Community Forum – Portfolio Management Software

What software do you use to manage your portfolio?

We are interested in better understanding, from a users’ perspective, what software / tools you use to manage your innovation projects and portfolios, particularly from a global perspective within a decentralized organization. What works, what doesn’t, what helps to manage, track, and communicate status of projects / portfolios / innovation funnels? What supports the collaboration effort? What would you do differently next time around? – Ned Jarmas, Director – Innovation: Science, Technology & Nutrition, Bunge Ltd

Community Response

Marty Cohen, Director of Commercial Technology, Michelman, Inc.
At Michelman, we use an internally developed software package to manage our innovation projects.  As an international organization with both laboratories and business centers in North America, Europe, and Asia, the global, externally-managed, web-based system allows us to manage, track, and review our business and innovation programs.  The system allows us to communicate and discuss all phases of the project:

• Submission
• Internal review
• Requirements
• Regulatory
• Plans
• Project planning
• Development activities
• Project assessment and evaluations
• On-going project activities
• Tracking
• Scale-up
• Commercial activities
• Project closure and review

We use very regular (but brief) project discussions and teleconferences.  The software supports the key requirements of frequent communication and feedback.  The software is a tool, not the purpose.  Without the internal and external dialog focused on requirements, progress, and commercial requirements (all based on customer and market measures of success), commercial customer and market success will be extremely difficult to achieve.  

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