PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES

Organization-level (PMO) activities include SPM identification, project dossier

preparation and handover, coordination of the allocation of project resources,
and assisting with setting/obtaining SLAs and the project kickoff meeting.
Identifying the Software Project Manager
Once the project is sanctioned and approval to begin the project is received (in
the
form of a management approval, a purchase order from a customer, or a letter of
intent), the PMO identifies an SPM. Identification of an SPM considers several
subjective and objective factors:
• Availability
• Past experience in a pertinent functional domain
• Expertise in a pertinent technical domain
• The capability to handle the size of the present team
• A willingness to handle the project
Preparing/Handing Over the Project Dossier to the Software
Project Manager
The PMO that is handling the responsibilities for project initiation at the
organization
level (or in the absence of a PMO, the individual) prepares a project dossier
and hands it over to the SPM. The project dossier contains:
• The project initiation note (The PIN contains basic information about
the project. The PIN is typically the first document in a project dossier.)
• The RFP, the proposal, and the purchase order (or the approval in the
case of an internal project)
• Technical specifications of the project as stated and agreed upon with
the customer
• Important project milestones and the commitment dates
• Other requirements, such as communication mechanisms, progress
reporting formats and intervals, and escalation mechanisms
• Pointers to past experience, such as the results of similar projects to
bring organizational experience to bear on project execution (Include
estimates, project plans, design documents, and project retrospective
information.)
• Invoicing information for external projects
• Any other relevant data for initiating the project

Software Project Initiation 53

The dossier is the initial set of documentation for the project. The dossier
(also known as a project notebook as well as a number of other terms) will evolve
over the life of the project. Often the physical aspect of the dossier (also known
as
instantiation) can range widely: from a physical paper to wiki or SharePoint
websites.
The physical form of the documentation is far less important than the actual
coalescing of information about the project. Documentation should be done in a
manner that permits the SPM and the project team to derive knowledge from the
data. The project is executed against the backdrop of information included in the
project dossier. A sample PIN is shown in Table 4.1.
Coordinating Allocation of Project Resources
In many organizations, the PMO acts as a clearinghouse for resource requests
created by the SPM and arranges for resources to be allocated to the project. The
PMO monitors the allocation of human resources on projects to identify:
• Resources that are not allocated to any project
• Resources that are allocated to other projects, but are likely to be available
to fulfill resource requests raised by the SPM
• Resources that are allocated to other projects, but are being used as a
resource buffer
Note: The resource activities described above are commonly monitored by the
PMO; however, many different organizational models can also accomplish these
Table 4.1. Sample Project Initiation Note
Project Name Development of Software for Materials Management
Project ID DP/2008/MM/001
Project description Develop software for a materials management function, including
procurement, warehouse management, and inventory control
Start date 1-Oct-08
End date 1-Feb-09
Project manager John Smith
Person-months (efforts) 56
Resources: software To be identified after estimation
Resources: hardware To be identified after finalization of estimation by SPM
Reference documents 1. Technical specifications
2. Documents for project XYZ
3. Metrics data for project XYZ