Photo: Tuusula / Antti Kallio
First, a development portfolio was introduced in Tuusula, followed by piloting of the objective portfolio
The Tuike project model was developed in the municipality of Tuusula during 2015-2016, and the project portfolio was built in Sharepoint. The project was a good foundation from which it was easy to start further development.
The project model itself served well but the model reporting with Word and PowerPoint was found to be time-consuming and cumbersome. There was also a desire for more visibility into the development activities. On this basis, we started looking for a new tool, recalls Development Manager Hanna Virkki, in the early stages of the procurement project.
– We noticed that several municipalities and companies already use Thinking Portfolio. I also had experience of the application from my previous job, where the Thinking Portfolio was in use.
Tuusula’s Thinking Portfolio implementation project first started with the piloting of the development portfolio, followed by the piloting of the objective portfolio. Now both are in the implementation phase.
– The completion of the objective and development portfolios is still in early stages, but we are implementing it in smaller groups by service areas and units.
In the future, interim reports of the objectives are made in the portfolio. That means that the planning is also done there.
– When we presented the portfolio to the city council, we received excellent feedback from the trustees. They were especially pleased that with the help of Thinking Portfolio, they could clearly see everything that is going on in the development.
The connection between the objectives, measures and development projects is shown in the portfolio
The Tuusula portfolio includes development implementations and projects in a cross-sectional manner at the municipal level, and various branches have similarly described their development activities there. These can be viewed, depending on the filtering options, from many different perspectives and provide a comprehensive view of ongoing operations.
The goal is to highlight the strategic entities, i.e., how the objectives of the term and the annual goals and the projects supporting them have progressed and how they are linked to each other.
It is also planned to make more use of the portfolio’s reporting in the future. Currently, the development portfolio reports are in good shape, and objective reports will be edited after the reporting requirements associated with it are first fully realized.
– In the past, we did not have an easy way to combine objectives, measures, and development implementations. Now that we can do so, it will be interesting to see how many of the objectives are project-specific development and how many of the objectives will turn into projects for the next year.
Development managers support portfolio deployment
Tuusula’s portfolio is developed and supplemented by quality first because the portfolio is wanted to be a reliable tool to support decision-making. The Development Office is responsible for development work, cooperating with the branch development managers. Development managers are aware of the functionality of the portfolio, as they were already involved in the definition and piloting. The Development Office also supports management, as well as all other users, to get the most out of the portfolio.
The Thinking Portfolio Network provides tips for users
User feedback has been extremely positive, especially now when there is one tool that presents the situation from many angles and allows development implementation to be promptly reported while sipping a cup of coffee. A user can also make small files themselves and by using tips from other users gain efficiency, describes Hanna Virkki.
– We have received a lot of advice and tips from other Thinking Portfolio customers. Therefore, we feel the user community network and Thinking Portfolio client events where users meet to hear how others have taken advantage of the portfolio are helpful and they can learn something from each other.
