How Demand Management Makes Software Projects Successful
When companies launch software projects, expectations are high: increased efficiency in day-to-day operations, better user experience, clear and scalable processes – all while staying on time and within budget. Quick results that deliver tangible value are expected. But in practice, things often turn out differently. Despite good intentions, many projects don’t go as planned. But why is that? A common reason may be a lack of prioritization, poor coordination, or insufficient user focus. In this blog post, Thomas Bechberger, UX Design Lead at sovanta, explains how demand management can help approach IT projects the right way – and lead them to success.
Many IT projects fail to meet their goals: the software doesn’t match the actual needs of the users. Requirements change late in the process, the project scope expands uncontrollably, and after go-live, change requests start piling up. User adoption remains low, and the quality of the solution is often lacking. In the end, budgets spiral out of control and timelines slip – resulting in a failed project. But it doesn’t have to be that way. A structured demand management process is the key to avoiding these common project pitfalls.
An Underrated Success Factor
Why? For one, effective requirements management ensures that only those use cases are implemented which deliver real value – for both the business and the users. Additionally, demand management helps translate user needs into a format that is actionable and understandable for everyone involved. It enables prioritization and clarity: Which requirements are most important? Which use cases deliver the greatest value?
Demand Management Requires Teamwork
Successful demand management relies on close collaboration between business units, development, and UX design. Business stakeholders and product owners structure and prioritize requirements from a business perspective, while UX designers and requirements engineers translate user needs into clear, actionable requirements. Solution architects and developers evaluate technical feasibility early on and propose suitable solution paths. It’s this close collaboration that ultimately leads to a solution that is feasible, scalable, and user-friendly.
The Benefits of Structured Requirements Management
A professional demand management approach offers numerous advantages for successful project execution:
- Focus on solving relevant problems – not just implementing technology
- Reduced project risk through early alignment with end users and the business
- Informed decision-making based on structured processes and real user insights
- Optimized resource usage thanks to early clarity on tasks and priorities
- Fewer blockers and dependencies during implementation
- Real value creation by delivering solutions that truly meet user needs
Especially in the SAP context – where projects often involve many stakeholders and must integrate complex process landscapes – structured requirements management becomes a true competitive advantage. A mature demand management process increases project success rates, user adoption, user satisfaction, and team productivity. At the same time, it helps reduce change requests and overall project costs.
Our Process: Three Phases for Maximum Impact
At sovanta, we follow a proven three-phase demand management process:
- Discovery Phase: In Demand Clarification Workshops, we identify relevant requirements, make them comparable, and assess them in terms of business impact and technical feasibility.
- Design Phase: Using methods like user research, prototyping, and scoping workshops, we deepen the understanding of key use cases and validate them with real users.
- Specification Phase: In this phase, we prepare requirements in detail for development and prioritize them – with clear ready-for-development tickets, effort estimates, and a realistic roadmap.
Where Companies Stand: Our Maturity Model for Demand Management
Most companies already practice some form of demand management – but often in an unstructured and unconscious way. Many common issues in software projects can be traced back to a lack of prioritization, poor coordination, or insufficient user focus. In other words: the absence of structured, effective demand management. That’s why we at sovanta have developed a simple maturity model to help companies assess and systematically improve their current requirements management practices. In the context of SAP BTP, demand management is also a key element of our offering to support the development of a SAP BTP Center of Excellence (CoE).
Conclusion: Demand Management as a Key to Successful Digital Transformation
Demand management is more than just collecting requirements – it’s a strategic lever for optimizing software projects. Companies looking to make their projects more efficient, user-centric, and innovative should start here. Because demand management means less chaos – and greater impact. If you’re interested in learning more, feel free to reach out to us.
