Managing enhancement requests

Product teams and IT departments often receive project ideas from within their organizations and from external sources, such as customers. However, they don't always have the resources to immediately implement those ideas. They need a method of collecting and storing ideas, while they evaluate them.  

Polaris PPM lets IT and portfolio managers log ideas and suggestions in the form of ’requests’, which they can then evaluate to identify which ones they want to implement. Once they've prioritized ideas, managers can create projects from the requests and go forward with planning and execution.

To help these teams identify ideas that provide the highest value, Polaris PPM offers several features like statuses, scores, and criteria checklists.

Creating a request

To create a request:

1. Click Requests in the main menu.

2. Click the + Request button located at the bottom right-hand corner of the page.

3. In the Add Request panel that displays on the right, enter a name and description for the request, along with the name of the team or department who suggested the idea.

4. Click the Add Request button.

A new request is added to the list of requests and a dialog for further action displays. In it, you can attach related documents or add additional information using the File/ Web Address button.

Evaluating requests

Once you've gathered requests, you'll want to evaluate which ones you want to implement, and in what order of priority. To do this, you can:

1. Set the status to Under Review
2. Assign requests a priority score
3. Compare requests
4. Check that requests meet basic project criteria

A. Setting the status to Under Review

To perform an initial filtering and set the status to Under Review:

1. Go to Requests.
2. Click a newly created request. The request panel displays and on the top right, the status is: New.
3. At the bottom of the side panel, click Review Request.

B. Assigning requests a priority score 

Polaris PPM offers a scoring feature designed to help rank requests so you can compare their potential return on investment (ROI). You can update the score as you gather more information.

The scoring feature is designed to generate a higher score when a request offers higher ROI and value to your organization, with lower risk.

To assign a score:

1. Select the request you want to apply a score to.

2. Click the in the Score section of the right panel that displays.
3. Assign the request scores for its value, investment, and risk by clicking and dragging the scroller. 

C. Comparing requests

The total score assigned to each request helps in comparing and prioritizing. You can view scores of all parameters of each request using the Settings menu. But you only need the total score to compare requests.

Once you've have multiple requests under review, and have assigned scores to each, you'll want to compare scores using the request list page.

Note: If you want to compare individual value, investment, and risk scores,  click the icon and enable those fields.

Once you've gauged which requests score highest, you might want to then evaluate whether they meet your criteria for implementation as a project.

D. Checking that requests meet basic project criteria

After assigning a score to the request, PMs review requests that have higher relative score.  They check that the request being considered meets certain criteria (such as resource readiness, etc.) before it can move forward into a project.

They can check these items, as the evaluation process progresses, coming back to this list as they collect data and evaluate various aspects of the request.

To view and check off the criteria:

1. Go to Requests.
2. Click the request with the status Under Review.
3. In the side panel that displays, click the of the Review Checklist section.
4. Check the box for each criterion that has been met.

5. Once the request meets all required criteria, you can click Approve Request.

You can create projects for approved requests using the Create Project link on the requests page, or within the request itself.

Creating a project from a request

Once you've evaluated a request, found it's worth pursuing based on its total score, and PMs have confirmed it meets your organization's basic project requirements, you'll need to create a project to get implementation of the request underway.

To create a project from a request:

1. Click Requests in the main menu.
   The list of requests from various departments and teams displays.
2. Click the Create Project link located to the right of the request.

3. Enter the new project’s details.

3. Click Add Project. A new project is created in your project list.
   You can now request resources and perform other project setup related activities.

FAQs

Can we track changes made to a request over time?

Yes, when viewing a request, simply click the icon and select Request History  to view its history.

This will launch a dialog showing the before and after of any changes made to the request's name, status, description, and requester, at what date/time, and by whom.

Can I add new criteria to the request checklist?

Yes, you can ask your administrator to add additional checklist items.

Can I reconsider a request after rejecting it?

Yes. After rejecting a request if you want to re-evaluate it, you can click the status menu at the bottom right-hand corner of the request panel and choose Review Request to re-evaluate the request.