With 1,400 courses, 190 degree programmes and high-quality
multidisciplinary research, the University of Gothenburg is one of the most
popular universities in Sweden and one of the largest in the Nordic countries.
A growing project operation coupled with a need for greater uniformity hailed
the beginning of a new change management process with the aim being to improve
the management of objects, projects and related activities. A new management
model for IT systems, projects, processes and administration was one of the
steps in the process, but translating the management model into practical
application required further input:
–We soon realized that
the new management model required IT support to ensure that project management,
portfolio management, capacity planning and time reporting could be handled
satisfactorily, says Sofie Hyllborn, IT Services Manager at the
University of Gothenburg, along with her colleague Katrin Skepp, Head of
Section for IT.
Consequently, the university decided to evaluate the Project Portfolio
Management (PPM) systems available on the market, which brought it into contact
with Antura and its Antura Projects PPM Tool. Sofie Hyllborn and Katrin Skepp
were both part of the university’s IT project group, which had access to a test
environment in Antura Projects. The environment was configured to the
university’s project models, PPS and portfolio management, and then filled with
some sample project data.
Functions related to object and project management, capacity planning
and cost management were thoroughly assessed throughout the test period. The
university’s requirements included a better overall picture of the
organization’s administration work, so that it could efficiently decide on the
right actions and thus make the most of limited resources. It also tested the
ability to cooperate both within the organization and also with external
stakeholders, as well as practical document management including permission
control.
A
thorough evaluation showed that Antura Projects met the requirements
Ongoing dialogue between Antura and the project group throughout the
test period included, for example, weekly meetings to resolve any issues that
arose along the way. At the end of the test period, the project group could see
that Antura Projects met the university’s various stringent requirements.
–One of the key reasons
we chose Antura Projects was that it can be used as a planning tool in projects
and administration, in combination with following up results and forecasts.
Functions such as performance reports with risks and portfolio aggregation
offer a good ability to steer our portfolio, say Hyllborn and Skepp.
Antura Projects was later implemented gradually, and all university-wide
IT projects are now in the system.
–In the first stage, we
want to use Antura Projects to better steer our portfolio and check that we’re
working on the right areas. We currently work with risk management, performance
reporting and issue management with Kanban, says Sören Ehrnberg,
CIO at the University of Gothenburg.
The initial change management process with its high ambitions is now
nearing its end-point; the new management model is established, and IT support
for improved management of portfolio, projects and administration is in place.
The next step is to work on prioritization, benefit management and simulation,
and to review integrations with Agresso and Jira. As part of the process of
further broadening the system’s use, Antura Projects is now also being
implemented in the university’s Services unit.