The Active Owner makes a huge difference

Interview marking 10 Years of Half Double

Mikael Bonde, Senior Project Portfolio Manager at Novo Nordisk, played a central role as co-creator of the Impact Solution Design and the portfolio track in Half Double. He has worked with the methodology at both PFA and VELUX – and hopes that a stronger focus on the portfolio will become part of Half Double's future.

How did you become involved in the development of Half Double?

I worked with project and portfolio management at Velux and had a dialogue with Michael Ehlers from Implement about how we could achieve a more agile approach. This was the start of an inspiring collaboration, where we continuously developed and tested Half Double in practice. I worked both on testing elements in ongoing projects and structuring the tools – especially around portfolio management. This gave us immediate experience and feedback from ‘real life’, which we could then incorporate into the method.

How did you experience the co-creation process?

I think co-creation was an incredibly effective and exciting way of working. It motivated everyone in the projects that our shared experiences from the test projects were quickly integrated and conceptualised in the Half-Double material. Both I and the project participants could see that we were helping to shape something real and valuable – both for the Half-Double methodology and in practice in the projects.

The co-creation process in connection with the book was also interesting, as we could all add and adjust directly in the material, and I can now see my mark on the final result.

Is there anything in particular you remember from that early period?

There was a lot of energy and drive. Many of us were struggling with the waterfall method on the one hand and inspiration from the agile world on the other – but we were missing something to tie it all together. We got that opportunity in this process.

Michael and Karoline's infectious energy was unforgettable – we created an entrepreneurial spirit that was crucial to securing management support. The fact that we activated the project owner and involved them in defining the project and ensuring that they were always in the loop made a huge difference and is something I am very aware of today.

What was it about developing a new project model that appealed to you and excited you?

It was truly inspiring to be with so many talented people from different organisations, all of whom had a sincere desire to create the framework for running projects better and more effectively.

We all felt that this could really make a difference – it could create the value in practice that we had been seeking.

And then it was motivating to shape and create something that would be put into practice, used to create tangible value and not just end up in a report.

What have you taken with you from Half Double?

The whole mindset and approach to co-creation, collaboration, etc. is still fundamental to the way I work today. Although I am not directly working with Half Double at the moment, Impact, Flow and Leadership is still the starting point for all the development work I do with the organisation at Novo Nordisk, and it was also the case previously at PFA.

Can you remember a moment when you thought, ‘This actually works’?

Yes, definitely. I remember a workshop at the very beginning at Velux, where we brought together the project owner, project manager and an SME (subject matter expert). We were testing Impact Solution Design, and bringing the right people together in one room and creating a new dialogue about progress and expectations. This exceeded my wildest imagination. It made a clear difference and demonstrated the potential of Half Double in terms of creating shared ownership and momentum.

What do you think Half Double does differently – and better – than other methods?

I think what makes Half Double special is that it is flexible and at the same time has a strong core. All three focus areas – Impact, Flow and Leadership – are intuitive and easy to work with. This makes the method simple, logical and usable. At the same time, the methodology allows for local adaptation when moving away from the core, which is a great strength. Many methods are bogged down in governance structures or are just generally cumbersome to work with.

That said, there may be situations where Half Double becomes too flexible – where fixed gates and clear criteria are an advantage. Therefore, it makes good sense to combine Half Double with more traditional management models in certain types of projects.

If you could wish for something for Half Double's future, what would it be?

One of the things I was involved in during the early phase was transferring the Half Double principles to the portfolio level. We began developing a framework, and it would be exciting to continue that work and make it more conceptualised and widespread.

It is very relevant today, when many projects are run as hybrids. Here, Half Double provides some strong principles that could also make a difference across a portfolio.

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Per Svejvig, Associate Professor at Aarhus University_Photo by Jens Hartman Schmidt from AU

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