Novozymes - CAPEX Portfolio Management

Introduction

Task

• Gather at least 10-20 different tools (e.g. Stakeholder models, communication models, solution designs) that might be relevant for our project
• Our tool (Article) in the WIKI system should be a short introduction of all the tools gathered and then 5-6 lines shortly describing every tool,

its usage and at last the reference a site where more information can be obtained.

• So basically, it should be our entire toolbox for the project work.

Business Problem

This is the process that the group will follow and use to create a meaningful project for both Novozymes and DTU. During the first meetings with Novozymes, several hypotheses have been presented by Novozymes, which has lead to the identification of the following initial scope:

Identify possible patterns to find the causes for wrong budget estimates

The project will focus on the financial estimates Novozymes are making for projects, and why these are not correct. The project seeks to avoid the case where Novozymes must add new projects at the end of the year to meet the estimates, and locate which indicators Novozymes should look for at the beginning of the year. The group intends to establish an overview of the wrongly estimated projects in a percentage and based on this foundation test the different hypotheses. Here the initial thoughts are to test for tendencies in for example category, urgency and the EC-models. An investigation can also be conducted based on the continuous monthly estimates where the realised SAP postings can be compared to the monthly estimates to test whether certain months, projects, categories, etc. has similar patterns on the monthly basis as on the overall project basis.

In the preliminary analyses, the project will focus on projects from the year 2017 to 2019 when trying to identify the patterns to why the estimates are wrong.

Tool Kit

The following section will describe project- and portfolio management related tools, which will be the base literature study for Group Cake further analysis.

1. Portfolio communication plan

Effective communication is a critical process in all aspects of organizational management. Some even consider it as the essence of an organization, considering that it ensures everything is tied together, and everyone is on the same page. Portfolio management is no different, and organizational communication plays a vital role in project portfolio management. Considering the many aspects that go into a portfolio, there is a need for an effective portfolio communication management between stakeholders, customers, portfolio managers, and everyone involved in portfolio management. This is because the lack of portfolio communication management can spell the difference between a successful and failure project. For successful portfolio management, a portfolio communication management plan must be developed. It must be done in such a way that it is closely aligned with organizational strategy, portfolio governance management, portfolio risk management and portfolio performance management. Part of the po

A process to follow in order to establish a beneficial communication plan with a well-defined content and time frame for the communication. Additional reference can be seen in the book “The unofficial PM” on page122.

2. The project status report

The project status report can be used to continuously communicate the status of the project work to a project’s key stakeholders. The reports should be aligned with a project’s communication plan and should not belong and extensive reports, but should instead be a to the point update that informs about the project’s accomplishments, pending and potential problems and upcoming plans. The main element of the report is a traffic light signal indicating the current health of the project, which functions as either a confirmation, warning or ask for help to the project’s key stakeholders.

3. Key stakeholder interview tool

The tool for key stakeholder interview can be used in the preliminary phase of the project where the project purpose, scope and desired results are to be determined. The tool consists of a brief presentation of seven project elements (the project’s purpose, description, desired results, exclusions, communication needs, acceptance criteria and constraints) that are to be discussed and aligned with all key stakeholders. By using the tool, the project team can ensure that all key stakeholders have been presented the same information and have had the opportunity to express their thoughts and concerns about the project.

References

The following section will specify the sources to every listed tool above.

• 1. Portfolio communication plan : https://www.project-management.pm/portfolio-management/portfolio-communication-management/

• 2. The project status report : Blakemore, S., Kogon, K. and Wood, J. (2015). Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager. BenBella Books, Inc. ISBN: 978-1-941631-10-2. PP 167-169.