is refined and developed by the correct subject matter experts and approved by relevant individuals or committees.  Individuals are assigned to workflow roles or notified based on their role in the organization to manage demand on their available time. Thus, the workflow becomes proactive, notifying each user when they are accountable for a step in the lifecycle; no ideas “fall between the cracks”.  Each workflow step is supported by data verifications and auditable electronic approvals.  Approval reports are issued allowing users to track aggregate flow and help speed through the pipeline.

At approval gates throughout the lifecycle, project ideas are rejected or suspended for future consideration by empowered users.  The Microsoft EPM Solution sends appropriate notifications to the initiators and sponsors of the ideas.

Manage Business Cases and Schedules

Project and Product managers can use the Enterprise Project Management Solution as a structured repository of business cases.  A projects’ charter, cost and benefit estimates, resource requirements, schedules, risk, and strategic impact are all quantified in standard units and measures; with aggregate views at the program and portfolio level.  With the Microsoft EPM Solution, an organization is able to define project value in terms of strategic impact as well as net financial benefit.

Where appropriate, project managers can use the scheduling tools in Enterprise Project Management Solution to accurately forecast milestones and resource requirements using work breakdown structures to manage demand on resources. 

Optimize Approvals and Options

With the Enterprise Project Management Solution, investment ideas that pass all preliminary gates are funneled into the portfolio selection process.  The Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007 provides a framework to select the optimal portfolio for funding, based on alignment to business strategy.  At the final stage of demand management, portfolio leaders can manage demand by commiting their funding choices to their portfolio and informing stakeholders of the final decisions.

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