Termicon

Termicon
Basic data
developer	Termsoft GmbH
Current version	Termikon 2016
operating system	Windows
category	Project management software
License	proprietary
German speaking	Yes
	Website

Termikon was the first German-language multi-project management system for planning, controlling and monitoring complex projects . Due to its design, it can be used in any industry.

technical basics

Termikon is methodically based on the network plan technique using the Metra-Potential method . In this sense, it is a simulation model based on graph theory that allows complex projects to be broken down into individual activities and their dependencies to be specified.

Operations

Activities in Termikon can be networked at any time and organized hierarchically in project structure trees. They are known as operations . Processes of a project are usually grouped into networks according to their content . A network is a container for processes and is also called a collection process . The project structure tree ( project structure plan ) is gradually created as part of the project planning process through the continued hierarchical linking of networks .

In the simplest case, a Termikon project consists of a network with one activity. A network can have any number of processes. Any number of projects can be entered in Termikon.

resources

In addition to the processes, the resource structure (line or project organization) is also recorded in tree form in Termikon. Resources can be employees as well as machines or entire groups of the same. When setting up the project structure, up to ten executing resources are assigned to the activities with a cost estimate. Line organization (permanent organizational structure) as well as project organization (temporary resource structure) can exist in parallel in Termikon. Elements from both structure trees can be assigned to the activities at the same time. Furthermore, the activities, called processes in termicon, can be assigned resources of all levels in parallel, i. H. Both employees and departments, areas etc. can be specified as executive resources at the same time. Downtimes (e.g. vacation or set-up times for machines) of elementary resources influence the availability of the higher-level structural levels, referred to in terms of compression resources.

Planning process: scheduling and deployment planning

The task of Termikon's planning process is to coordinate and optimize the use of company resources for the priority-controlled, on-time, cost and quality-oriented processing of all projects. The process of planning is divided into two phases in Termikon, Termikon scheduling and Termikon deployment planning . The scheduling is applied to each individual project and does not perform a resource leveling. It ensures the structural integrity of a project and first positions the processes on the time axis. Subsequently, the globally optimized comparison of the capacity requirements of the processes of all projects with the available capacities of all resources that can be used for project work is carried out by resource planning.

release

The Termikon released has to "freeze" the task of accepted plans. This usually happens before the start of the project. In the further course, the plan forecasts change due to repeated new planning depending on factors such as B. Actual data, because the current state of knowledge about reality is included in the forecasts by the planning process. In order to be able to measure the current project status against the original forecasts in so-called target / actual comparisons , these are preserved from the release.

Actual data

Actual data is generated when planned or unplanned work is carried out by resources or machines for projects. The Termikon planning processes use the reported actual data (actual dates, actual efforts) to update the plan data. These are included in the planning process when determining the latest forecasts.

history

Jürgen Reinking and, since 1972, Hans Reul played a decisive role in the development of Termikon. The idea for this came from the industry association VDMA (vdma.org) in 1970 , who wanted to create a suitable planning tool for the construction departments of its member companies. This is also indicated by the name Termikon ( TERMI nplan in the KON struktion).

First were the university institutes

WZL in Aachen under Opitz
IPA in Stuttgart under Warnecke

commissioned to draw up a specification sheet on the basis of as-is analyzes collected in various companies. This activity was concluded with several dissertations on Termikon, which made important contributions to the specification. On the basis of this requirement profile - after a few unsuccessful attempts with other IT partners - Hans Reul was finally commissioned with the IT implementation and marketing of Termikon in 1974. Many technical terms from project management that are part of the standard vocabulary today (such as on- time and capacity-based deployment planning) were coined and established as part of the Termikon development.

In the 1st expansion stage, a batch version funded by the BMFT (at that time: Federal Ministry for Research and Technology) was developed, which was only used by a few pilot users, as batch versions were already wanted from 1977 onwards to be able to work in dialog made as good as unsaleable. In 1978 and 1979, the dialog version of Termikon was created with the Federal Insurance Agency for Salaried Employees in Berlin as a pilot user under BS2000 with UTM. The Termikon Dialog version enjoyed great market success, especially in the 80s and 90s. In addition, a variant was created for the IBM mainframe operating system MVS . Termikon has been sold as a company-wide, central project management solution since 1978 to over 100 of the largest companies in various industries in German-speaking countries. The combination Termikon / MVS achieved the most widespread use.