Project Portfolio Office April Information and Communications Technology P ROJECT PORTFOLIO O FFICE M AY 2014 D RAFT. Page 1

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1 Information and Communications Technology P ROJECT PORTFOLIO O FFICE M AY 2014 D RAFT Page 1

2 Project Portfolio Office Purpose of a Project Portfolio Office The creation of a Project Portfolio Office (PPO) is intended to improve project management processes in ICT and across the campus. ICT senior leadership commitment to the PPO is central to key support to its success. The PPO leader will be responsible for the creation and development of a project management discipline. ICT needs strong project management skills and processes to accomplish its agenda. There are a large number of projects from a wide variety of clients requiring shared and limited resources. Clarity of project scheduling and prioritization from the PPO will help manage the significant project workload. Specific project management tools and skills from the PPO will ensure consistent delivery of projects on time, in scope, and within budget. By developing a common project management framework, the PPO builds a process that can evolve and mature over time. The basic processes being introduced today become a framework to continuously improve project management in ICT and throughout the University of Saskatchewan. By developing a disciplined project management process and applying it consistently to all projects, ICT and the University of Saskatchewan will benefits from improvements in each of the following areas: Timeliness of project delivery, Accuracy of budget forecasts, Implementation of promised scope, Meeting client expectations, Producing appropriate level of quality, and Well managed risks. Action Plan 1. Implement a Project Portfolio Office (PPO) in ICT 2. Build a culture of project management discipline in ICT 3. Develop a project review process 4. Inform the ICT Stewardship process 5. Socialize the concept of the PPO 6. Keep the PPO process clear and streamlined 1. Implement Project Portfolio Office (PPO) Page 2

3 The Project Portfolio office needs to starts with a vision. Specifically, the PPO will develop a project management process with the following profile: ICT project management is transparent and disciplined Consistent methodology across all IT projects Projects are directly linked to the stewardship model Clients exert decision making influence at every key stage of the project Project portfolio is selected by fit, utility, and balance Projects are measured and compared Project best practices are document and applied Project management process is continuously improved With this vision established, ICT needs to execute these steps: Define the role of a Project Portfolio Office Hire a skilled leader for the office Develop a systemic project management process Introduce appropriate standards and management discipline to project management Link key checkpoints in the project management process to the stewardship model Manage project scheduling and sequencing according to priorities set by the stewardship process Create transparency by publishing project portfolio information to the entire University 2. Build a culture of project management discipline Building a PPO is not enough to ensure project management is executed effectively and broadly across the organization. ICT needs a culture of project management. This culture considers project management to be a core value of the team and encourages a disciplined belief in the PPO processes for any project, no matter how large or small. Promotion of these ideals by senior leadership and continual socialization of the concepts across the organization will help to establish this new core value. Successful completion of projects using the PPO methodology and continual improvement of the PPO process will sustain the cultural change. 3. Develop a project review process Create a project review process within ICT. The ICT Leadership team will assume the responsibility for ensuring projects follow the stewardship priorities and execute the project management process appropriately. Concept Page 3

4 The purpose of the project review process is to provide overall guidance to project management and to the stewardship. It is expected to directly oversee the project portfolio within ICT and to continually improve the project management process. The ICT Leadership team reviews all projects requiring ICT resources (staff, capital funding, and base funding). They will analyze project requests and suggest the appropriate steering committee for client review and approval if the project has not come from a specific committee or working group. The ICT Leadership team is responsible for evaluating project statuses and challenges, and escalating major issues to the appropriate stewardship body. Objectives Review new project charters and project plans to assess fit, utility, and balance before submitting to stewardship committee Recommend updates to project documentation to improve the management of the project and increase its potential for success Escalate projects to appropriate stewardship processes for approval Assess project progress, review project status, and identify ways to help problem projects stay on track Ensure appropriate ICT resources are supporting projects in meeting their objectives Review impact of schedule, budget, and scope changes to ICT resources Review closeout reports and assess lessons learned for applicability to other projects Identify budget impacts of projects on ICT operating funds Assess ICT resource availability and allocation to projects 4. Inform the ICT Stewardship Process The PPO reports the overall project portfolio information to the ICT stewardship model. The committee uses this portfolio information to review new projects, approve changes to existing project statuses, and assess competing demands for the constrained IT resource pool. The PPO portfolio report to the stewardship committees provides the information needed to assess project performance throughout the life of the project via metrics related to budget, schedule, scope, quality, and risk. Based on data from the PPO, the stewardship process ensures that benefits promised in the original project charter are measured and realized after the project ends and the delivered product or service goes into production. The Project Portfolio Office tightly couples the project management process with the stewardship model. To be successful in this model, ICT needs to do the following: Be open and transparent about all aspects of project management Page 4

5 Train clients in project management Where skills are available, encourage clients to become the managers of joint projects Publish the portfolio of all projects including priorities for everything in the queue Publish status reports of project progress Publish the criteria Completely embrace the stewardship process recognizing that clients are central to decision making and ICT s role is to facilitate the process For all major projects, create project steering committees composed of key stakeholders from the related functional areas 5. Socialize the concept of the PPO ICT needs to socialize the value project management. We need to develop a formal communications plan to promote the PPO and the project management methodology. The purpose of this effort is to: Ensure campus understanding of the role of the PPO, Socialize the concept of project management discipline and portfolio management within ICT, Increase awareness of how to use the PPO for projects, and Increase the university profile of PPO leadership to encourage institution wide access to the services available. 6. Keep the PPO process clear and streamlined The PPO methodology must be kept clear, straightforward, and usable. An understandable methodology is a functional methodology. To ensure use of the project management process, ICT should avoid any bureaucracy created by complexity. The challenge facing the PPO is balancing the need for simplicity with the need for consistent discipline, repeatable process, and measurable results. Page 5