”Meisterplan supportsmanagement to make faster

decisions.”Iris Seiffert, PMO, TUIfly.com

CASE STUDY

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AT A GLANCE

Improve what you have:Ideal planning with MeisterplanTHE CHALLENGETUIfly.com is one of the most popular online travel brands in Germany and Europe. Customers can find a wide selection of cheap flights, hotels, holiday options, car rental, travel insurance and much more. In order to implement all of the technical demands and business goals to make the portal successful, the planning and management team needs a clear view of all resources that are required for this purpose.

THE SOLUTION The Flight Only & Consolidator division of TUI (and further of TUIfly.com) decided after a long evaluation period in the summer of 2014 to use Meisterplan. Unlike other previous project portfolio management (PPM) solutions, with Meisterplan the PM office is now in a position to realistically and feasibly plan for a project portfolio.

BENEFITSAlternative plan scenarios can be simulated directly by the decision-making body in real time, and adjusted where needed. Bottlenecks and dependencies are visible in one complete overview. The solution is clear for Iris Seiffert, Senior Manager PMO Flight Only & Consolidator: “Meisterplan sharpened our awareness of resource requirements and availability. The software enables us to realistically evaluate the feasibility of our project portfolio.“

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THE COMPANY � Branch: tourism � Founded in 1928 � 30 million clients

MEISTERPLAN PROJECT INFORMATION � High volatility in project and

resource planning � High standards of scenarios

and decision support � Integration of diverse

project data sources � License model: on premise

THE SUCCESS STORY

A booking portal like TUIfly.com is a digital product requiring constant development, optimization and real innovations. Add to this the technical requirements of the global reservation systems interface and the implementation of legal requirements on the federal or EU level, and it‘s clear that a perfectly coordinated and planned project portfolio management system (PPM) is a mission-critical application. Ideally, the project portfolio is composed so that the projects with the highest rele-vance also receive the highest priority for the company‘s goals. The available resources are optimally distributed to all projects, and the effects of any changes are transparent and easily shown to all decision makers.

MEISTERPLAN COMPLEMENTS THE EXISTING PORTFOLIO PLANNING PROCESS IN AN IDEAL WAY

TUIfly.com is involved in many projects, though typical for their line of business. Projects range from: web development (usability, new functionalities, e.g. web check-in), direct connection of airlines (e.g. Lufthansa to Turkish Airlines), marketing projects (the introduction of a comprehensive CRM system), reorganization projects (merging of divisions), or specific product development (ancillary services). It‘s for this reason that Meisterplan replaces the previous Excel-based solution to create in-house

portfolio scenarios and enhance the MS Project Server 2010. Iris Seiffert, who controls the project and portfolio management at TUIfly.com, thought long and hard about this decision. In the following interview, she explains her motives and expectations for the new PPM tool:

IRIS, WHAT‘S THE REASON YOU WOULD WANT TO USE A SOFTWARE LIKE MEISTER-PLAN IN YOUR ORGANIZATION?

In 2011, the division Flight Only & Consolidator opted for the professionalization of project management and established

the first permanent PMO as a decentralized organizational unit of TUI Germany GmbH. The first step then was to focus on standardizing the ‘surgical procedure‘ for project management. To do so, in 2012 we developed and implemented a project managment guide and capacity building within the region. This set the cornerstone for a strategic portfolio and resource manangement process. In tandem, a project board with representatives from the Flight Only & Consolidator Management was created. Together they decide on the planning and implementation of projects. This process occurs alongside another binding process, setting the framework for the assessment and prioritization of project ideas as well as the release and control of

Create a healthy and seamlessly integrated

portfolio

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individual projects. However, the weaknesses in these processes quickly became clear. A rapidly changing digital environment complemented by a top-down push for surprise projects completely torpedoed the overall process. Many adjustments were needed, hence causing an immense effort. An important question, like ‘How does adding another project into the portfolio affect resources and the timing of other projects?‘ was only partially answered by using data from MS Project Server 2010 and our Excel spreadsheets. Thus, the desire for a tool that was able to easily track the changing demands in the portfolio and to make the direct impact on the portfolio planning recognizable quickly arose. After a lengthy evaluation phase, we finally decided in the summer of 2014 to go with Meisterplan.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS WITH THE USE OF MEIS-TERPLAN AT TUIFLY.COM?

The three main goals are: faster processes, automation and optimal utilization of key and bottleneck resources. We were able to achieve the first two goals with Meisterplan as the software supports the accelerated decision-making process

of portfolio planning and adaptation management.With our previous processes, we had already established a high degree of transparency in both the project environment and the resources situation, but the frequency of changes meant we had to invest a lot of time to make adjustments. Moreover, the impact on the resource availability and the project schedule was cumbersome and required a lot of manual effort. But all of this has completely changed with Meisterplan. The third goal of “optimal utilization of key and bottleneck resources“ refers to one of our special conditions: the presence of numerous specialists and thus head monopolies severely limits the scheduling of projects in Flight Only & Consolidator. These key resources were previously quickly scheduled or overbooked. The optimal use of key resources across all projects is, therefore, an equally important goal that we pursue through Meisterplan.

YOU‘VE ONLY USED MEISTERPLAN FOR A FEW MONTHS NOW, BUT WHICH SPECIFIC RESULTS HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE?

We use Meisterplan mainly for portfolio scenarios,

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LÖSUNG

capacity planning and project budgeting. The transparency and effects of our portfolio in relationship to our business goals are very important to us. As previously mentioned, the plan for our portfolio is not very long-lasting. Changing framework conditions, new requirements and developments in the digital environment necessitate immediate reactions. With Meisterplan, these adjustments can be made quickly and are immediately reflective in the plan. The tool thus provides the necessary support for the management to quickly make decisions. One aspect, that is of particular benefit to the management: the possibility to directly see the impacts of any additions made to the portfolio. This can be and is used in discussions with upper manangement and can either justify or eliminate the gut feelings that resources may be insufficient for new requirements. Impressively, all of this can now be visualized in almost one click with Meisterplan. This has led to some rethinking in top management. As a result, the strategic relevancy of the projects is discussed. Sometimes this requires moving already planned-for projects under the “cut-off line.“

WHICH WERE THE DECISIVE REASONS IN THE SELECTION OF MEISTERPLAN?

Meisterplan convinced us through the following features:

1. ability to make simulations,2. easy transfer of data from MS Project and Excel, 3. speed (when adding projects and resources), 4. SaaS web-based tool, no additional purchases

required, 5. good cost-to-benefit ratio.

THE CREATION OF A HEALTHY PORTFOLIO – SEAMLESSLY INTEGRATED WITH THE BEST PRACTICES

It was the desire of TUIfly.com to maintain their proven five-step portfolio management planning process. This challenge was easily met by the experts at itdesign, as Meisterplan is based on the existing system. This means that, regardless of whether a PPM system or Excel is used, the data can be directly transferred to Meisterplan with the help of the correct interface. It was precisely with this data transfer that Meisterplan solved the specific management problem, and not only for TUIfly.com. For the first time, data of different calibers was honed together in one tool. All necessary data is aggregated into Meisterplan and any supplemental data can be directly added into the software. Using Meisterplan, there is now a common view of the project portfolio for all responsible parties. Further-more, this overview is available before any decisions are made. Iris Seiffert is convinced, “Today we‘re quickly able to make clear statements at a managerial level about resource supply and demand. Everything that we had previously interpreted with great difficulty using a large Excel file is today clearly and graphically presented to our decision-making body. Things such as resource reallocations, phase shifts, budget changes or the feasibility for new projects can all be changed in real time by the responsible parties. Today, these individuals can play out scenarios in meetings and immediately make decisions.“

For coherent planning of a project portfolio, optimal management of one‘s resources is imperative. By using Meisterplan, the PMO TUIfly.com is able to identify the distribution of

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“Changing framework conditions, new requirements and developments in the digital environment necessitate

immediate reactions. With Meisterplan, these adjustments can be made quickly and are

immediately reflective in the plan.“

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“THE DECISION MAKERS CAN THUS JOINTLY AND DIRECTLY DEVELOP PORTFOLIOSOLUTIONS.“

resources at the department, role, or staff level, including the respective capacities and planned utilization. Iris Seiffert states, “In the past, bottlenecks came to light only after the portfolio was planned. Today, I see them before. I cannot imagine anything less than an optimized scenario for my colleagues in the decision-making body. This saves us a lot of time, discussions and ultimately money and resources.“

INTELLIGENT SUPPORT FOR PPM AT TUIFLY.COM: REAL-TIME COLLABORATION WITH THE NEW MEISTERPLAN TOOL

A major difficulty for TUIfly.com was hidden in the dependencies, previously not visible through the portfolio planning process using Excel. With Meisterplan, these dependencies now come to light. During decision-making rounds, senior managers can simulate alternatives in real time. Through this process, they are able to resolve bottlenecks by redeploying resources and see how changes affect the budget and underlying business goals. The decision makers can thus, directly and jointly

develop solutions for the portfolio. Following this resolution, they are easily able to convert the choosen scenario into existing reporting structures or communicate these changes through the integrated reports available in Meisterplan. This new form of collaboration brings TUIfly.com major advantages. With each step of the planning process, capacities, allocations, financial data and the business goals are all taken into account. This leads to better overall project performance and sustainable utilization.

Photo: Interactive portfolio and resource planning with Meisterplan

“In the past, bottlenecks always came to light after the portfolio was planned.

Today, I see them before. I cannot imagine any less than an optimized

scenario for my colleagues in the decision-making body. This saves us a lot of time, discussions and ultimately money

and resources.“

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ABOUT TUI DEUTSCHLAND GMBHTUI Deutschland GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of the TUI Group, the worldwide leader in the tourism industry based in Hannover, Germany. Besides the core brand TUI, numerous other well known tour operators and brands belong to the TUI Group. Brands such as 1-2-Fly, Airtours and L‘tur, the popular holiday airline, as well as specialists like Gebecco and Berge & Meer are all a part of their business portfolio, covering the full range of travel for individuals from premium to budget. Bundled under the umbrella of the TUI Group, lie 1,800 travel agencies and leading online portals, six airlines with more than 130 aircrafts, over 300 hotels, 12 cruise ships and destination agencies in all major holiday destinations. The companies that are a part of the group are represented in 180 countries and together serve more than 30 million customers. TUI Group shares are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange FTSE, a benchmarked index of the British stock exchange and of the German open market.

Photo credits: TUI Deutschland GmbH, itdesign GmbH

ABOUT MEISTERPLANMeisterplan is an interactive project portfolio and resource management software. The software enables key decision makers to understand complex working dependencies and restrictions. Working with the software enhances high-quality decision making to maximize priorities, budgeting and resource planning.

ABOUT ITDESIGNWith more than 15 years of experience in project and portfolio management, itdesign specializes in the development of resource intelligence systems for management support. The company prides itself on long-term satisfied client relationships. Meisterplan software is an itdesign developed product, the direct result of solid client communication and the need for high-level project portfolio planning.

Iris Seiffert, Senior Manager PMO Flight Only & Consolidator, has been at TUI Deutschland GmbH in various positions since 1997. In 2011 she built the Project Management Office. Seiffert is a certified GPM Level D and in addition to running the PMO office at TUIfly.com, she also controls the projects under TUI4U, a wholly owned subsidiary of TUI Deutschland GmbH, headquartered in Bremen.

Are you ready for more transparency in your PPM?Call us at + 49 7071 3667-7600 or test Meisterplan FREE for 30 days at www.meisterplan.com.

For more information, please visit www.itdesign.de.

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Meisterplan A product from itdesign GmbHKarlstraße 372072 TübingenTel.: +49 7071 3667-60Tel.: 1-888-908-5834Fax: +49 7071 3667-89E-Mail: mail@meisterplan.comwww.meisterplan.com