Project Management: Portfolios, Scorecards and Resource Management Greg Konop University of Wisconsin - Madison David Blum Zane State College Kimberly Harper University of Nebraska Copyright Greg Konop, David Blum and Kimberly Harper, 2007. This work is the intellectual property of the authors. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the authors. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the authors.
Panel Overview Greg Konop: Project management as part of a small group s work culture David Blum: Project Prioritization Score Sheet Kimberly Harper: Portfolio Management 2
Project management as part of a small group s s work culture Greg Konop University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Information Technology (DoIT) Academic Technology (AT) Professional and Technical Education (PTE) 3
Lessons Learned Project management practices make a more efficient, less stressed workplace Team lead position is a vehicle for a small group to practice better project management Project management is a professional development skill that all size groups should value 4
Background DoIT offers IT services for UW-Madison, UW System, State of WI (PTE) offers training/e-learning development Small group - 8 FTEs, 3 students Cost recovery: staff @ 26% billable benchmark 5
Group History Manager FTE FTE FTE FTE FTE FTE FTE Flat organizational structure Manager: Strategic planning, budget analysis, new business, project conceptualization, initiation, planning staff management, staff development All Full Time Employees (FTEs): Small amount of project conceptualization, initiation, planning Heavy amounts of execute/control and closure Development Students: Development Students 6
Results: Project management lean All staff, all phases of project management; informally Project management skills really didn t mature Development and project management concurrently Hard to do both well 7
Results: (continued) Cost estimates didn t consistently account for project management Will you bill development or project management to the customer when the budget begins to run dry? Staff availability wasn t quantified, but estimated roughly Stress. Am I really going to be able to hold commitments? 8
We re getting things done, and done well, but 9
Changes New group structure w/ team lead Alignment with organizational efforts Internal process changes Recognition of project management skills & growth of staff 10
New Group Structure, Results: Manager Team Lead FTE FTE FTE FTE FTE FTE Students Manager has more time to manage : Strategic planning, budget analysis, networking, new business, staff management and staff development, some project management at conceptualize, initiate Team lead position is a leader : Networking, new business, resource availability, all phases of project management, & some development, team development, counsel to manager FTE team staff: Development Mentored in project management Students: Development 11
Alignment w/ Organizational Efforts Aligned w/ parent organizations project management framework Conceptualize, Initiate, Plan, Execute and Control, Closure Using parent organization s project management resources Web-based project charter and project status update tool Project management advisor (pma.doit.wisc.edu) Project management workshops More formal integration of project management into our work Result: Better able to talk to other groups Result: More confident in our work Result: More clarity between customer and ourselves 12
Internal Process Changes Cost estimates have 10-15% factor MS Project for resource availability Project charters Identifying risks/assumptions Trying to control scope 13
Growth of Staff Team lead position: More project management maturity Leadership opportunities FTE Less pressure, concentrate on development Able to co-manage projects with team-lead Mentoring type relationship Students Much remains the same, we have work to do in this area 14
Summary - General Observations Staff are happy and growing More clear vision of work expectations Better control of project scope, budget, deliverables Resource scheduling system MS Project Not sinking in project management overhead Most importantly, happy customers 15
Project Prioritization Score Sheet: Aligning IT Activities with Institutional Priorities Kimberly Harper, Director of Finance & Portfolio Management University of Nebraska Computing Services Network (CSN) David Blum Zane State College Office of Information Technology Services 16
College and IT Services Background 2-year technical college located in Zanesville, Ohio Small team supporting all IT needs for the College Staffed to support day-to-day needs, as opposed to large projects 17
Need for Prioritization Lots of projects, not many resources Squeaky wheel syndrome Lack of client sponsorship/ownership Reactive rather than responsive 18
Differentiation of Work Efforts Level of prioritization needs to be in line with the level of work effort IT work is separated into small, medium, and large efforts 19
Prioritization Score Sheet Large efforts/projects are prioritized via the project prioritization score sheet Purpose of the score sheet is to provide a common input vehicle for IT to assign a project priority ranking Score sheet includes general project information, project classification, and a scoring criteria assessment Client involvement critical to success! 20
Prioritization Score Sheet 21
Prioritization Score Sheet The client evaluates the project and selects the appropriate scoring box in each category according to the criteria description: Strategic impact criteria Financial impact criteria Client impact criteria Operational impact criteria Risk factor criteria Total points generated by an initiative from holistic assessment of its impacts determines a project s total prioritization score 22
Project Ranking Project categories: non-discretionary vs. discretionary Projects will be prioritized in score order Non-discretionary projects will be prioritized ahead of all discretionary projects due to their classification The prioritization process will drive an objective priority ranking of a project portfolio for review 23
Application of Business Reason Project ranking based upon project score provides the initial prioritization list Business judgment and leadership direction is then applied to ensure project priorities are in alignment with strategic goals and objectives Governance Committee makes any adjustments to the initial prioritization Comprised of representatives from the functional areas of the College Members empowered to represent their area s needs, while balancing this with what is in the best interest of the College 24
Process Outcomes Prioritization process allows IT to focus scarce resources on strategic priorities IT efforts are in alignment with client priorities in support of the College s strategic objectives Clients are in the position of being able to determine the priority of projects based on their needs, as opposed to IT trying to assess these Since clients are involved in the decision making process, there is a greater awareness of the overall needs of the College and how they match up with IT resources 25
Portfolio Management: Doing the Right Things Right Kimberly Harper, Director of Finance & Portfolio Management University of Nebraska Computing Services Network (CSN) Kimberly Harper University of Nebraska Computing Services Network (CSN) 26
University of Nebraska Computing Services Network IT department for University system Four campuses Central Administration $12 million budget Approximately: 50,000 students 14,000 faculty & staff Services & support provided: Administrative Network Data Academic Research Management 27
Why Portfolio Management? The Problem Too many demands not enough resources Limited understanding of what we do Not all speaking the same language So how do we ensure We re doing what really matters. We re aligned with the strategic goals. Our budget won t be cut. A high probability of being successful. Our Solution Create an IT management environment Implement portfolio management tools to help Identify resource availability Standardize information Simplify reporting Promote communication Justify decisions & spending Be accountable to stakeholders 28
Data Collection 29
Tell the Story / % - (. & ' () * +,( " # $ # %! (X axis) 30
Communicate Needs #. ( - 0 31
Strategic Portfolio Management Focus is on tracking achievements regarding initiatives & goals Objectives Identify, quantify & evaluate the cost, feasibility, resources, and value of initiatives Move from the abstract to the concrete and quantifiable Collaborate system-wide in terms of tracking goals and updating status Illustrate accountability to stakeholders 32
Strategic Portfolio Management Which initiatives have the most value and are the most feasible? 33
Evaluative Portfolio Management Focus is on evaluation & ranking of project proposals Objectives: Streamline evaluation and feedback processes Standardize reviewers ratings and feedback Present evaluation results in objective, easy-to-understand format Knowledge-based, objective decision-making 34
Evaluative Portfolio Management Which projects should be recommended for funding based on their value and likelihood of success? Process revealed need for additional information and follow-up communication # 1 # 1. 35
Application Rationalization A way to address IT costs and efficiencies Objectives: Find applications that: Are valuable & strategic a give them priority Represent a drain on resources over and above their value Represent the most risk Redundant Align IT expenditures more strongly with strategic initiatives Optimize across the enterprise 36
Application Rationalization Benefits: Eliminate unnecessary investments: Identify opportunities for consolidation Avoid reinventing the wheel Reduce training & support needs Free up resources for new initiatives Invest in applications that help drive business value Prevent the Patchwork Problem from occurring Ensure application decisions are actually implemented 37
Parting Thoughts
Project & Portfolio Management There is no single right way to do project and portfolio management Take a holistic approach Need to work with individuals from every level or your organization: Upper management Strategic planning, funding Customers Prioritization of projects Management Reporting and communication capabilities Team Leads Resource allocation Staff Project updates Your project and portfolio management will mature with time don t have to develop it all at once Remember: garbage in garbage out Keep in mind your organization s culture 39
Questions?