3 min read

Why demand management is particularly relevant in IT

Picture of Ulrike Wanner Ulrike Wanner : 06.11.2020

Portfolio- und Demandmanagement Projektmanagement Software

Demand management in IT - significance and challenges

Functioning demand management is a necessity in every company. In IT, it is often the key to the success or failure of the entire business operation. Every modern company today is dependent on a functioning demand management. Without it, the well-rehearsed process flow breaks down in a very short time. This leads to expensive planning errors, which in turn lead to unpleasant interruptions or - in an emergency - even to a complete standstill of business operations.

Demand management in IT is therefore of great importance when it comes to securing business workflows, performance and competitive strength.

Demand Management definition

Demand management - also known as demand management - basically includes all concepts and procedures that serve to comprehensively understand, correctly assess and specifically control the needs of the company. Successful demand planning thus ensures that the capacities of the company are used optimally and that internal operational processes are organized economically.

The aim of demand management is therefore to answer the following questions:

What goods or services will customers buy in the near future
will probably request?
How well the company is currently preparing to fulfill the tasks ahead
is prepared?
Are the existing operational resources and capacities sufficient?
in order to cope with incoming order peaks - or even complex
projects - to meet the expectations of the customer in the best
possible way, both in terms of fulfill.

What is special about IT Demand Management

Demand Management IT has the special task of identifying and understanding current IT requirements and then implementing these in IT projects. Demand management in the IT sector thus ensures that the company's internal IT is always optimally aligned with the individual requirements of the company, fully encompasses and fully supports all business processes.

The four demand management processes

Effective demand management consists of four basic processes:

Identification of the requirements

The aim is to determine what technical equipment or performance is currently required to optimally meet customer requirements.

Disclosure of the identified needs for discussion

The identified need is then assessed at management level.

Development of optimal solutions

The proposed solutions will be examined for their efficiency and the best solution will then be selected.

Calculation of the required demand

The demand is then economically evaluated and invoiced internally.

The most important principles in demand management

In order to implement the four phases successfully, management should adhere in particular to the following principles:

Building a strong communication culture

Seamless communication between the departments and the management level ensures that all necessary information is exchanged quickly and unhindered. In this way, customer requirements and needs can be identified, assessed and implemented in good time.

Define fixed responsibilities

Clearly defined accountability ensures that the right people can be called in immediately to use their knowledge and expertise to support management in assessing needs.

Precise eye for detail

The internal processes must be precisely documented to ensure that the entire - often complex - processes are optimally considered when implementing customer requirements.

Clear accounting structures

These ensure that the decisions taken actually bring the company a discernible benefit and are therefore economically meaningful.

Suitable tools

Demand management is a comprehensive process involving a large number of figures, data and analyses. The use of the right demand management tools ensures that all decisions are made using modern means, complete data and based on comprehensive knowledge, so that customer requirements are always implemented efficiently and effectively with the company's existing capacities.

Demand Management Solutions from Can Do

Can Do is a strong partner in modern resource and project planning.

We offer demand management tools that optimally support your company in implementing demand planning professionally and securely.

Your company benefits from Can Do project management software in particular through:

Standardized requests, which are always sent to the appropriate
department for evaluation.
Complete cost estimates and feasibility studies, which are
clear and easy to use dashboard with each other be compared in
order to be able to quickly assess the extent to which capacities of
the company for the execution of the upcoming task are sufficient.
Quick and reasoned decisions that reduce the administrative burden
and ensure higher efficiency.

Easy to use, the Can Do solution is ideal for agile project management, where rapid decision-making processes are required at short intervals to ensure smooth project progress.

Conclusion

Successfully implementing demand management not only requires broad knowledge and many years of experience. Above all, it requires a modern software solution that supports the decision-makers in their task.

We deliver the solution and are happy to advise you in Germany and Switzerland.

Mastering challenges in engineering and planning offices

Thomas Schlereth : 15.11.2024

Engineering and planning offices are the driving force behind many industries, from construction and manufacturing to energy and environmental...

Project Management Office portfolio and demand management project management tools Project planning

Conny Düran : 15.11.2024

Projects, regardless of their size and industry, are always associated with risks. These risks can significantly impact a project's success if not...

project management tools risk management