Issue

Since time and budget management are the key performance indicators of any project. Syensqo's project management procedure requires the project managers to deliver the projects on time and under budget. Whilst the budget management and cost tracking is performed in the ERP (WP1 and PF1) SAP applications and Colmar, dates/schedule management is managed offline. There is no single standardized application or tool to perform the project dates/schedule management. Project dates are managed differently as per GBU or the project managers in various applications such as Google sheets, MSP, Primavera etc. 

This KDD intends to evaluate potential solution options to recommend the standardized and consistent approach to project schedule/dates management.

Recommendation

Based on the analysis and evaluation presented in this document, Integrate with Project Schedule Management application (Option A in this document) is recommended for effective and comprehensive management of the dates/schedule aspects of Syensqo's project management. 

Background & Context

Schedule management in project management is the process of planning, developing, controlling, and monitoring a project timeline to make sure that tasks and activities are completed on time. Currently in Syensqo, the management of dates and tasks are managed in various applications and it is up to the GBU and/or project managers discretion. Project dates/schedule are managed in various 3rd party applications such a Google sheets, Microsoft projects or Primavera depending on the complexity and the nature of the project.  It is required to have flexibility that allows simple projects to have simplified plan and complex projects with several tasks and interdependencies.  However, these dates doesn't integrate with the Project financial management application (ERP WP1 or PF1) or process. 

There is a lack of integrated project schedule management with project financial management. If there is a variation of timelines or delays due to change in scope or other issues, there is no visibility of the impacts on project budget/costs in a timely manner. Accurate project forecasts cannot be done and therefore this leads to delay in decision making and delivery of the project.

Opportunities

Integrating the project schedule management application with the project financial management process/application across Syensqo presents multiple benefits, including informed decision making, project tracking and timely delivery of benefits aimed by the project.

Assumptions

• SAP S/4HANA EPPM will be the primary project portfolio management application used for financial management of all types of projects (simple, medium or complex) in various domains such as Industrial solutions, R&I, IT
• The detailed management of project execution and project tasks, schedules, and resources will continue to be performed in the 3rd party application to provide the flexibility and ease of management
• Analysis & assessment of the various existing applications (MSP, Primavera etc.) for detailed schedule/dates management will be done in detailed design

Constraints

Analysis & assessment of the various applications (MSP, Primavera etc.) for detailed schedule/dates management will determine the complexity of the integration required with project financial management application and process.

Impacts

Standardization - Requires standardization of process and application for Project schedule management

Data quality and migration - Requires consolidation, sourcing and cleansing of data from various applications for seamless integration

Business Rules

Detailed business rules will be determined during detailed design phase to standardize and integrate with Project financial management application

Options considered

Option A: Integrate with Project Schedule Management application

Project schedule/dates are critical to the delivery of project objectives and benefits on time. Delay in the project can lead to delayed realization of the benefits and impacts the return on investments. Typically the project schedule/dates management are done at (granular) Task level whereas the project financial management is performed at the (summarized) key deliverables level using work breakdown structures based (WBS) on assets being delivered.  It is critical to get the right balance of information from project schedule management to integrate with the project financial management. Dates/duration of the detailed tasks are summarized and integrated with the Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) to determine the delivery of each phase or deliverable of project. SAP S/4HANA EPPM (Enterprise portfolio and project management) offers integration capability with different third-party schedule management systems such as Primavera or MSP.

Benefits of Integration

• Allows optimized Work Breakdown structure without complicating the operational 

It is important that large complex projects are managed at a detailed level and any deviation due to scope or resource availability are managed to determine the impacts on the budget availability. Project forecasting is heavily dependent on the project schedule and expected completion dates of the project.

Since project schedule/tasks management is Detailed Tasks and durations in the project schedule management application is summarized to determine the completion dates for each phases or deliverables of the project.  SAP S/4HANA EPPM (Enterprise portfolio and project management) offers integration capability with different third-party schedule management systems such as Primavera or MSP.

Therefore, an interface with the project schedule management application is required with SAP S/4HANA EPPM for seamless integration of Project financial management.  

Option B: Continue as-is

Evaluation

	Option A	Option B	Option C	Option D
Criterion 1	Pro Con	Pro Pro	Pro Con	Pro Con
Criterion 2	Pro Con	Con	Pro Pro	Con Con
Criterion 3	Pro	Con	Con	Pro

See also

Change log

Workflow history