Hierarchies in Clarity – Inspiration for Successful Deployment

How can our corporate strategy be implemented in the individual areas of the organization? Are we staying in budget? Which subprojects are required for the next product release? When we look at larger projects from a bird’s eye view, it can be difficult to keep an eye on all the factors critical to success. Similarly, it can also be challenging to not lose track of the bigger picture when we are confronted with a multitude of subprojects and tasks in our everyday lives.

A simple but effective method to keep track of them is to represent the entire project or portfolio as a hierarchy. There are ways to implement this, such as, for example, using project and portfolio management software, such as Clarity from Broadcom.

The Importance of Hierarchies in Project and Portfolio Management (PPM)

By hierarchies, we mean a visual representation that reflects the relationship between different investments and their dynamics within a project, initiative, or portfolio. Typically, an investment can have several sub-elements. However, within a hierarchy they are only assigned to one parent object. The result is a classic tree structure that provides all participants with simple information about all relevant topics, costs, and subprojects within a topic along with their dependencies.

This form of representation can create real added value for a wide range of use cases, from digitization to strategy projects and product management to business capability mapping. Accordingly, this visualization option can help a variety of roles in the organization to keep track of complex issues. Project managers, product managers, and IT managers are equally able to read the current status and to recognize areas where they should take a closer look or make adjustments. Likewise, various team members can also get a good idea of what their activities contribute to and what dependencies exist.

The Hierarchy Module in Clarity Offers Added Value

Broadcom’s PPM software Clarity has adopted this approach in its own hierarchy module, which offers a variety of advantageous features for structuring and aggregating projects and portfolios of all kinds. Our customers and colleagues particularly like to use the following features:

A custom layout to suit every use case: Various visualization options based on a tree structure, which can be presented vertically or horizontally, for example
The most important KPIs in one place: Mapping of the various metrics, such as planned and actual costs, budget deltas, percentage achievement of key results, or value scores on the individual cards in the tree structure
A quick overview of the current status: Aggregated metrics across different hierarchy levels
Views that are always up-to-date: Live data allows users to directly edit various attributes
Just one click to reveal the details: Access to modules such as Financials and Staff within the hierarchy so that users can view cost plans or compare booked times with planned resource allocations

Hierarchies in Clarity: A Variety of Display Options for the Tree Structure

Hierarchies in Clarity: Comparison of Resource Allocation Plans with Time Bookings in the Staff Module

Hierarchies in Clarity: Cost Plans in the Financials Module

It all sounds good in theory. But what does the use of the hierarchy module look like in practice, and how can the mentioned features be integrated into concrete use cases to create added value?
To do this, we will look at three different roles in an organization, each with its own typical use case.

Best Practices: Application Examples for Using the Hierarchy Module

As mentioned at the beginning, various roles in the company can benefit from the features of hierarchies. Let’s take a closer look at the different positions, the projects, and initiatives they are involved in, and the added value Clarity offers them!

Example 1: Strategy Manager Sibel and Mapping Corporate Strategy

As the strategy manager, Sibel is responsible for developing and overseeing her company’s strategy to support growth objectives, strengthen the core business, and develop and maintain competitive advantages. To this end, the organization follows the OKR management approach.

Both the corporate objectives and the strategy are assigned in a top-down manner to the company’s various areas, departments, and teams, and they are broken down into thematically appropriate sub-strategies with medium-term objectives and associated key results.

Sibel, Strategy Manager

The hierarchy module in Clarity allows me to easily get an overview of the corporate strategy and how it is implemented in the individual sub-areas. On the one hand, I can obtain a quick overview of how the strategy is being implemented by individual areas and which projects, initiatives, or measures are contributing to it. In addition, we record the percentage achievement of the key results on each card as well as information on whether they are “on track” or require support.

But I am not the only one who benefits from the hierarchical representation. Individual users can see at any time how their activities contribute to the global strategy, which is a motivating factor for many.

Hierarchies in Clarity: Corporate Strategy and OKRs Hierarchically Represented

Example 2: Product Line Manager Peter and Release Planning

As a product line manager, Peter manages a portfolio consisting of multiple company products, and he is responsible for creating, tracking, and monitoring all products within existing product lines. Especially when it comes to new development and release planning, there are many different projects and subprojects that contribute to the overall result. The ability to obtain a clear overview of the current status of the ongoing launch processes is worth its weight in gold. The hierarchical representation in Clarity can also be used profitably for this purpose.

Peter, Product Line Manager

I like to use the hierarchy module to quickly get a total overview of the release process of new products. In my role, I usually look at the ongoing process from a higher-level perspective. The hierarchical representation gives me a good understanding of the necessary subprojects and their dependencies. I can quickly see when a subproject is scheduled to be completed, and I always have an eye on the planned and actual costs of the various development stages. This feature allows me to obtain further information at an early stage and to derive necessary measures if the time or cost plan for the product release is at risk.

If I ever need other key figures in addition to the planned and actual costs, I can also display these quickly and easily in the cards for the individual projects.

Hierarchies in Clarity: Product and Release Management Mapping

Example 3: IT Manager Irina and Business Capability Mapping

Every organization uses a variety of software and technologies that serve different purposes. But how can you get a bird’s eye view of which tool is used in which area or on which team, whether the respective system is actually being used, and are users finding added value in the features? Keeping an eye on the current status surrounding these issues offers considerable potential for savings by trimming unnecessary costs. Hierarchies can also help to increase the transparency of this initiative. What could this look like?

In her role as IT manager, Irina also assumes responsibility for the systems at the company. She is involved in the selection and administration of these systems, and she regularly evaluates whether they are all relevant and add value.

Irina, IT Manager

I created a view in Clarity’s hierarchy module that breaks down the various tools in house by role. This makes it possible, for example, to determine whether there are several systems that serve the same purpose and are therefore potentially redundant.

We use the individual software cards to record a risk, technology, and value score as well as information about whether the tool is an on-premises or SaaS solution. Using these defined parameters, we can evaluate at regular intervals whether we are optimally positioned in terms of technology, whether upgrades or new solutions are necessary, or whether a software package is no longer relevant for us.

Hierarchies in Clarity: Business Capability Mapping

Hierarchies in Clarity: Business Capability Mapping Detailed View

These three examples are intended to give you an overview and provide you with inspiration about the sheer variety of areas where the hierarchy module can be used. In almost every business area there are roles that can gain added value from the hierarchical representation of their use cases – All they need to do is to identify the possible applications.

Conclusion: There Are So Many Reasons Why the Hierarchy Module Is Worth It!

Clear representation of complex issues and the dynamics between the individual topics, subtopics, and levels in a tree structure
A hierarchical representation of different levels that provides helpful insights from both a management perspective and for users
A wide range of possible applications, from classic project management and corporate strategy mapping to product release or even business capability mapping as well as other use cases
Depiction of metrics relevant to the use case directly on individual cards
Ability to call up a quick visualization of the current status of a given topic by aggregating the metrics across all hierarchy levels
Live data that always reflects the current status, with various attributes that can be edited on the fly
Direct access to different modules within the hierarchies so that you can quickly delve into further details

itdesign Is Your Expert in All Things Clarity

The use cases presented here are just a small sample of the solutions that our consultants have already developed and implemented for customers. Are you wondering how you can use the hierarchy module in Clarity for yourself? Or do you already have a specific use case and need support on how to best map this case in the system?

With over 20 years of Clarity experience, numerous implemented use cases, and in-depth expertise, we are happy to provide you with advice and support about how to map your requirements to the tool’s features in the best possible way. Please feel free to contact our consultants about how to get the most out of your Clarity system.

We Are Happy to Assist You with Your Use Cases

Are you interested in optimizing the use of the Hierarchy module in your Clarity system? We would be happy to exchange ideas on how we can map your approach in Clarity without any obligation.

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Patrick Schuler
Technical Sales Clarity

+49 7071 3667 60

ppm@itdesign.de

Hierarchies in Clarity – Sources of Inspiration for Successful Deployment

Hierarchies are a simple yet effective tool for clearly mapping different types of projects and initiatives and thus promoting transparency and guiding your employees. We share with you our best practices on how you can map various use cases in the corresponding Clarity module.