STRATEGIC PLANNING AND CHANGE

PROJECT INITIATION DOCUMENT

Project Title: Student Enquiry and Application Project

Change Record

Date

Author

Versi
on

25-Aug2010
09-Dec2010
24-Dec2010

Gill Preston

0.1

Initial draft

Katherine
Charman
Katherine
Charman

0.2

Second draft for discussion with Project Team and

Project Board
Final agreed version reflecting the comments of the
Project Board

1.0

Change Reference

Contents

1.
2.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................................................1
PROJECT OVERVIEW..........................................................................................................................................................3
a)
Business need......................................................................................................................................................3
b)...........................................................................................................................................................................................5
c) Benefits.......................................................................................................................................................................5
3. SCOPE................................................................................................................................................................................6
a)
In scope..................................................................................................................................................................6
b)
Out of scope..........................................................................................................................................................6
4. OBJECTIVES & CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS..................................................................................................................8
a)
Objectives..............................................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
5. PLAN...................................................................................................................................................................................9
a)
Approach................................................................................................................................................................9
b)
Project phases......................................................................................................................................................9
6. RISK MANAGEMENT.........................................................................................................................................................14
a)
Risks.......................................................................................................................................................................14
b)
Issues.....................................................................................................................................................................14
c) Assumptions............................................................................................................................................................14
d)
That Dependencies..........................................................................................................................................15
e) Constraints..............................................................................................................................................................15
7. PROJECT RESOURCES......................................................................................................................................................16
a)
Financial...............................................................................................................................................................16
b)
Human...................................................................................................................................................................16
8. MANAGING THE PROJECT................................................................................................................................................18
a)
Change Control..................................................................................................................................................18
b)
Project logs..........................................................................................................................................................18
c) Communications....................................................................................................................................................18
9. PROJECT CLOSURE..........................................................................................................................................................19
a)
Procedure.............................................................................................................................................................19
b)
Acceptance into Operational Service (AiOS)..........................................................................................19

1. Executive Summary
In order to attract good quality applicants to its postgraduate programmes from
the UK, EU and internationally, the University of Exeter must make sure that
conditions exist which optimise the chances of enquiries being converted into
high quality applications, and then into acceptances and enrolments.
A students first contact with and ongoing experience of communicating with the
University is critical in creating a good impression. Prospective students need
high quality information, delivered at the right time and in the most effective and
easy to understand way.
It is essential that the decision making process and supporting systems are as
efficient and effective as possible, with information about the status of
applications being easily available to both staff and applicants, especially given
that the numbers of enquiries and applications received by the University
continues to increase year on year.
The review of communications to pre-applicants and applicants for Postgraduate
Taught (PGT) courses that was carried out in 2009 identified a number of
shortcomings in existing communications and concluded that a Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) system would assist in resolving these.
A successful bid for funding from the Governments modernisation fund led to
purchase of the Hobsons product (EMT Connect) and online application system
EMT Apply Yourself in September 2010. The project to implement these
products and related improvements to business processes and communication
standards has now been formally initiated following appointment of a Project
Manager.
The project has the following business objectives:

To improve the enquiry and application experience for those applying to the
University for postgraduate places and thus improve the conversion rates for
good quality applicants from enquiry to application.
To improve the communications that postgraduate pre-applicants and
applicants receive from the University, making them more consistent and
appropriate to the audience.
To increase the transparency and efficiency of the administrative process that
supports postgraduate enquiry and application.
To enhance marketing tools and reporting to enable better targeting and
evaluation of marketing activity, contributing to more effective marketing
spend
To introduce a benefits measurement approach that will support continuous
improvement in ways of working.

A detailed implementation plan will be developed in consultation with Hobsons

and with the SEA Project Team and this will be agreed with the SEA Project Board
in January 2011. The intention is that the following will be implemented in time
for the 2012 application cycle:

new application form for PGT and PGR applications

Hobsons EMT Connect for postgraduate taught pre-applicants and applicants
and their agents from enquiry through to enrolment
Hobsons EMT Connect for postgraduate research pre-applicants and
applicants and their agents from enquiry to point of submission of application
via the new online form.

During Project Initiation the Admissions team requested that the scope for
implementation of the system should be extended to cover postgraduate
research applicants up to the point of enrolment. The Marketing department
asked that the scope for implementation of the Apply Yourself online application
form be extended to replace the current online funding application form. These
have been logged as project change requests and the viability of including these
additional areas without detriment to project timescales will be assessed during
detailed implementation planning so that a decision can be made on the way
forward during January 2011.
Successful delivery of this project will depend upon resource being available
across the University, in particular from teams in Admissions and Marketing, to
define the business rules and develop the content necessary for effective
implementation of the Hobsons tools. Resource will also need to be available
from Academic Systems in order to design and develop the interfaces that will be
needed with the student records system, SITS.

2. Project Overview
The University of Exeter aims to boost postgraduate and international
recruitment as part of its strategy to maintain its position as a top 10 institution.
In order to do so it must not only attract higher numbers of good quality
applicants to its postgraduate programmes but must also make sure the
conditions exist which optimise the chances of enquiries being converted into
applications, acceptances and enrolments.
The way in which the University communicates with prospective students from
the initial contact to enrolment is crucial. Prospective students need good
quality information, delivered at the right time and in the most effective and
easy to understand way. A students first contact and on-going experience of
communicating with the University is critical in creating a good impression which
affects their readiness to apply for and accept a place.
In 2009, a review of the communications to pre-applicants and applicants for
Postgraduate Taught (PGT) courses was undertaken by the Projects Office
(referred to as the PGT communications review in this document). It identified
a number of shortcomings, and concluded that some of these required the
implementation of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to
resolve them.
In 2010, the University successfully bid for funding from the Governments
Modernisation Fund. The fund provided for initiatives to improve efficiencies
within Universities to enable them to increase administrative capacity in order to
handle higher student numbers. Some of the funds allocated to Exeter were
offered for a project to implement an enquiries and application management
system to address the issues outlined in the Postgraduate Taught Customer
Relationship Management Review.
In Autumn 2010 the University purchased Hobsons product EMT Connect and
Hobsons online application system EMT ApplyYourself. This document defines
the project to implement this software and the related improvements to business
processes and communication standards.

a) Business need
The PGT enquiry and application process is a large and complex operation:

Research undertaken as part of the PGT communications review identified

that for the 2009/10 academic year, 12,789 PGT applications were received,
resulting in 1,758 enrolments.
Depending on their programme, fee status and other variables, students may
receive between around 20 to 60 communications from across the University
during their journey from enquiry stage to enrolment.
Moreover there are around 17 variables determining the information needs
for specific student groups including nationality, fee status, campus,
disability, and existing relationship with the University (e.g. alumnus or
deferred applicant).

Managing this process is a considerable overhead for the University. The way
that it is managed can have significant impact on the quality and quantity of
postgraduate applicants that successfully convert. The PGT communications
review identified a number of areas for improvement within the PGT enquiry and
application process.
The issues identified included:
i.

There is no single owner of the student journey between enquiry and

enrolment and the prospective student will receive communications from
several different central teams as well as from the College they are applying
to. This leads to a service-based rather than student-centred approach to
communications, with opportunities for overlaps and gaps throughout the
process.

ii.

There is a lack of transparency in the applications process. Both applicants

and staff can spend considerable time trying to confirm the status of an
application, diverting staff from other tasks and heightening the potential
stress for anxious applicants.

iii.

The current administrative process can lead to:

inconsistencies in approach, such as reminders not being sent out or being

sent out too late to be effective.
Inefficiencies, such as monthly reports to international agents being
compiled manually because there is no simple way of automating them
and loss of paperwork as it transits across the University.
decline in responsiveness to applicants during peak periods of manual
activity.

iv.

There is a lack of good quality management information that would enable

departments to evaluate their performance and be more effective in focusing
their efforts. This is particularly felt in the Marketing department where the
limited information on the success of campaigns and conversion rates makes
assessing the return on marketing investment difficult to ascertain.

v.

The quality of information provided to applicants is variable. The review

identified concerns about the content, style and appropriateness of
communications. This was felt to be a particular issue for international
students with varying degrees of English language ability.
Discussions with the team involved in the original review and teams delivering
the existing process during Summer 2010 confirmed that these issues still persist
and need to be addressed.
A further issue surfaced during these conversations regarding the on line
application system. There was strong criticism of the current system which was
felt to be out of date in look and feel and not user friendly for applicants and
staff. It was felt it would be a significant weakness in the new system if the on
line application system was left in its current state whilst the systems and
processes around it were improved. For these reasons, it was decided to bring
the replacement of the on line application system into the scope of this project.
The original focus of the project was PGT students because it was felt that this
area required most improvement. During Summer 2010, it was suggested that

the scope of the project should be extended to cover Postgraduate Research

(PGR) students for the enquiry process up to the point of submitting their
application because the PGT and PGR processes are similar up to that point and
therefore extending the scope would involve little additional work for
considerable gain. In addition, marketing campaigns are sometimes targeted at
postgraduates as a group including both PGT and PGR students.
Based on the issues identified by the review and subsequent conversations, two
overall objectives have been agreed for the SEA project, to improve the
applicant experience and to increase the efficiency of the administrative process.

b) Benefits
As part of the conditions of the Modernisation Fund, this project must deliver
efficiency savings. A full benefits realisation plan will be developed and this
will include specific targets for efficiency savings, but at this stage it is
anticipated that savings will be made in the following areas:

Reduction in time spent answering student and agent enquiries regarding

application status through provision of better quality information to the
student or enquirer at each point of contact, better access to online
information for the enquirer and reduction in the duplication of information
sent out.

Provision of a single view of an applicants status for staff in central teams

and in Colleges, reducing the amount of time spent by staff in answering
queries asked by other teams.

Removal of duplication of effort by administrative staff within the preapplication to enrolment processes through the creation of one common
enquiry and applications process across the University with agreed roles
and responsibilities.

Reduction in marketing effort and costs by providing tools to enable

targeting of key postgraduate segments and management information on
the enquiries and applications process which will enable evaluation of
campaigns.

In addition the project will enhance the post graduate pre-applicant and
applicant experience by making the process more responsive to their needs,
more transparent and more efficient. The objectives in doing this will be to
increase the conversion rate from enquiry to application, to boost the
Universitys reputation as a University of postgraduate choice, to enhance its
ability to attract the best postgraduates and to deliver PGT target numbers.

3. Scope
a) In scope

Replacement of the current online application system for PGT and PGR
applications

Implementation of Hobsons EMT Connect for postgraduate taught pre

applicants and applicants and their agents from enquiry through to
enrolment

Implementation of Hobsons EMT Connect for postgraduate research preapplicants and applicants and their agents from enquiry to point of
submission of application via the new online form

Marketing and recruitment activity involving International Office,

Admissions, Student Finance, Student accommodation, Marketing and
the Colleges

Home, EU and international postgraduate students

Data flows between Hobsons Apply Yourself and Connect and SITS, and
any related links necessary to the accommodation system PAMS and
the prospectus fulfillment system, Handle with Care.

Provision of a personalized enquirer or applicant portal through

implementation of Hobsons VIP page.

b Out of scope

PGT students post registration

PGR applicants post application

Undergraduate enquirers, applicants and students

Enhancement of existing SITS, ePay and ePAMs functionality (including

development of single sign on technology where this does not already
exist in these systems)

Replacement of the existing on line funding application system

(although this may be within the scope of a future project to extend the
application of the Hobsons Connect and Apply Yourself technology).

Applications and enquiries to Peninsula College of Medicine and

Dentistry

Applications for MBA courses

c At the end of this project the following will be in place:

A single business process used across the University (by Admissions,

colleges, the International Office) for:
o

managing the relationship with postgraduate taught pre

applicants and applicants and their agents from initial enquiry
through to enrolment.

managing the relationship with postgraduate research pre

applicants and applicants and their agents from initial enquiry
through to the point that they submit an application.

An implemented enquiries and application management system

(Hobsons EMT Connect software) which supports the agreed business
process.

A new online application system for PGT students and PGR students
provided through Hobsons Apply Yourself.

Communications plans for PGT applicants from enquiry up to the point

of enrolment and PGR applicants from enquiry up to the point of
application implemented through the Hobsons EMT Connect system.

An agreed set of measures for evaluating the benefits delivered through

this project.

Efficiency savings delivered in central teams and in the Colleges as a

result of standardizing business processes and communications.

Following successful delivery of this project, further phases are likely to be

defined and initiated to deliver the same improvements for postgraduate
research applicants from the point of application through to enrolment, and
undergraduate pre applicants and applicants and their agents from initial
enquiry through to enrolment.
At the time of writing Version 0.2 of this PID, there are two outstanding issues
regarding scope:
i)

The Admissions team have requested that the scope for implementation
of the Hobsons EMT Connect software be extended to cover PGR
students up to the point of registration as there is a feeling that
different scope for PGT & PGR students could be confusing for the team.
This could include replacement of the PGR Applicant Management
system that has recently been developed and is being used in the
postgraduate school of Education. As post application processes for
PGR students vary across the Colleges, extending the scope for the
initial implementation of the system may introduce a significant level of
additional complexity which could present a risk to achievability of the
project within required timescales the extension of scope and possible
risk to timescales will be fully assessed during the next stages of the
project.

ii)

There has been a request that the scope for implementation of the
Apply Yourself online application form be extended to replace the
current online funding application form. Early discussions with Hobsons
suggest that this is likely to be complex to implement, as the Hobsons
Apply Yourself product is based on submission of a single application
per student. Replacing the funding application using ApplyYourself
would effectively require additional development of the software (which
may or may not be possible) in order that two subsequent applications
could be received from a student, the first for funding and the second
for a place.

Inclusion of the work to deliver these two additional areas of functionality will
be considered in the light of analysis of implications for resource requirements
and project timescales, based on further information from Hobsons and other

Universities during the project planning stage. A final decision on scope will be
made in consultation with the Project Team and Project Board in early 2011.

4. Objectives
The project has the following objectives:

To improve the enquiry and application experience for those applying to

the University for postgraduate places and thus improve the conversion
rates for good quality applicants from enquiry to application.
To improve the communications that postgraduate pre-applicants and
applicants receive from the University, making them more consistent and
appropriate to the audience.
To increase the transparency and efficiency of the administrative process
that supports postgraduate enquiry and application.
To enhance marketing tools and reporting to enable better targeting and
evaluation of marketing activity, contributing to more effective
marketing spend
To introduce a benefits measurement approach to support continuous
improvement in ways of working.

5. Plan
a) Approach
Hobsons Connect and Apply Yourself software was purchased in September
2010. The scope of the plan laid out in this section includes all the phases
from initiation of the formal project following the appointment of a project
manager through to implementation of the software for PGT students up to the
point of registration and PGR students up to the point of application.
This PID is being written during the first half of the project planning and
initiation phase, before Hobsons have provided a suggested implementation
timeline in response to the Universitys requirements. The plan described in
this section is a draft outline plan, based on the Universitys aspirations and
requirements as expressed at this stage of the project. The final project plan
will be developed once further information has been received from Hobsons
and will be agreed by the Project Board and Project Team in January 2011.
There is a risk that the project will not succeed if overly ambitious targets are
set for changes to be implemented by September 2011. This risk can be
mitigated by ensuring that the project implementation plan is realistic, based
on the resources available, and reflects the need for a phased approach to be
taken to implementation if necessary.

b) Project phases
The project will be divided into 8 phases (some of which will overlap rather
than running sequentially).
The overall timelines for the project are shown on the next page.
Each phase within the project is described in more detail on the following
pages.

10

11

Phase 1

PHASE TITLE: PROJECT INITIATION & PLANNING

Scope:

Confirmation of project organisation and approach , agreement of

Project Initiation Document and Plan (including agreement of planned
timescales with Hobsons software suppliers), and approval for the next
stages of the Project

Dates/Duration:

15th November 2010 14th January 2011 (7 weeks plus 1 week holiday
closure)

Deliverables:

Approved PID

High level implementation plan agreed with Hobsons

Project logs

Project stakeholder analysis and communications plan

Provided by:

Project Manager, Project Sponsor, Project Team, Project Board

Phase 2

PHASE TITLE: CURRENT STATE REVIEW & TO BE PROCESS

PLANNING (INCLUDING HOBSONS DISCOVERY PHASE)

Scope:

i)
ii)

Dates/Duration:
Deliverables:

Confirmation of current admissions and enquiry

processes
Business process review with Project Team and Hobsons
team, in order to confirm scope and high level business
process to be implemented.

23rd November 2010 28th January 2011 (8 weeks plus 1 week holiday
closure)

As is process map

Hobsons Business Process and Data Catalog deliverables

completed

Detailed implementation plan agreed with Hobsons

Phased traini

Project work packages developed and agreed

Discovery Phase

12

Roles and responsibilities & resource estimates defined and

work packages assigned

Provided by:

Project Team & Project Manager, Hobsons team

Phase 3

PHASE TITLE:

Scope:

Design, development and testing of Apply Yourself for applicants for

PGT and PGR courses.

Dates/Duration:

Feb April 2011 (3 months)

Deliverables:

Online application form for PGT

Online application form for PGR

Business rules for applications agreed and implemented

Provided by:

Apply Yourself Design, build Test

APPLY YOURSELF - DESIGN AND BUILD

Project Team & Project Manager, Hobsons team

Benefits realisation planning

Implement ongoing benefits

CRM for Enquirers - Design, B

2010

2011

CRM

13

Phase 4

PHASE TITLE:
AND BUILD

Scope:

Design, development and testing of EMT Connect for enquirers for PGT
and PGR courses.

Dates/Duration:

Feb May 2011 (4 months)

Deliverables:

Agreed communications plan for PGT enquirers

Agreed communications plan for PGR enquirers

Data integration with SITS and other supporting systems

Online enquiry form

VIP pages for enquirers

Communication pieces for PGT enquirers

Mar
Communication pieces for PGR enquirers

HOBSONS CONNECT FOR ENQUIRERS DESIGN

Jul

Provided by:

Project Team & Project Manager, Hobsons team

Phase 3

PHASE TITLE:
AND BUILD

Scope:

Design, development and testing of EMT Connect for applicants for PGT
and PGR courses.

Dates/Duration:

May August 2011 (4 months)

Deliverables:

HOBSONS CONNECT FOR APPLICANTS - DESIGN

Agreed communications plan for PGT applicants

Agreed communications plan for PGR applicants

Data integration with SITS

VIP pages for applicants

Communication pieces for PGT applicants

Communication pieces for PGR applicants

Jun

Provided by:

Project Team & Project Manager, Hobsons team

Phase 6

PHASE TITLE:

Scope:

Final training of expert users and end users, launch of new May
application
forms and Hobsons EMT Connect system, implementation handover
report.

Dates/Duration:

Phased from July through to November (detailed plan to be agreed)

Deliverables:

Agreed training plan for Hobsons Connect for applicants,

Apply Yourself, Hobsons Connect for enquirers

Training delivered by Hobsons team initially and then by

Apr
expert users

Post implementation report

Provided by:

Au

FINAL TRAINING AND IMPLEMENTATION

Project Team & Project Manager, Hobsons team

Feb
14

Jan
Phase 7

PHASE TITLE:

PROJECT CLOSURE

Scope:

Final report identifying lessons learned, roles and responsibilities

handed over to operational teams, recommended next steps.

Dates/Duration:

November 2011 (1 week)

Deliverables:

Project closure report

Provided by:

Project Sponsor, Project Board, Project Manager

Phase 8

PHASE TITLE: BENEFITS REALIZATION

Scope:

The Benefits realization plan and benefits measures will be developed

at an early stage of the project. Benefits realization will continue into
operational practice after the project closes. This strand will include
planning for future phases of the project in the light of benefits
delivered and planned (e.g., initiate second project to implement
Hobsons products for undergraduate applications and enquiries)

Dec

Nov
Dates/Duration:

January 2011 November 2011 and ongoing into operational business

as usual

Deliverables:

Benefits realization plan

Benefit measures

Provided by:

Regular reports on benefits delivered against plan

Project initiation and planning
Project Sponsor, Project Team, Project Manager, Operational Managers

SEA Project Outline Dates

Apply Yourself and Connect Implementation

15

6. Risk Management
This is a large and complex project with a wide range of stakeholders across the University
and very ambitious timescales for work to be delivered before October 2011.
Risks and issues which arise during the project will be logged and managed by the Project
Manager.

b Risks
The following key risks have been identified during project initiation:

The project can only succeed if sufficient expertise is provided from the BISS teams to
advise on the requirements for interfaces to SITS and other supporting business systems
and to design and build the interfaces required. There is a risk that it will not be
possible to deliver the project to required timescales if the necessary resource is not
available. This risk will be mitigated by detailed resource estimating as the project
progresses, with any identified issues being escalated to the Project Board together with
recommendations for resolving them.

Delivering the project to required deadlines for the next application cycle will require
substantial resource from Marketing (to design communications plans, communication
pieces and the content of applicant and enquirer VIP pages) and Admissions (to design
business processes and business rules). There is a risk that it will not be possible to
deliver the project to required timescales if the necessary resource is not available. This
risk will be mitigated by detailed resource estimating as the project progresses, with any
identified issues being escalated to the Project Board together with recommendations
for resolving them.

There is a risk that the project will not succeed if overly ambitious targets are set for
changes to be implemented by September 2011. This risk can be mitigated by ensuring
that the project implementation plan is realistic, based on the resources available, and
reflects the need for a phased approach to be taken to implementation if necessary.

There is a risk that it will not be possible to create a single, unified University process for
managing enquiries and applications.

A complete log of all Project Risks identified during Project Initiation is kept with the Project
Filing and will be reviewed with the Project Board on a regular basis.

b Issues
No issues are affecting the project currently.

c) Assumptions
The following assumptions have been made in developing this Project Initiation document
and the project plan that it includes:

The members of the Project Team and the Project Board will be able to commit the time
required for successful completion of the project.

The Admissions team will make available resource with the appropriate knowledge, time
and authority to design the business rules and processes required for successful
implementation of the system.

The Marketing team will make available resource to design the communications plans
and communication pieces and develop the content of applicant and enquirer VIP pages.

The Academic Systems development team will make available technical support and
advice to the project and the resource for development of interfaces to systems
including SITS.
16

The scope questions raised during project initiation can be satisfactorily resolved in
order that the final plan for work to be delivered can be agreed in January 2011.

The Hobsons implementation team are able to provide the resource required to ensure
that the project can be delivered to required timescales

Changes to the enquiries process can be implemented at any point during the academic
year, but changes to the applications process must be implemented in October 2011,
after the 2011/12 intake of students and before applications for the 2012/13 intake start
to be received.

d) Dependencies

The system implementation will involve interfacing with SITS. SITS is an operational
system which is continually undergoing development. There is a need to ensure that the
development is prioritized appropriately to enable it to completed within project
timescales.

e) Constraints

The new applications forms and Hobsons Connect for applicants need to be in place by
October 2011 in order to manage applications for the 2012-13 in take.

For the Admissions team, August and September are particularly busy months and it will
not be possible for them to be involved in systems development, testing or training
during those months.

All areas of the University are busy during Welcome Week (last week in September) and
no testing or training can be planned to take place during that week or the week leading
up to it.

17

7. Project Resources
b Financial
The budget for this project is as shown below:
Ite
m

Y/E 31 July

2011
k

Income
Modernisation Fund
TESS
Academic Services IT Maintenance
Expenditure
Software licences, installation and
hosting
VAT at 17.5%
Additional development work by Web
Team?
Sundry expenses (meetings, visits etc)

1
2
3
1
2
3
4

2012
k

2013
k

80.00
39.85

102.00
17.85

119.8
5

Cumulative

Total
k

9.99

9.99

80.00
39.85
19.98

8.50
1.49

8.50
1.49

119.00
20.80

9.99

9.99

139.8
0

Financial assumptions:

The initial contract price for 2011-13 has been agreed at a VAT rate of 17.5%

Legal advice was provided in house and so there were no legal charges

All incidental costs will be absorbed within Academic Services Student Services budget.
E.g. travel to reference sites, refreshments for working groups and other meetings.

Project management cost has been covered by the Modernisation Fund, Sharepoint
project.

Technical support will be provided by the BIS team at no cost to the project.

If Web Team resource is required this will be provided at no cost to the project.

In 2013, the maintenance charge will adjust to 40k p.a.

f) Human
i. Project Board
It expected that there will be a maximum of six Project Board meetings over the life
of the project including the final post implementation review meeting. The time
commitment is estimated at half a day per meeting, allowing for review of papers.
Position
Chair
International Office
Post graduate Studies
Colleges

Name
Simon Wright
Robin Rhodes
Dr Jonathan
Barry
Roz Pardee

Marketing

Stuart Franklin

Admissions
Project Manager

Ian Blenkharn
Katherine
Charman

Service/College
Head of Student Services
International Officer
Dean of Taught Programmes
Assistant College Manager, College of
Humanities
Director of Communication &
Marketing
Head of Admissions
Senior Project Manager

18

ii. Project Team

The Project Team will be involved throughout project planning, delivery and
implementation.
They will:

Represent the interests of their Service or College

Act as the point of contact between the Project and their Service or College and
disseminate information on project plans and progress as appropriate.

Be responsible for delivery of work packages within the project as appropriate

(work packages, and detailed role descriptions and resource estimates to be
defined during phase 2 current state review).

Additional staff are likely to be seconded to the project as required at appropriate

stages.
The table below provided initial, order of magnitude estimates for the resource
required. Resource requirements will vary during each phase of the project. Work
packages and detailed resource estimates will be developed as each stage of the
project progresses.
Additional resource, over and above that identified below, will be needed from the
Admissions and Marketing teams.
Project Role

Project Manager

Name

Katherine
Charman

Days
require
d or %
of time

Durati
on
(wks)

Commit
ment
agreed?

80%

50

19

Admissions

Sally Rutterford

International
Office

Robin Rhodes

Marketing
Post Graduate
Guild
Student Finance
Colleges
Business
School

CEMPS
Humanities

Life and
environment
al sciences
SSIS
Tremough
BISS SITS
expert

Nicola Sinclair
Gary McLachlan
Tracy Banks
Helen Freeman &
Jane Knox
Liz Roberts
Morwenna
Hussey &,
Gemma Wiggins
Fiona Neligan

Emma Reeve
Jo Thacker
Ian Lee / Bernice
James
Helen Whyte
Rob Mitchell

10%

50

5%

40

10%
5%
5%

50
40
40

5%

40

5%

40

5%
5%

40
40

5%
5%

40
40
40

Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y

40
40

Y
Y

25%
5%
5%

Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y

Accommodation
Web Team

20

8. Managing the project

The project will be managed according to the University of Exeters agreed project
management standards.
Modernization fund reporting focused on spend and the delivery of outputs, a crucial one
being efficiency savings achieved or to be achieved.
All project-related documentation will be held on the project website at ?link to be added
here?.

a) Change Control
The standard University change controls will be exercised, with change requests presented
to the Project Board for consideration and decision. Given the time constraint and the
danger of scope creep, care will be taken to minimize the number of change requests that
are accepted.
All change requests that are presented to the Board will be published on the project
website.

b) Project logs
Project logs containing risks, issues and actions have been created and will be maintained
throughout the project the emphasis will be on ensuring that none of the risks that are
recognized become issues that need to be overcome. The latest copy will be held on the
project website.

c) Communications
Given the wide impact of the project, it is imperative that active communications are
maintained both during and after the implementation.
i. Stakeholder Analysis
A stakeholder analysis will be created which will inform the communications plan and
actions. A copy will be held on the project website.
ii. Communications Plan
A communications plan will be developed and actioned throughout the
implementation and beyond. A copy will be held on the project website.

21

9. Project Closure
The project will be closed when all phases of the project have been delivered.

a) Procedure
At the end of the project the Project Manager will survey stakeholders to determine their
views on the way the project was conducted and use the results to inform the lessons
learned section in the Project Closure report. The Closure report will be presented to the
Project Board together with the request to close the project.

b) Acceptance into Operational Service (AiOS)

The AiOS template will be completed and signed off as part of the project closure phase.
This document will be presented to the Project Board as evidence that the implementation
is complete.

22