Driving global efficiency in SBM Offshore with Projectum xPM

SBM is a big organization with many internal procedures. They were spending a lot of time and money on different processes and collating information.

As part of a move to streamline processes they implemented a new stage gate model – and they needed a tool to support it. They had four different tools spread across departments but decided to implement the same tool to maximize efficiency and minimize time spent and number of errors.

SBM is an organization with many departments that used their own methods and procedures to run internal projects. It was hard to get a clear overview of the status and benefits of all the internal projects.

There was a need to streamline all the various processes and procedures. A new stage-gate model was introduced to all departments for all internal projects.

SBM Offshore chose Projectum xPM out of a shortlist of four solutions. They chose Projectum xPM because it fulfilled their needs: it was simple, easy to use, and it runs on the Microsoft Power Platform, which meant that it was easy to integrate with the current set up.

SBM Offshore focused on getting the new way of working up and running quickly. They took Projectum xPM almost out-of-the-box with minor configurations and were up and running in 3 weeks.

Through a six-month pilot implementation where Projectum xPM ran on the Projectum Azure environment, they refined the product before running it on their own Azure environment.

“Projectum xPM standardized all the internal projects, the reporting, the ways of working.”

As the internal projects became streamlined, they were able to gather more insights to improve their governance structure. For example, they implemented approval procedures in their gates to ensure that projects moved ahead with the right information in place.

” In Projectum xPM, it’s easy to have all your information in one place – and you only need to enter it once.”

As they became more mature, they expanded their stage-gate model from four stages to six.

SBM Offshore are continuously working with Projectum to expand Projectum xPM based on internal needs and requests, as well as the opportunities Projectum xPM provides

At first Projectum xPM was implemented to streamline the internal processes, creating one way of working for Portfolio and Project managers. This improved the consolidated reporting on projects and portfolios.

With the introduction of creating all the mandatory gate documents directly from the data in Projectum xPM using Present-it, the use of Projectum xPM got another boost for the project managers. By entering all data in Projectum xPM they could generate the necessary documents with ease.

” We use Present It a lot. You put the data in once, and with the click of a button, you generate the documentation you need with all the right information.”

The power of AI

SBM Offshore are front runners in using AI.

They use AI for risk generation, SWOT analysis, and lessons learned within Projectum xPM

AI runs on all their project data. SBM Offshore uses it as a foundation for identifying risks, performing analysis, and getting lessons learned. However, there’s always a human who evaluates the content. AI is a tool that gives them a starting point.

“Push the button then the AI in Projectum xPM generates possible risks. We evaluate if they make sense – most of the time, they do make sense, and we just use them.”

The same process happens with lessons learned – SBM Offshore uses all the data in Projectum xPM to generate possible lessons learned from similar projects as a starting point for a new project.

The lessons learned captured during the lifecycle of a project will also be stored in the Projectum xPM database. These Lessons learned along with possible action points are also automatically written to a SharePoint list so they can also be used for non-Projectum xPM users.

”AI makes things simpler.”

SBM has worked hard to identify where AI makes sense for them. It’s important to still engage with your projects and data.

”AI can give us a summary of all the projects in a portfolio. That saves us a lot of work, while still giving us the insights we need.”

SBM appreciates the forward-thinking approach of Projectum. There are always new features coming out – And if these features improve the way of working within SBM, they implement them easily.

SBM Offshore is in the process of implementing Power Hub and What If so they will be able to do trend analysis on their portfolios and projects. SBM Offshore plans to use What If to simulate the impact new initiatives will have on the financials and the resource capacity.

Furthermore, Power Hub comes with a lot of standard reports that can provide value for SBM Offshore.

”Power Hub gives us different standard reports that make a lot of sense for us.”

SBM Offshore is also looking into the AI capabilities of generating summary progress reports on the portfolio level based on the underlying project progress reports. They would also like to connect Projectum xPM to their financial system to have the actual financials in Projectum xPM.

“We are a global corporation. Everything is online. Projectum xPM helps us stay on top of what is going on.”