Guidelines: OIT Project Management Office

Office of Information Technology

Project Management Office
Guidelines

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Guidelines: OIT Project Management Office

Revision History
Date
6/17/2008
9/22/2008
10/2/2008
9/07/2011
9/17/2011
9/20/2011
9/26/2011

Author
Greg Phillips
Jim OConnor
Jim OConnor
Deldri R. Dugger
David Adcock
Deldri R. Dugger
Greg Phillips

10/25/2011

Greg Phillips

11/3/2011

Greg Phillips

11/10/2011
1/25/2012
8/13/2012
9/24/2012
10/30/12

Greg Phillips
G. Phillips, L. Sundal, D. Adcock
G. Phillips, L. Sundal, D. Adcock,
Hema M., K. White
D. Adcock
D. Adcock

11/15/12

D. Adcock

Description
Initial Draft Version 1.0
Rev 2.1
Rev 2.1.1
Rev 2.2
Rev 2.2.1
Rev 2.2.2
Rev 3.0
Converting original PM
Standards to PMO Guidelines
doc
Additional changes per PMO
team
Integrating feedback from
team
Remove Principles
Rev 4.0
Rev 4.1 added SBOF
Rev. 4.2 Insert Section
Rev 4.3 Revise Section 4,
added Appendix A
Rev. 4.4 Incorporated changes
from meeting on 11/7/12

Approvers
Date

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Name

Title

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Guidelines: OIT Project Management Office

Table of Contents
Table of Contents........................................................................................................ 3
Summary of OIT Project Management Office (PMO) Expectations..............................4
1.0 Overview.............................................................................................................. 5
2.0 Project Identification and Reporting......................................................................5
2.1 Project Tracking................................................................................................. 6
2.2 Project Repository............................................................................................. 6
2.3 Project Reporting Thresholds............................................................................. 7
2.4 Project Management Review.............................................................................8
3.0 Roles and Responsibilities.................................................................................... 9
4.0 Project Management Documentation and Artifacts............................................10
4.1 Project Documentation.................................................................................... 10
4.2 Project Repository........................................................................................... 10
Appendix A Project Artifact Checklist.....................................................................12

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Guidelines: OIT Project Management Office

Summary of OIT Project Management Office (PMO)

Expectations
The OIT project management guidelines are largely drawn from best practices and
proven guidelines utilized by institutions and companies globally. The purpose of
implementing these guidelines is to improve project results through a uniform
application of project management best practices appropriately tailored for Office of
Information Technology. This Project Management Office Guidelines document
outlines the roles, responsibilities and processes that all directorates within OIT are
to use for managing technical projects. All projects, which may ultimately deliver a
production product/service, will be managed in a manner consistent with, or in the
spirit of, these guidelines. However, OIT recognizes not all projects will require the
same level of rigor, and the flexibility to adapt to these situations is contained
within the document.
The directors are ultimately responsible for managing the portfolio of projects within
their directorates. Directors have the responsibility to assure sound project
management principles are used to govern projects and that project
leads/managers follow the standards and guidelines contained herein. Directors will
blend the appropriate project management and technical resources needed to
succeed and bring forth exceptions for discussion within the directors group to be
approved by the CIO. As a general case, exceptions will be brought forward for
discussion before they are implemented. However, directors are expected to use
their judgment in situations such as those that impact data security, life safety, or
similar situations. In cases where immediate action is warranted, back-briefing the
directors team on these situations is an appropriate approach.
This OIT PMO guidelines document will describe what is to be done, at what levels,
for all projects. The PMO will define a standard list of project artifacts which will
provide project leads/managers with standards for tracking and reporting across OIT
based on determination of need by director leadership. . All documents are living
documents and are expected to undergo update and change as circumstances
warrant by the CIO.

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Guidelines: OIT Project Management Office

1.0 Overview
The mission of the Project Management Office is to provide a consistent approach to
identify, prioritize and successfully execute a portfolio of IT initiatives and projects.
Our goals:

Improve delivery of service though project undertakings

Facilitate communications with stakeholders to improve awareness
Enhance decision making on the OIT portfolio by increasing visibility into
project benefits and impacts
Educate and support the implementation of project management

Office of Information Technology projects range from simple, low risk endeavors to
larger, more complex initiatives with high degrees of risk requiring significant
human and/or financial resources. The Project Management Office (PMO) guidelines
describe the project management methodology which should guide the
management of projects in the Office of Information Technology.
It defines reporting thresholds for a project according to its level of complexity and
risk. There are two key principles that should guide OIT project managers as they
implement projects using these guidelines. First, every effort should be made to
communicate clearly with project sponsors, stakeholders, IT management, project
team members, and interested customers. Second, project managers should take
advantage of every opportunity to reduce complexity and manage scope.
Complexity and unmanaged scope increases cost, puts timelines and quality at risk
and makes maintenance more difficult.

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2.0 Project Identification and Reporting

New project opportunities are identified through various channels. Customer
requests, new technology opportunities identified by staff, Institute or regulatory
initiatives and other sources can all lead to new workload assignments that can
become standard projects. A standard GT Project Request form is available to
document new initiatives. Once a project has been identified by a customer or
project team lead, initial estimates of complexity related to key attributes for the
project must be captured and evaluated within the responsible/owning directorate.
A complexity assessment includes analysis of resource or cost impacts
(hard/soft/staff), time to complete, and the degree of impact associated with the
request. These factors will be used to determine how a project is reported and
reviewed throughout its lifecycle. Projects that are clearly defined as normal
maintenance, software license renewals, or hardware replacement/refreshment are
exempt from the project guidelines and standards unless otherwise directed by CIO.
During the Project Initiation phase the project team, with input from key
stakeholders, needs to gauge:

Applicability of/alignment with the Strategic Business Operations Framework

(SBOF)
The complexity of the project based on the overall budget
Project duration
Schedule dependencies
Number of people affected by the projects deliverables
The degree to which new technologies or skill sets are required
Dependence on existing services
Impact of the service being proposed including Change Management
requirements
Overall project risk
System or service dependencies
Any other risk factors present

The ultimate decision about a projects scope is the responsibility of the project
sponsor, project manager and the key stakeholders. Once a projects scope has
been established it will drive the level of documentation and management oversight
required.

2.1 Project Tracking

Projects that meet the minimal threshold for tracking must have basic attributes of
the project entered and maintained in the OIT PMO Repository by the owning
directorate of the project. The repository is utilized to give visibility to a high-level
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portfolio of projects that represent strategic commitments that must be successfully

completed. Once projects are entered into the Project Repository they are tracked
and routinely assessed to determine if they should follow more formal project
management standards and whether or not they are subject to Project Management
Review (PMR).

2.2 Project Repository

Since the primary purpose of the Repository is to bring greater visibility of OIT
projects across the organization, it is critical for key attributes to be captured
consistently. In order to accomplish this, data elements must share a standard
definition among all users. In addition, certain attributes also will need to have
standardized variables defined. If there is not enough information to determine
whether or not a project should be included in the repository, the project manager
will estimate the total cost and interaction with other directorates and assess the
project for inclusion in the repository based on those estimates. The list of the
elements that have been identified for the repository and a brief description of each
can be found in Appendix X.
Consistency of data captured, currency of information, and consistency of use are
critical to meet reporting requirements of the project repository. The data in the
repository should be current and maintained weekly. In order to support this, the
standard is that repository data is updated by noon the day prior to the PMO weekly
review meetings.

2.3 Project Reporting Thresholds

Each directorate is responsible for assessing any new or existing projects to
determine their impact to the organization in accordance with these standards.
Projects will be reported at one of three levels within OIT: Directorate, OIT
Enterprise, or Strategic Technology Investment Collaboration (STIC). Project
managers and/or directors will analyze new and changed projects to determine the
level at which the project will be reported.
A Directorate level project meets one or more of the following criteria:
1. Total estimated cost of the project does NOT exceed $25,000 (excluding
staff resources)
2. Total estimated development time/effort does NOT exceed 30 days (not
calendar or continuous days)
3. Project is staffed with resources from within the initiating Directorate only

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Projects reported at this level are typically characterized as small enhancements,

production support fixes or incident/issue management resolutions.
An OIT Enterprise level project meets one or more of the following criteria:
1. Total estimated cost of the project exceeds $25,000 (excluding staff
resources)
2. Total estimated development time/effort exceeds 30 days (not calendar or
continuous days)
3. Project requires resources from a cross-functional Directorate AND
(exceeds $25,000 OR exceeds 30 development days)
4. Project designated by CIO or CTO
Projects communicated to Strategic Technology Investment Collaboration (STIC)
meet one or more the following criteria:
1. Total estimated cost of the project exceeds $250,000 (excluding staff
resources)
2. Total estimated development time/effort exceeds 6 months (not calendar
or continuous days)
3. Project requires funding from OR in Partnership with another GT business
units
4. Project scope creates significant change to GT business processes
5. Project designated by CIO or CTO
Projects reporting to STIC should align with the Institutes Strategic Business
Operations Framework (SBOF) and include supporting documentation within the
projects artifacts.
Thresholds defined above are established as minimums. Directors are encouraged
to add projects that do not meet the thresholds if they feel it is important to gain
visibility, address specific issues, or improve communications.

2.4 Project Management Review

Project management oversight can occur at multiple levels. While the format for
managing non-PMR projects is very flexible, OIT expects all projects to be managed
to a plan and kept on time, on budget, and within scope. Projects that meet or
exceed the PMR threshold limits must be managed by a project manager in
consultation with OIT leadership team consisting of the directors group and
appropriate technical managers. In addition, projects that fail to meet the PMR
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threshold may be selected for review at a Directorate or CIO/CTO discretion. The

Project Management Review team will provide guidance on all projects in the OIT
PMR portfolio.
The goal of a PMR is to determine the project status and to approve the continued
commitment of resources to the project. A director or project manager has the
discretion to schedule any project for a PMR if she/he feels something about the
project warrants executive attention. The PMR process facilitates:
1. Project proposal and selection and prioritization process
2. Risk mitigation and issue resolution as necessary
3. Resource and funding allocation as necessary
Projects that meet one or more of the following thresholds must be scheduled for
Project Management Reviews or PMRs:
1. Project requires funding that the initiating directorate does not have
2. Total estimated cost is greater than $100,000
3. CIO or CTO designates the project as a PMR Project
Factors that might cause a project that falls below the threshold to be marked as a
PMR project are: criticality of the project, significant risk factors, or potential of the
project to impact campus customers.
PMRs may result in projects being approved to move ahead to the next phase,
approved to continue in the current phase, approved to continue with modified
resource and scope commitments in either the current or next phase, or direction to
terminate the project.

3.0 Roles and Responsibilities

The following roles and responsibilities are critical to the effective operation of the
Project Management Office.
PMO Team

Project Manager

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Cross directorate team works to align Institutional

governance
requirements
and
OIT
project
management guidelines.
Defines process and artifacts available for project
teams
Responsible for understanding and implementing
guidelines in alignment with the SBOF, and utilizing
available
artifacts
together with directorate
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Guidelines: OIT Project Management Office

Director

CIO/CTO

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leadership to ensure project compliance and

success
Project managers are responsible for updating
project information in the repository
Develops and maintains timeline with milestones &
all other project materials
Manage the planning & execution of the project
Coordinate meetings
Regularly communicates project status and assigned
requests to appropriate leadership
Documents project issues & risk and works with
appropriate decision makers to resolve issues and
manage risk
Provide service status to Executive Leadership as
needed
Approve service funding request within directorate
Approve project requests as appropriate
Allocate resources
Assures that a Project Manager has been assigned
to each new project as appropriate
Works with Project Manager to define required
project artifacts including alignment with SBOF
Addresses identified risks
Owns the OIT Project Repository
Removes roadblocks
Provide executive direction to the key Stakeholder
Approve service funding requests
Works with Directors to resolve issues as needed

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4.0 Project Management Documentation and Artifacts

The Office of Information Technology supports Institute requirements for auditability
and responsible use of resources. The information necessary to support those
requirements is met through the proper documentation of project activities with
supporting artifacts to be maintained in a project repository.

4.1 Project Documentation

The OIT project management methodology requires documentation for each project
to be created and retained as is appropriate for the size of the project and internal
audit policies. The Project Management Office website will serve as a repository of
templates which should be used to meet the documentation recommendations
identified below.
Project Artifact
Project Request Form
Project Artifact Checklist
Project Requirements/Scope
Document
Project Charter
Project Budget
Project Risk Analysis
Change Management Plan
Project Test Plan
Status Dashboard
Implementation Plan
Production Support Document
Lessons Learned Document
Legend
Required
Highly Recommended
Optional, but Valuable

Directorate

OIT

STIC

Symbol

4.2 Project Repository

The OIT Project Management Office will identify the location of the project repository
which will house the required project artifacts. Project documentation should be
built using the following folder structure:
Directorate_Fiscal Year Started_Project name
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Project subfolders may be created to maintain all project documentation, however,

only the documents listed above as required must be included in the OIT Project
Repository folder. Optional and Highly Recommended artifacts, along with additional
project documentation, may be included at the directors discretion. Each project
folder should contain the OIT Project Artifact Checklist (Appendix A) which identifies
which artifacts will be included for each project. Templates for each of these
project artifacts may be found on the OIT website in the Project Management
section.

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Guidelines: OIT Project Management Office

Appendix A Project Artifact Checklist

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