Allowing organizations to centrally manage all their projects across different departments, from initial planning and forecasting to execution, monitoring, and closure, the Enterprise Portfolio and Project Management (EPPM) module within SAP S/4HANA is a comprehensive tool for managing projects at the portfolio level, providing a holistic view and enabling better decision-making.
In a recent ASUG webcast, Renato Zadro, Chief Solution Expert in Enterprise Portfolio and Project Management (EPPM) at SAP, unpacked how to effectively leverage SAP S/4HANA’s EPPM capabilities through cloud-based collaboration and AI functionality. Zadro illustrated how SAP Cloud for Projects and SAP Analytics Cloud can enhance project management processes while offering a glimpse into the future of EPPM with SAP’s AI co-pilot, Joule.
Many customers rely on decoupled solutions with data “distributed across multiple spreadsheets, project management schedules, cost planning, again, in spreadsheets, and so on,” said Zadro. These disparate processes demand an integrated approach to project management. One is EPPM, a project management suite that “covers the entire project lifecycle from the portfolio management to financial planning, capacity planning, scheduling, resource management, and execution,” he said.
Tightly integrated into S/4HANA, EPPM unifies finance, controlling, procurement, and human resource management processes in a single platform. SAP also offers cloud solutions that enhance EPPM’s collaboration, planning, and resource management capabilities.
Collaborative Project Management and Informed Financial Planning
With SAP Cloud for Projects, a public cloud solution built on the SAP Business Technology Platform, organizations can connect S/4HANA data with external project partners. “If you want to enhance your project information with digital twin information, the collaboration and the facilitation of the communication in a project can be actually achieved with Cloud for Projects,” Zadro explained.
This solution allows users to import project schedules, share them with external partners, and leverage 3D visualization through BIM models. These collaborators can be invited to the platform, assigned project tasks, and initiate issue resolutions or change processes directly within the platform.
Another component of Cloud for Projects is resource management, designed to streamline the staffing process from resource requests to assignment and utilization monitoring. Additionally, it can read resource demand from SAP S/4HANA, public cloud edition, and, with custom code, from the private cloud edition.
Among the solution’s standout features is AI-based intelligent employee-to-project matching, currently available as a beta version. “With the intelligent matching of employees, we do not just match direct skills," he explained. "We look for similar skills that actually may also be a good fit and then propose this to the resource manager.” By analyzing CVs and past project assignments to identify suitable resources, this functionality can save around 15-30 minutes per request.
SAP Analytics Cloud now offers a content package that enables portfolio and project managers to align bottom-up planning requests with top-down budget plans. An intuitive frontend makes it easy for users to maintain detailed financial plans. “It’s not required anymore to go to the professional user interface and then actually do this type of planning,” noted Zadro.
During a typical planning process walk-through, he demonstrated how project managers can create budget requests, which are then consolidated by budget managers and reviewed by portfolio managers for top-down distribution. By providing a comprehensive view of actual costs, planned costs, and budgets, SAP Analytics Cloud facilitates informed decision-making and resource allocation.
What's Next: Artificial Intelligence for EPPM
Looking ahead, SAP plans to introduce AI co-pilot Joule to EPPM functionality in SAP S/4HANA. “We want to use that to make the work faster for the users, because the AI can actually understand the business and provide recommendations, summarization, and so on,” said Zadro, noting that AI will also help users get more intelligent insights into their data and projects.
Planned capabilities include navigational skills, such as accessing relevant purchasing documents or changing work-breakdown-structure (WBS) element statuses; context information, like weather forecasts for project launch days; and summarization skills, including generating project summaries and email generation. Zadro cautioned that plans can always change, so staying up-to-date with developments is essential.
As organizations seek to optimize their project management processes, the cloud-based collaboration and AI capabilities offered by Cloud for Projects, Analytics Cloud, and Joule’s integration with EPPM promise to provide an even more comprehensive solution for streamlining operations, improving resource allocation, and making data-driven project management decisions.