Run HERMES 2022 - clear phases, documented decisions, accepted results

HERMES makes projects comparable and traceable: a common language for everyone involved, clearly assigned roles, documented decisions at fixed points and progress measured by accepted results rather than completed activities. Scenarios, sizing and tailoring adapt the method to the type and size of the undertaking.

HERMES 2022 has six phases. Every project starts with Initiation and ends with Closure. In between, the classic approach uses Concept, Implementation and Deployment, the agile approach the Execution phase. A classic project therefore runs through five phases, an agile one through three. Every phase starts and ends with a milestone and a decision.

HERMES 2022 describes 16 roles on three hierarchy levels. Steering: project sponsor, project committee, quality and risk manager. Management: project manager, sub-project manager, project support, technical committee. Execution: user representative, operations manager, business analyst, developer, development team, ISDP manager, IT architect, tester, test manager. Sponsor, project manager and user representative must always be filled. In WORKSPACE.PM you create these roles as project roles with their own permissions.

HERMES 2022 offers five standard scenarios: service/product development, service/product adaptation, IT development, IT adaptation and organisational adjustment. They are built from twelve standard modules, from project steering and project management via procurement, IT system and tests to ISDP. In WORKSPACE.PM you save each scenario as a building block and insert it into new projects.

HERMES 2022 has replaced HERMES 5.1. New are the separate Closure phase and the agile Execution phase, which can be chosen for four of the five scenarios. Eight standard scenarios became five, and the user representative replaces the specialist as a mandatory role. Sizing was added to adapt scenarios to the size of the project.

The project manager plans and steers the project within the execution order, leads the team, reports regularly to the sponsor and prepares the decisions at the milestones. In WORKSPACE.PM they are supported by status reports with approval stages, quality gates for the decision points and the responsibility matrix per work package.

Yes - WORKSPACE.PM maps HERMES 2022 to concrete tools: the phases via project pipeline and Gantt, the milestones via quality gates with checklist and sign-off, result-orientation via a dedicated deliverables register, and roles via project roles, role matrix and responsibility markers. Scenarios are saved as building blocks. Your processes carry the method - the system provides the structure.

The project pipeline defines the phase sequence: classic Initiation, Concept, Implementation, Deployment and Closure, agile Initiation, Execution and Closure. In the Gantt the phases appear as bars on a day-to-quarter timescale with dependencies. Recurring phase structures are saved as a building block and inserted into new projects, and status changes on phases can be automated with workflows.

Every HERMES milestone, from the execution release via phase and release approvals to project closure, is run as a quality gate. The items of your checklist become criteria that named approvers vote on - as a person or a group, with PMO approval. That way you also work through additional checkpoints at every milestone, such as the digital sovereignty checks required by directive W012 of the Swiss federal administration. The final release is taken separately with a complete history, and in the Gantt the decision sits as a milestone with a fixed date.

In HERMES, tailoring means adapting results, tasks, modules and roles to the undertaking. In WORKSPACE.PM you switch on 13 features per container individually and save the finished structure as a building block, including quality gate criteria, risks and cards. For sizing, create one building block per project size, for example for small and large IT adaptations; the project manager picks the right one during Initiation.

Every deliverable sits in the register with owner, due date, progress and status. Status reports pass through draft, submitted and approved; documents such as the execution order or the final project evaluation are generated from your own templates directly from live project data, and result documentation is attached to the relevant work package in the wiki.

Create project roles such as sponsor, project manager or user representative with their HERMES names; they are separate from the global system role, and the role matrix governs access in four levels from view to administration. The responsibility matrix assigns each work package its accountable people with the markers A, E, I, K, M and P, and the project roster includes internal and external members alike. The stakeholder register keeps track of environment and communication.

The container status report bundles overall status, schedule, cost, performance and decision needs into a traffic light; earned value captures planned, earned and actual value. Portfolio reporting rolls the reports of all HERMES projects into one consistent overview - ideal for public administration and enterprises.