We have been asking for some enhancements in the domain management module. There are things that we have to ask about, whether they're even possible to implement, but they're more cosmetic, look-and-feel issues, rather than functionality.

Micro Focus PPM should be less dependent on coding. It could also benefit from some updates to the software architecture. These have been on the roadmap for years now, but they haven't been released. 

The ability to integrate Agile tools and synchronize the execution layer back into PPM was offered in the product, but initially, that capability was not very good. I had worked with Micro Focus and got a lot of things fixed. In its current state it has improved a lot, but it is not quite there. There is still a lot of improvement needed. The set of people who are actually using it is quite small, frankly. Everything in this context takes place within Jira, for us, and not in PPM.

And when it comes to PPM's built-in capabilities to support Lean Portfolio Management and be aligned to Scaled Agile Framework initiatives I can't comment, other than to say that those areas are still evolving in PPM. It has a long way to go.

I would also like to see improvement in PPM's reporting and alerts. PPM has reporting capabilities, including HTML reports and portlets. But a majority of clients will build their own reporting platforms, or they will use external reporting platforms like Tableau and QlikView. I would really like the reporting to improve a lot in PPM, especially the HTML reports and the ability to use some of the more recent tools, like Python and React.

They could also offer us templates. The developers are mostly proficient in the PPM tool itself, but they're not hardcore UI developers. So clients usually use those external reporting tools and they hire resources who have expertise with those tools. What if Micro Focus were to create reporting templates? They have them in a few areas, but not in a significant way. If they could offer good or decent templates in the areas of JSP reports and portlets, it would help a lot. The client would use PPM itself for reporting rather than utilizing external tools.

We are using the Financial Management module for projects and also demands and proposals and it is sufficient. But there are some limitations when it comes to attaching receipts. For example, if we are going to buy some non-labor-related assets such as hardware, we are not able to attach the receipts in the Financial Management module in version 9.41. I don't know if they may have made some modifications to this in later versions.

I would also like to see additional reports for capacity in the Resource Management module.

Sometimes features in PPM don't work as expected, or our users request a new feature. Typically, our partner vendor can deploy those changes. But there have been a few instances when we had to raise it with Micro Focus because it's beyond the ability of our partner vendor. When we raise the issue with Micro Focus, it sometimes takes time because it needs support from other customers using PPM, not just our bank. It goes through a voting system. Other customers need to vote for the feature. The features that get the most votes will possibly be added. 

The user interface is very, very old and is missing some functions, such as, for example, re-do, follow, and share functions. The UI is not good.

I would like to see different databases supported. There's only one database available at the moment, and it is very expensive. I would like better database support.

On the functional side of the product, I would like to see an enhanced and improved project management module with HR components in it.

We don't really use some of the things that they are improving, because we're still very much waterfall vs agile. A lot of the new functionality that they are adding for agile doesn't pertain to us. However, we constantly put in requests for some of the things we need. One of those is being able to export just our standard request type to PDF. Because they have that ability with projects, and after talking with them a couple years ago, it sounded like it would be somewhat easy to put it that same functionality request since the same types of forms are used. We're still kind of waiting on that one.

They can make its UI better. Currently, the UI is a bit clunky.

The portfolio management dashboard is good, but more work needs to be done in that space. You can capture the goals and objectives, and you can also have KPIs. How they're all linked and how they all roll up is something they need to look into. They can make some enhancements to the product to close that loop.

They have made a good start when it comes to the built-in capabilities to support Lean Portfolio Management and be aligned to Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) initiatives, but there are still gaps, which they are probably going to cover in future releases.

Features such as the chargeback mechanism as well as managing various partners and cloud service providers needs to be improved. If these can be integrated into the product itself, it will become a single source for all IT information.

We would like to have more features where we can manage the changes in cloud services as well as the chargeback system to different departments. If these things are automated, it would help us better.

Support and license management are two hurdles for us. Every time we purchase new licenses, it has taken us half a year to implement those. We've had to use HPE technical support to get the right licenses. We needed a cumulative license file and that took HPE forever to get right. We go through this every time. If you want to grow, there are no technical issues with stability, but the license bit is a pain.

There is quite a few areas of improvement

- Reporting; need to be able to provide fancy reporting out of PPM, way it is done in OBIEE etc..

- A lot of pain points in resource management area, that needs to be addressed. Currently we have to follow standard set of instructions to make sure the end results are effective.

- Time capturing should be more dynamic, ie. changing the approvers based on different use-cases.. We have over-ride rules, but that feature is again very limited.

- There are issues with some of the background services running; if stressed, it takes too much time to finish.

There's also room for improvement in other areas such as configuration which is a little old from an implementation perspective. There could also be improvements in API which is rarely used but we do use them in some cases. From a user's perspective, it's becoming more necessary in that agile transformation. More of our customers are now looking to have everything in one place and I guess Micro Focus could make some improvements in that area as well as improvements in communication and corroboration functionality in the tool.

On the strategic and portfolio functionality can be a bit more balanced and improved interactions with the other modules. 

• Better user interface. 
• Usability in terms of better UX.

Resource managers often request the Excel like features for allocation. Though not equal, but almost close features are expected. Buying add-ons for that is not worth it.

Portfolio management, hybrid project management, top-down budget and resource planning, application portfolio management.

Security could be increased.

Currently, HPE PPM does not allow “Project” approval, but only simple “Demand Request” approval (mobility).

There is no simplified Mobile UI for the HPE PPM application, i.e., HPE PPM does not adapt, and simplifies its layout to the mobile browser.

Drag and Drop capabilities for project/proposal Gantt view within Portfolio Scenario comparisons.

Is it possible to disable certain baseline deletion?

By default, HPE PPM allows Project Managers to delete all baselines.

Is there a way to support import of work plan from XML file?

Is it possible to add and use Task Physical Quantity for calculation of real percentage complete (SPI/CPI)? (question from Mining).

Program Creation: Is it possible to add automatically projects at creation, instead of having users select one by one?

How is the Program Progress calculated from the Project’s progress? (question from Mining)

What is the Mobility roadmap? Will it eventually support Project Approval?

Portfolio scenarios: This is a very powerful feature. However, it’s limited to analyses. Once an optimal portfolio scenario is found, alterations need to be done manually in all effected objects (projects, initiatives, assets). There should be a functionality, including workflow capabilities for approval, to mass update the objects in the portfolio according to the defined scenario in the scenario comparison.

Budget management could be provided. Reports can be enriched.

Budget management could be provided. Reports can be enriched.

User interface continues to be poor. The product does not have a similar view in the different modules, e.g., staffing vs financial management, it looks like you are working with a different product and it is not easy to use or intuitive.

The development of this product has been done module by module. Demand module having a lot of attention while reality is that we use a lot of time, financial management and scenario analysis and these have remained unchanged since v.9.14, and all our submitted enhancement requests for these modules have been rejected.

• Budget management could be provided.
• Reports could be enriched.

Project and Portfolio.

There is a need to improve the following modules:

• Project Management
• Program Management
• Portfolio Management
• Financial Management
• Time Management
• Resource Management