Create Portfolio Up to DB 39.5.10

Please note

• The following description applies to the database versions up to 39.5.10.
• For links to the descriptions of other versions, please refer to the following table:

DB 39.5.15	go to the tutorial
DB 39.5.14	go to the tutorial
DB 39.5.13	go to the tutorial
DB 39.5.10 - DB 39.5.12	go to the tutorial
< DB 39.5.10	go to the tutorial
	go to further tutorials

Introduction

Objective

• To learn how to use PLANTA portfolio and its functions on the basis of typical use cases.
• With the following workflow, users like portfolio managers can learn how to optimally employ and use PLANTA portfolio.
• All exercises are based on the PLANTA demo data. This demo data must be installed beforehand.
• Master data, such as calendar, resources, users, hourly rates, etc. is already set up in the demo data. This tutorial does not cover the definition of master data (for this, see Master Data Entry). It is merely about how to plan a new project in addition to already existing ones and shows the impact this has.
• The screenshots used are merely examples of functions. The screenshot layout may deviate from the program.
• Blue arrows and frames are supposed to draw the user's attention to important details and illustrate processes.

Portfolio Definition

Information

• Planning Objects of the following type can be part of a portfolio:
  • Ideas
  • Proposals
  • Projects
  • Programs

Details

• Ideas are coarse project suggestions.
• Proposals are selected and substantiated ideas.
• Ideas and proposals are the precursor of projects and therefore the planning phases for projects.
• Projects are selected and approved proposals that are already running and are usually not changed.
• Programs are bundled projects (packets).

Idea and Proposal Management

Information

• From the abundance of the developed project ideas and proposals you have to single out those that are most promising for the company.
• This is achieved by filtering the ideas and proposals.
• Two models are distinguished:
  • Three-layered model: Ideas Projects
    • In the three-layered model, coarse project ideas are collected that are then substantiated to proposals which are eventually converted to promising projects.
  • Two-layered model: Proposal Projects
    • The procedure of the two-layered model is basically the same as that of the three-layered model. In contrast to the three-layered model, however, it starts with the collection of proposals. The proposals are analyzed and those that are not promising are discarded. The remaining proposals become projects.
• In practice, the two-layered model is mainly employed. For this reason, this tutorial is also based on the two-layered model.

Example

Portfolio Master Data

Information

• Portfolio Master Data form the basis for the creation and administration of portfolios.
• Evaluation criteria and risk checklists are some of the most important portfolio master data.
• The evaluation of criteria and risks is of fundamental importance for the planning of ideas, proposals, and projects.
• Project applicants that want to get a project on the way, check upfront whether the ideas and proposals are consistent with the strategic objectives of the company.

Evaluation Criteria

Information

• With the help of evaluation criteria, project applicants estimate the expected gross profit of ideas, proposals, and projects in companies.
  • Every employee can request projects, however, this is often done by the project managers.
• After selection of one of the areas of the planning object, the respective evaluation criteria are offered for risk evaluation.

Create and Weight Evaluation Criteria

Information

• In the Evaluation Criteria module, evaluation criteria are created, edited, structured, and weighted.
• Evaluation criteria are created for each company area.

Procedure

• Portfolio manager Wolf Heine logs-on to the system with his R70 user.
• Open Portfolio Data in the user menu under Portfolio Management Portfolio Administration Portfolio Data
• Activate the Evaluation Criteria module.
• Select an area
  • He inserts an empty line by clicking on the Insert area button or by using the insert functions.
  • He selects the required area from the listbox in the Area field and saves.
• Select a group
  • Wolf Heine inserts a new record by clicking on the Insert group button on area level or by using the insert functions.
  • He selects the required area from the listbox in the Group field and saves.
• Insert evaluation criteria.
  • Wolf Heine inserts a new record by clicking on the Insert evaluation criterion button on group level or by using the insert functions.
  • He enters the criterion name and saves.
    • The ID is generated automatically.
  • Wolf Heine weights the criterion in the Weighting field.
  • He can approve the evaluation criterion by activating the checkbox in the Approval field.
    • Only the released objectives are considered when the objective contribution is evaluated.

Note

• In this module, you can only select areas and categories and use them to outline risk queries. The areas are created in the Portfolio Listbox Values module.

Risk Checklist

Information

• In the Risk Checklist module, checklists can be defined with the help of which you can evaluate projects (ideas, proposals).
• Individual checklist items are formulated in the form of queries. They serve for risk evaluation.
• When an area is selected in the planning object, the corresponding checklist is offered for risk evaluation.

Create and Edit Risk Checklist

Information

• Checklists are created for each area.
• Queries can be categorized within areas.

Procedure

• In order to create and edit the Risk Checklist, Rainer Koch proceeds in the same way as in Create, Edit, and Weight Evaluation Criteria.

Note

• In this module, you can only select areas and categories and use them to outline risk queries. The areas are created in the Portfolio Listbox Values module.

New Proposal

Information

• Below, the process from proposal creation up to project application is described based on the two-layered model.

Task

• Project manager Rainer Koch is supposed to implement the PM software in his company. For this purpose, a proposal is created for him by multi-project manager Dieter Hart.
• His planning is supposed to be done process oriented.

Procedure

• Multi-project manager Dieter Hart logs-on to the system with his R41 user.
• In the user menu he clicks on Portfolio Management Initial Data Projects, Proposals, Ideas, and Programs.
• He clicks on the Proposals module tab.
  • The Proposal module is opened.
  • In the Proposal module, the following is displayed:
    • A list of all proposals used and not used in the portfolio.
    • The evaluation of the listed proposals by objective contribution and risk value. The display is done graphically as a bubble chart.

Example

Create New Proposal

Task

• Dieter Hart is supposed to make the core specifications for his proposal.

Procedure

• He clicks on the New proposal button.
  • The Proposal panel with focused Proposal Core Data module is opened.
  • The ID for the new proposal is generated automatically and is visible in the module header.
  • The newly created proposal is saved automatically. It does not require the Save button or the key combination CTRL + S to be pressed.
• Enter the proposal name for the new project in the field next to the ID in the module header, e.g.: Implement PM software.
  • Here, the Please enter a name dialog is displayed by default.
• Dieter Hart makes further entries.
  • Manager: Koch, Rainer (PM) (R8)
  • Group 1: IT Projects,
  • Requested start: 7/2/2014
  • Requested end: 11/16/2014
• Save.

Example

Process Models

Information

• PLANTA portfolio enables you to plan and control ideas, proposals, and projects in a process-oriented way. For this purpose, PLANTA provides several process model templates.

Task

• Rainer Koch is supposed to select an appropriate process model for his proposal and create the proposal according to this module.

Procedure

• Project manager Rainer Koch logs-on with his R8 user.
• He opens proposal 000752 by clicking on the ID.
  • This takes him to the Proposalpanel which contains further editing options for the proposal.
• He clicks on the Process Status module tab at the lower left margin of the display.
• From the listbox, Mr. Koch selects the From proposal to project process model.
• He clicks on the Activate model button.
  • The process model is copied along with the associated process steps.

Example

Process Steps

Information

• The Process status module lists all process steps that must be completed upon request of proposal 000752 Implement PM software.
• You can assign a resource from the listbox to each process step.
• You can select a status from the listbox for each process step.
• For process steps the completion of which is not necessary for the project, the Not required checkbox must be activated. Additionally, the status can be set to the completed status.

Procedure

• The Name stakeholder process step is not necessary, hence, Rainer Koch activates the Not required checkbox and changes the entry in the Status field.

Note

• For a successful proposal request, all process steps must be processed by the end, i.e. no process step can have the open status.

Process Step 1: Describe Proposal

Task

• Rainer Koch is supposed to describe the proposal in the Proposal Core Data.

Procedure

• In the Proposal Core Data module, Rainer Koch makes the required entries in the individual input fields in the Descriptive data area.

• After he has made all entries, he manually sets the Describe proposal status in the Process Status module to completed.

Process Step 2: Create Schedule

Task

• Rainer Koch wants to check whether the specified proposal requested dates are realistic. For this purpose, he creates a new schedule by copying the Implementation of PLANTA project plan to his new proposal.

Copy schedule

• Rainer Koch opens the Schedule module in the Proposal panel by clicking on the tab of the same name.
• When opening the Schedule module, the following query is displayed: Is a schedule to be copied in?
• He answers the query with Yes.
  • The Copy Schedule module is opened.
• He selects the PMS implementation of PLANTA project project from the listbox.
• Rainer Koch starts the copy operation by clicking on the Copy Schedule button.
• Afterwards, the project manager clicks on the Capacity scheduling button in the toolbar. The planning of the tasks is calculated on the basis of the previously defined dates.

Edit process step

• The Create schedule process step is finished and set to completed by Rainer Koch.

Process Step 3: Evaluate Objectives and Risks

Information

• The planned proposal must be consistent with the company goals and make a sufficient contribution to the achievement of these goals.
• The risks should be minimal.

Task

• Rainer Koch first wants to determine the objective contribution.

Procedure

• Select an area from the listbox in the Area name field.
• In the Evaluation data area of the Proposal Core Data, the project manager clicks on the Evaluate button next to the Objective contribution field.
  • All evaluation criteria assigned to the selected area and their weighting numbers are displayed grouped.
  • Three criteria groups are now displayed:
    • Cost saving
    • Market-orientation
    • Profitability
  • In each group, Rainer Koch can now evaluate single criteria and their contribution.
  • He selects the estimates between 0% and 100% from the respective listbox entries.

• Rainer Koch clicks on the Finish evaluation button in the Objective evaluation area.
  • The entire objective contribution of this project is calculated from the values in the Criterion contribution field and the weighting specifications of all criteria and is displayed in the Objective contribution field.

Task

• Rainer Koch now wants to determine the Risk value.

Procedure

• Next to the Risk value field, the project manager clicks on the Evaluate button.
  • He answers the questions on risks with Yes or No in the following categories:
    • Dates
    • Costs
    • Quality
    • Miscellaneous

• Rainer Koch clicks on the Finish evaluation button in the Company risks area.
• According to the yes/no answers of all criteria, the entire risk contribution of this project (idea or proposal) is calculated and displayed in the Risk contribution in % field.
  • In the master data, every answer option for every question is predefined with a certain score which weights the corresponding answer.

Edit process step

• The Evaluate objectives and risks process step is finished and set to completed by Rainer Koch.

Example

Process Step 4: Define Resource Requirements

Task

• Rainer Koch wants to define the resources necessary for his proposal.

Procedure

• He opens the Outline Plan module.
• He assigns the necessary resources to the individual tasks and allocates the effort.
• He saves his entry by clicking on the Save button in the toolbar.
• He carries out a capacity scheduling by clicking on the Capacity scheduling menu item in the toolbar.

Edit process step

• Rainer Koch finishes the Define resource requirements project step in the Process Status module by selecting the completed entry from the listbox.

Example

Process Step 5: Request Budget

Task

• Mr. Koch wants to request the budget for the Implement PM Software proposal for the year 2014.

Procedure

• He opens the Budget module.
• The calculated costs are displayed in the yearly tranche of the current year and summarized upwards to proposal level.
• Request:
  • The project manager requests the budget by copying the costs from the Current remaining costs column to the Current requested column on the yearly tranche of the current year.

• Subsequently, he clicks on the Recalculate button. The values are summarized from the yearly tranche to project level.

• With the calculated effort he proceeds in the same way as he did with the costs.

Edit process step

• The Request budget is finished and Rainer Koch sets the status to completed.

Process Step 6: Define Key Performance Indicator (KPI)

Information

• A key performance indicator is a measurement variable that can be used to measure the achievement of an objective.

Task

• Rainer Koch has almost completed the editing of his proposal core data. The KPI specification is still missing.
• The project manager estimates which measures benefit the company economically.
• He thinks about lowering the costs by creating simple status reports in the amount of €200.000 for 2014 and €400.000 for 2015.

Procedure

• In the Key Performance Indicator area, Rainer Koch clicks on the Insert KPI button
• Define the Key Performance Indicator in the field of the same name.
• Save.
• Via the Insert Benefit context menu, Rainer Koch inserts a new record for the benefit.
• In the Year field, he enters the year and stores the value of €200.000 in the Planned benefit field.
• Save.
• In addition, Rainer Koch wants to plan the year 2015.
  • He clicks on the green plus above the Year field.
    • Another record is inserted.
  • Here, he enters the year and the planned benefit again.
• Save.

• Rainer Koch opens the Budget module.
• He clicks on the Recalculate button.
  • In the lower area of the module, the planned benefit is displayed.

Edit process step

• The project manager terminates the process step by setting Define KPI to completed.

Process Step 7: Submission

Information

• Rainer Koch estimates his proposal as economically interesting for the company.

Task

• Project manager Rainer Koch wants to get the approval for the created project application. He informs the portfolio manager.

Procedure

• In the Approval process step, Rainer Koch selects portfolio manager Wolf Heine in the Resource name field as the person responsible for the approval.
• Save.
• Subsequently, he clicks on the Submission link.
• The Do you want to write a comment? dialog message is displayed.
• Rainer Koch answers with Yes.
• In the Comment field, he formulates the following remark: The implementation of the PLANTA software seems economically interesting to me.
• Save.
• Subsequently, he clicks on the Submission link again.
  • The status of the process step is set from open to completed, and additionally the Send Info module is opened.
  • He clicks on the Send button.
• Wolf Heine receives an info.

Portfolio

Task

• Portfolio manager Wolf Heine has received Rainer Koch's message about his project application.
• He is supposed to check and possibly approve the project application.
• For this purpose, he wants to include the proposal in an existing portfolio in order to decide whether the implementation of the project will be profitable.

Procedure

• Wolf Heine logs-on to the system with his R70 user.
• In the user menu, he clicks on Portfolio Management Portfolio Portfolio Overview.
  • The Portfolio Overview module is opened.
  • He clicks on ID 000036 in order to open the portfolio to assign the proposal to this portfolio.

Information

• Several portfolios have already been assigned to this planning object and are displayed in the Projects, Proposals, Ideas area.
• Rainer Koch's Implement PM software proposal is not yet contained.

Assign Portfolio to the Proposal

Task

• Wolf Heine includes Rainer Koch's proposal in the portfolio.

Procedure

• Portfolio manager Wolf Heine clicks on the Assign planning objects to the portfolio button in the Assigned planning objects area in the Portfolio module.
  • The Assign Planning Objects to the Portfolio module is opened.
  • In the Planning objects without portfolio assignment area, he clicks on ID 000752 Implement PM software.

• Proposal 000752 Implement PM software is now assigned to the portfolio.
• Now, there are four proposals in the Assigned planning objects area.

Portfolio Budget

Task

• The budget of the latest proposal is to be included in the portfolio budget planning of 2014.

Procedure

• In the Portfolio module, Wolf Heine clicks on the Edit period button in the Period area for 2014.
  • The Portfolio Period module is opened.

If there is no period for 2014 in the portfolio yet, it can be inserted by selecting 2014 from the Year field and clicking on the button.

Details

• The budget of proposal 000752 Implement PM software is not yet considered in the portfolio at this point. (Active checkbox not yet activated)
• The Portfolio budget is greater than the Relevant budget (budget of all assigned planning objects).
  • This is visualized by a green triangle pointing upwards and a negative deviation.

Example

Further procedure

• The portfolio manager activates the Active checkbox in front of ID 000752 Implement PM software in the Proposal area.

Information

• The budget of proposal 000752 Implement PM software is now considered in the portfolio. (Active checkbox activated)
  • The Portfolio budget is now smaller than the Relevant budget, which means that the portfolio budget has been overrun.
  • This is visualized by a red triangle pointing downwards and a positive deviation.

Example

Problem

• In the current constellation, there is a budget overrun.
• How can portfolio manager Wolf Heine prevent the overrun?

Problem solution

• He wants to compare project ideas and proposals of the portfolio regarding objective contribution, risk value and capital value.
• On the basis of this information, Wolf Heine wants to decide which proposals and ideas are promising. They are realized in the form of projects.

Information

• Projects, proposals, and ideas are displayed in relation to one another.

Procedure

• He clicks on the Projects by objective and risk contribution button in the Portfolio Period module.
• The Projects by Objective and Risk Contribution module is opened.
• Reference values:
  • Objective contribution
  • Risk value
  • Capital value
• The visual comparison option helps Wolf Heine to come to a fast decision on which ideas or proposals to cancel and which ones to project.

Example

Details

• A proposal should possess the following characteristics so that it can be turned into a project.
  • High capital value Big bubble
  • High objective contribution (>50%) placement of the bubble in the right upper quarter of the bubble chart.
  • Low risk value (<50%) placement of the bubble in the right upper quarter of the bubble chart.

Procedure

• Wolf Heine analyzes the bubble chart and the numbers of the depicted proposals and ideas.
  • Result:
    • Turning proposal 000752 Implement PM software into a project would be economically interesting for the company.
      • The Risk value of 28% is quite low.
      • The Objective contribution is around 50%.
      • The Capital value of about € 1.400.000 is high enough.
    • Idea 0002 Voice over internet is economically uninteresting for the company:
      • The Risk value is too high (55%).
      • The Objective contribution is too small (18%).
      • The Capital value is too low (€ 600.000).

Task

• Wolf Heine wants to remove idea 0002 Voice over internet from the portfolio. The costs saved by canceling would even out the Portfolio budget.

Procedure

• He switches to the Portfolio Period module.
• In the Ideas area, he deactivates the Active checkbox of idea 0002.
  • The budget is evened out.

Result

• The measures taken by Wolf Heine lead to the desired gross profit. The Relevant budget remains below the Portfolio budget by € 8.940.

Example

Resource Simulation and Utilization

Task

• Mr. Heine wants to check the practicability of his proposal from a resource utilization point of view.

Procedure

• In the Portfolio Period module, Mr. Heine clicks on the Resource simulation button.
  • The module of the same name is opened.

Example

• Graphic display of the dates of all portfolio planning objects

Procedure

• Mr. Heine now wants to get an idea of the resource utilization.
• He clicks on the Utilization module tab.
  • The module of the same name is opened.
• A diagram displays the utilization of the 00752 Implement PM software proposal.
• The new proposal causes an overload of 8 PD (person days).

Example

• Graphic display of the resource utilization throughout all planning objects.

Task

• Portfolio manager Wolf Heine wants to optimize the resource planning.
• For this purpose, he wants to move dates in order to change the load of resources.

Procedure

• He switches back to the Resource Simulation module.
• He moves the mouse over the Requested start - or Requested end symbol .
• As soon as the cursor takes the shape of a hand, he left-clicks on the required symbol. A preview bar is displayed which consists of dotted lines that visualize the time interval between the Requested start and Requested end (bar length).
• He draws the displayed preview bar to the right while holding down the mouse button in order to reduce date overlapping with other projects.
• As a result, the entire bar is moved.
• He releases the mouse button at the required position.
• Subsequently he clicks on Edit Scheduling Unload in the menu bar.
• All planning objects assigned to the portfolio are unloaded capacity wise.
• In order to recalculate the capacities, he clicks on the Capacity scheduling button in the toolbar.
• To refresh the display, he presses the F7 key.

Example

• Graphic display of the dates of all portfolio planning objects after date change.

Result

• Due to the date change, the portfolio manager has achieved a reduction of the overload from 8 PD (person days) to 4 PD (person days).

Example

• Graphic display of the resource utilization throughout all planning objects after date change

Information

• The changed scheduling by Wolf Heine is also displayed in the Proposal Core Data.

Example

Approval of the Budget

Information

• Wolf Heine has calculated the objective and risk contribution and optimized the utilization of the proposal.

Task

• He wants to approve the budget of the proposal now.

Procedure

• He switches to the Portfolio Period module.
  • In the Proposal area, Wolf Heine opens proposal 000752 Implement PM software by clicking on the ID.
  • The Proposal panel is opened.
  • He clicks on the Budget module tab.
  • In the Costs 2014 budget period, Wolf Heine copies the costs from the Requ. active. column to the Approved active column.

Example

• The portfolio manager clicks on the Approve costs and effort button .
• A check mark is displayed in the neighboring Approved budget . This confirms the budget approvement.
• Wolf Heine clicks on the Recalculate button. The figures from the Costs 2014 yearly tranche are summarized to project total level.
• Save.

Example

Process Step 8: Approval

Task

• After approval of the budget, Wolf Heine wants to give approval for the proposal.

Procedure

• In the Process Status module,
  • Wolf Heine clicks on the Approval process step.
    • A dialog window containing the What do you want to do? question is displayed.
  • He answers the question by clicking on the Approve button.
• Analogously to the Submission process step, Wolf Heine can send an info here as well.
  • He sends a message regarding the approval of the project application to Rainer Koch.
  • With the approval of the project application, Wolf Heine has completed all process steps.

Information

• The Proposal phase is moved to the Completed phases area.
• The status of all process steps is changed to “accepted” and in the Approval field the date of approval by portfolio manager Wolf Heine is displayed.

Example

Project

Information

• The approval has turned the Implement PM software proposal into a project.
• This can be seen in the Project, proposal, idea area in the Portfolio module.
• The approval of proposal 000752 Implement PM software has caused the following:
  • The number of projects and proposals in the portfolio has changed.
  • The number of projects has been increased from six to seven.
  • The number of projects has been reduced from four to three.

Example

Task

• The portfolio manager wants to check the correctness of the data in the Project Core Data.

Procedure

• In the Portfolio module, the portfolio manager opens the project by clicking on ID 000752 Implement PM software.
• The project is opened in the Project panel.

Example