PPM 5 - Initiatives can be used for ideation process?

[Former Member]

Hi All,

We are currently using project management component of PPM 5 to manage production schedules for a media company. We were now thinking of bringing the source evaluation part or the ideation part of the process in the system. This process is highly iterative and goes through few decision points. After evaluating quality of the source and budget feasibility, one of the many sources is green lit for production (which is a project in our case).

Any ideas on if any component of PPM 5 can be used in such scenarios? Can initiative be used for this purpose? Can you convert an parts of an initiative to an active project?

Any help on this appreciated!

Thanks,

Payal.

[amit_maheshwari2 · Accepted solution]

Hi Payal,

SAP Edison Idea Management will be apt for you requirement.

Please check with SAP about its availability.

Cheers

A

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thanks so much for your prompt response Amit. But from what I understand, Edison is still in ramp-up?

We are looking to implement the solution in next 3 months, so not sure if Edison will be an option.

[amit_maheshwari2 · Accepted solution]

Hi Payal,

As per my understanding, SAP PPM will not be the right choice for idea management.

Please check other tools in market if Edison is not available.

Cheers

A

[schneidertho]

Hi Payal,

my thoughts are as follows:

1) I agree to what Amit writes. I don't think that PPM is the appropriate choice for idea management (where you would e.g. like to collect ideas company-wide, create targeted ideations)

2) I don't know what the current status of 'Edison' is. That is a question somebody else has to answer.

3) But you can use PPM for the project ideation phase from my perspective.

Whether you use initiatives or portfolio items, needs to be evaluated. To a certain extend, I believe, it is a matter of taste.

A process with items could be (but please verify this, since I am not a media expert): you capture new project ideas as items, you plan high level costs, you use (maybe) questionnaires to evaluate the feasibility, you use scoring models to compare different project ideas. You 'move' the project ideas from decision point to decision point. If a project idea is 'approved' you create the project (in the project management component of PPM and potentially also in the PS module of ERP). You can now plan the project in detail, execute it, map the actuals back to the high level plan done at the very beginning.

Best regards

Thorsten