Successfully in use since 2008
User report from the Esslingen University of Applied Sciences
Projektron BCS has been used in our teaching since 2008 - initially in the "Interdisciplinary Project" module of the Bachelor's degree programs International Industrial Engineering (IWB) and Business Informatics (WFB). Since the introduction of the Industrial Engineering and Management (WNB) degree program in 2013, Projektron has also been used there. We are still enthusiastic users. Since the Faculty of Business and Engineering now also includes the Faculty of Business Administration from Esslingen and the Faculty of Mechatronics from Göppingen, extended use of BCS is probably still developing.
The Faculty of Business and Technology (WT)
The Faculty of WT is located at the Göppingen site of the Esslingen University of Applied Sciences. The range of courses is currently undergoing change. The bachelor programs International Industrial Engineering (IWB) and Business Informatics (WFB) were phased out and a double degree program in Industrial Engineering (WNB) was introduced. The new Faculty of Business and Engineering now includes the Faculty of Business Administration from Esslingen and the Faculty of Mechatronics from Göppingen.
In the WNB course, "interdisciplinary projects" are carried out in the 6th semester, for which our use of Projektron BCS has proven its worth since 2008. In a real scenario, research and company projects from cooperation partners and well-known companies from the Stuttgart region are handled with Projektron.
![[Translate to Englisch:] Tiny House Projekt der Fakultät der Hochschule Esslingen](/fileadmin/user_upload/1_bilder_website/referenzen/anwenderberichte_fotos/Hochschule_Esslingen/Bild1_Screen_Tiny_House_Projekt_2022.jpg "[Translate to Englisch:] Perfekt geplant: Das Tiny-House-Projekt der WT-Fakultät der Hochschule Esslingen im Gantt-Diagramm.")
The decision for Projektron BCS
Handling a project without a professional project management platform would be unthinkable for us in teaching. Projektron BCS is the ideal solution for us. We see the fact that everything is browser-based as one of the main advantages of Projektron BCS. This means that Projektron BCS is available on any Internet-capable PC.
In addition, the administrative effort for us is kept within limits. In the beginning, the system was set up according to our wishes together with our contact person from Projektron. Since then, we can always fall back on a project template adapted to our requirements for new projects.
Another big plus point for us is Projektron's excellent support. This is done via trouble tickets, which are always processed quickly and also successfully, so that the course of the project is not impaired at any time.
Use of Projektron BCS for "Interdisciplinary Projects
At the beginning of a semester, individual students are created in the system and assigned to newly created projects. The projects are then distributed among teams of between 3 and 10 people. Since all students should also learn how to handle the project leader role, all other team members are given project leader rights in addition to the project leaders.
After the "kick-off meetings" with the contact persons in the companies, they are then often added as project members in Projektron BCS. Now it's time for planning. The students create a project plan in Projektron BCS, set milestones, break down the project into individual work packages, enter the estimated time in each case and then assign the work packages to the individual project members. At the end of the project planning phase, a Gantt chart is generated from the system for illustration purposes.
![[Translate to Englisch:] Projektstrukturplan zum Tiny-House-Projekt.](/fileadmin/user_upload/1_bilder_website/referenzen/anwenderberichte_fotos/Hochschule_Esslingen/Bild3_Screen_Tiny_House_Projekt_2022.jpg "[Translate to Englisch:] Projektstrukturplan zum Tiny-House-Projekt")
Important assistance
For the first steps in Projektron BCS, we use the easy-to-understand video tutorials on the Projektron website. In addition to this, for further questions and problems, students are supported by me in my function as Projektron BCS administrator of the WT faculty. In case of serious questions or system-related problems, a trouble ticket is sent to the Projektron support team.
During the projects, the processing times are reported back by the students as individual bookings to the work packages. In the weekly status meeting, planned and actual effort are then discussed in comparison to the project progress. A look at the workload reported back in Projektron BCS for the individual team members shows directly whether the resource utilization is balanced for everyone.
The complete document management in the project is also handled via Projektron BCS. The project quality management officer creates and controls the document checklist of documents to be checked according to the "dual control principle". In this way, all protocols, status reports, risk management planning and other relevant files are stored in Projektron BCS for all team members in the most up-to-date processing status. At the end of an "interdisciplinary project" is the final presentation, which is stored in Projektron BCS so that it is accessible to the client and, of course, remains available even after the project has been completed.
![[Translate to Englisch:] 3D-Modell der Tiny-House-Siedlung.](/fileadmin/user_upload/1_bilder_website/referenzen/anwenderberichte_fotos/Hochschule_Esslingen/Bild2_Tiny_House_Siedlung_WiSE_21_22.jpg "[Translate to Englisch:] Das 3D-Modell der Tiny-House-Siedlung am Smart Campus der Zukunft in Göppingen.")
Conclusion
Projektron BCS continues to be an outstandingly suitable project management platform for university projects in the WT faculty and has become an integral part of project handling in our faculty. Students and external contacts can thus gain a semester-long insight into the diverse possibilities and the very good usability of the system.
