Needs analysis and pilot launch
In winter 2012/2013 and as part of a broader operation development process, Munters evaluated support tools for project and portfolio management. The primary aim of the evaluation was to find support for the R&D portfolio, although operation development projects were also a part of the needs specification.
Above all the tool should act as leverage for introducing the control mechanisms Munters had identified, and also achieve the effects and simplifications that had been identified in the operational development process. All to prove to the management that the projects where money was being invested were in line with the set strategies. Munters also wanted a tool that could readily support resource planning so as to assess the feasibility of the project portfolio.
As well as meeting the purely functional requirements, the system also had to be easy to use and reasonably priced. As the idea is to use Antura Projects at several of the group’s sites – also outside of Sweden – it was important that the system did not need local support or extensive consultant input to be used effectively.
Munters held an initial discussion with Antura about the possibility of implementing a pilot launch with Antura Projects. The aim was to assess the product’s functionality and how well it supported the operation’s needs. Following a successful four-month pilot run with users in both Sweden and Germany, the decision to progress to a broader introduction was an easy one.
“With Antura Projects we expect to be able to strengthen the project portfolio’s connection to our strategic goals, and to ensure we have sufficient resources to carry out the projects. We also have a quick and easy overview of our projects’ status in relation to budgets and timetables,” says Dr Lars Jonsson, Munters Group Vice President R&D.
Introduction and collaboration between Munters and Antura
Munters ran a core project with a team of 3-4 working closely alongside Antura’s consultants. Based on Munters’ project model, the group worked together to identify application areas and procedures that would streamline and visualize Munters’ overall project organization. Throughout the project, the Munters team have been important ambassadors and change agents for enabling the realization of the effects that were originally defined.
“During the process Antura’s consultants, who have extensive experience of portfolio management and PMO work, have been a great asset for discussing all kinds of problems that arise when working with this type of expert tool,” says Malin Ylvén Engman, R&D Manager at Munters.
“The immediate benefits of launching Antura Projects are that the right people and the right decision-making forums readily have access to the right parts of the project portfolio, which makes it easier to consider which projects should be prioritized and determine the overall health of the portfolio. It’s also easier to get a good overview of the resource status. This quality of overview makes it possible to plan when projects can actually be carried out by identifying any bottlenecks,” says Viktor Hansson, Director Program Management Office, Business Development & PMO at Munters.
Geographical and functional distribution
In 2013, the introduction of Antura Projects focused on the R&D portfolio and resources involved in product development projects. The majority of users are based in Stockholm and at a site in Germany, and resources from across Europe are planned to be brought in. In 2014 Munters is planning to extend its use both geographically and functionally, by planning resources also outside of Europe, and deploying further function areas in Antura Projects. One application of interest for further exploration is project economics.
Munters is about to launch the use of a customized report that will make it easier to monitor a project’s ability to meet its set goals in terms of economics/budget and delivery times – something that is expected to lead to better forecasts and greater delivery precision in the future.
“Antura Projects helps us in our efforts to improve and strengthen our management models and project methodology, throughout the group. So for us, the introduction of Antura Projects is just one part of a far broader change process – a process which Antura Projects facilitates in crucial ways. It will be a true revelation to have a collective picture of all the projects throughout the group,” says Johan Nygren, Vice President R&D Asia and Pacific & R&D PMO.