In-Flight Project Review Guidelines

In-Flight Project Review Guidelines

FY2010 Planning

Overview

This guideline will give a project manager of TeamDynamix (TD) in-flight projects guidance on how to review and update TD projects in preparation for FY2010 planning process.

Usage

A project is a defined, temporary effort to produce a unique product, result or service. An in-flight project is defined as a project currently in progress that will not complete until after July 1st, 2009. New projects not scheduled to start until after July 1st is considered new project work and should be entered in TD as a project request.

Planning and entry of routine, non-project should follow the

·  Organizational Business Work Entry Guidelines

·  Maintenance and Operational Support Work Entry Guidelines

Preparation

Information to prepare In-flight project updates by 5/8/09:

Ø  Project Manager

q  The project manager of each TD project will be responsible to manage status, tasks, resources, scheduling, planning and reporting for the project.

Ø  TD Project Details:

q  Updated description of the project, high level project scope

q  Current project status

q  % complete

q  Time and Expenses Budgets includes $$ and hours

q  Project Type

Ø  Reporting and Tracking Information

q  Participating organizations identified

Ø  Staffing

q  Review resources

§  Resources working on the project

§  Resource managers

§  Sponsors

§  Administrative resources

q  Coordination with Resource Managers: Resource managers should have been consulted for all participating resources on your project.

Ø  Scheduling/Planning

q  Work should be broken down into manageable tasks for execution, reporting and time tracking.

q  Work should be scheduled whenever possible

q  Minimize tasks spanning from the project start date to the project end date. Break large tasks into smaller increments when possible.

q  Continually adjust estimates and tasks as more information and specifics become available.

FY2010 In-Flight Review

What: For each TD project currently in progress and not scheduled to complete until after July 1st. Review each project management tab and the project plan(s) verifying there is enough project information, adequate estimates and resource allocation to support the FY2010 Planning process.

Who: The TD project manager should review and update all their TD projects. Only the TD Project Manager is able to update project details (Project Name, Account, budget etc…), attributes, resources, time and expense information. The TD “project manager” should work collaboratively with resource managers with shared responsibilities to manage the work represented by the TD project.

How: Project Management: TD Projects>Management> Select project from project list in the main window

TD Help: For specific instructions please refer to TD Help located at: http://pm.syr.edu/TDNext50/Help/Default.htm

*Denotes update for new framework

General Tab
q  Allow the project manager to edit project information, change the project manager, status update, deactivate and activate project, and close projects.
q  All fields can be updated.
q  Review fields for adherence to new framework and resource allocation.
q  TD fields affected by new framework:
o  Account
o  Project Type
o  Participating Groups
o  Impacted Groups
o  Mandate
Edit the Project
Project Name / The project name should adhere to the following format: Enter a project name in the following format:
<Unit>- Project Name
Unit = group primarily responsible for the executing the work.
This format supports an organizational sorting method when looking at work in the Analysis>General Analysis module. The intent is to give enough information for someone to recognize what work has been planned and scheduled within the project.
Examples:
AA-Blackboard 9 Upgrade
IDM - Next Generation
Account Code* / Select (lookup) the organization representing the primary stakeholder of the system, service or application.
For a list of accounts go to: https://confluence.syr.edu/display/teamdynamix/Accounts
Type* / Verify the correct Project Type is assigned.
·  Maintenance and Operational Support: Project that support a unit’s core services.
·  Enhancement/New Service: New or substantial changes to systems, applications or services.
·  Discovery/Exploration: Exploration, investigation or discovery of emergent technologies, systems or services to determine viability for the university.
·  Organizational Business: Projects relating to the administration of the business, organization or institution.
For definitions and examples of Project Types go to:
https://confluence.syr.edu/display/teamdynamix/Project+Types
Client Contact Name (Sponsor) / Verify this field contains the project sponsors name.
Client Contact Email / Verify the sponsors e-mail.
Description / Should contain a high-level description of the project. Briefly describe the work scope. What is included? What is not included?
Start Date / Should reflect when the project started.
You can choose to have start date updated nightly by a batch job with the earliest start date from the plan tasks by selecting the option:
þAutomatically update the start and end dates and est. hours based on the project plan(s)
Otherwise, the start date can be manually managed by the project manager.
End Date / Should reflect when the project will complete. This date should be a date agreed upon by the project sponsor and project manager.
You can choose to have the end date updated nightly by a batch job with the latest end from the plan tasks by selecting option:
þAutomatically update the start and end dates and est. hours based on the project plan(s)
Otherwise, the end date will need to be manually managed by the project manager.
Total Est Hours / Review the total number of hours you’ve estimated resources will spend on this work throughout the project.
If the project plan option is checked:
þAutomatically update the start and end dates and est. hours based on the project plan(s)
The total estimated hours are updated nightly by a batch job from the projects plan(s)
Otherwise, the estimated hours will need to be managed manually by the project manager.
Project Budget - Time / The budget amount is the $ amount allotted for this work. The budgeted time should have been reviewed with the sponsor.
This is a manually managed field. It is not calculated or derived from any other fields.
Project Budget - Expenses / The budgeted $ amount for non-labor expenditures. Should display the total dollar amount for the project. Should have been reviewed with the project sponsor.
This is a manually managed field. It is not calculated or derived from any other fields.
Project Budget - Total / A calculated field. No entry is required.
The Project Budget Total is the sum of the Project Budget-Time and Project Budget Expenses.
T&E Approval / Should check the radio button: “Time and expenses should be approved by the individual’s manager”.
This will ensure resource managers will be able to approve their resources time reports.
Status / Choose a status indicator:
Green: All or most tasks on schedule. Scope, time and budget are on track.
Yellow: Some tasks overdue or delayed. Scope, time and budget is recoverable.
Red: Some tasks are overdue or delayed. Scope, schedule or budget needs to be re-baselined
Blue: No status. The project has not yet started.
Overall PCT Comp / Choose the percentage that best represents the status of the project. There are currently no guidelines.
Note: On reports, this field is displayed as “Mgr. Pct Complete”. TD also has a calculated field “Project Pct Complete” that is derived from the projects estimated and actual hours.
Options
Est. Hours and dates / IF you would like the
project start and end dates to be updated nightly with the earliest start date and latest end from the plan tasks
and
estimated project hours in the general analysis module to reflect the total number of hours assigned in the plan
THEN choose
þAutomatically update the start and end dates and est. hours based on the project plan(s)
To manually control the project’s total estimate hours and start/end dates DO NOT select this option. If you do not choose this option, the start/end dates and estimated hours fields will need to be manually managed, throughout the life of the project.
Attributes / For TD reporting purposes, this option should remain checked.
þApply Attributes
Resource Allocation / IF you would like resource allocation reports and screens to reflect your resource assignments and scheduling using the project plan(s)
THEN choose
þManage resource allocation by the project plan(s).
To manually control the resource allocation at the Project level (the resources tab on the project management screen) then UNCHECK this option.
1.  Project Level (Default)
a.  Use if you haven’t broken down the work into tasks, the project level allows the tracking of a time phased hourly estimate by resource.
b.  Resource allocation (assigned hours) is derived from the project resource assignments.
c.  You can only see resource, start/end dates and hours. There is no way to denote the type of work the estimate includes.
d.  Resource estimates can only be updated by the Project Manager of the project.
2.  Plan Level (Select “Manage resource allocation by the project plan(s).” in Projects>Management>General tab)
a.  Use if you have a work break down and can assign resources, estimated hours and duration by task. The plan provides visibility of what work has been included in estimates.
b.  Resource allocation (assigned hours) is derived from sum of the task estimates from the plan(s).
c.  Resource estimates and task assignments can be updated by other resource managers as requested by the work owner.
Project Contact
List / IF you would like resources on your project to be automatically added to the list of contacts for your project
THEN choose
þAutomatically add all new project members to the project contact list
To manually control the project contact list DO NOT choose this option. If you do not choose this option, you will need to add individual contacts to project contacts at your discretion.
Participating Groups* / Select the group or groups working on the organizational business of this group. These groups are responsible for the ensuring the administrative work is complete.
This is a multi-select field. (Hold control and click with mouse for multi-select)
This field will be used by resource managers to determine all the work their groups are working on. It is very important to include all groups working on the project. Reports will be based on this field.
The list of groups is a further break down of the Account field.
For a list go to:
https://confluence.syr.edu/display/teamdynamix/Sub-Accounts
Systems/Applications / Verify the correct system or application is selected.
For example: The applicable application for the AA-Blackboard 9.0 Upgrade might be Blackboard, Oracle 10g and Unix OS - Linux because the project scope includes not only an upgrade to Blackboard but migrations to Oracle and Linux.
Related Services / Verify the service group or groups that best represents the planned work are chosen.
This is a multi-select field. (Hold control and click with mouse for multi-select)
Service definitions can be found in Confluence at: https://confluence.syr.edu/display/teamdynamix/Related+Services+(ITS+Services)+Definitions
Mandate* / If the project is a directive from a regulatory entity or the Chancellor’s cabinet then select a mandate type, otherwise choose N/A.
This is a dropdown, select only one.
List of Values:
·  Regulatory: Project work required by any regulatory entity (e.g. Federal, State, Accreditation Organization or significant vendor) in order for the University to meet or exceed compliance standards.
·  Cabinet: Any project initiative requested by the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor & Provost or a member of the Chancellors cabinet.
·  N/A: Work is not a mandate.
Impacted Group(s)* / Select which groups are affected by the work in this project.
This is a multi-select field. (Hold control and click with mouse for multi-select)
Examples of effected groups:
The groups your resources are from
The groups your customers are from
For a list go to:
https://confluence.syr.edu/display/teamdynamix/Sub-Accounts
Inactive Reason / If you have inactivated the project, please choose the reason the project is not active.
The choices are:
Awaiting Approval: The project has not gone through the Project Request process and has not been approved to start.
Resources (Hrs/$$): The project cannot be worked on due to resource constraints or assignment issues.
Scheduling/Timing: The project cannot be worked on due to scheduling or timing issues. For example: Some FY2010 work will be inactivated until it is ready to be worked on July 1st.
Scope: The project’s scope is changing and needs further planning and estimation before it can continue.
PRS Score / Only projects scored in the ERP PRS system should have a PRS score.
Update the Status
q  Note the quick project facts in the right side pane
q  Some available information :
o  Issues: The number open, in process, postponed and closed
o  Tasks: In process, not started, completed, overdue and milestones.
o  Actual Hours: Tasks, issue, time off and total
Status / Choose a status indicator:
Green: All or most tasks on schedule. Scope, time and budget are on track.
Yellow: Some tasks overdue or delayed. Scope, time and budget is recoverable.
Red: Some tasks are overdue or delayed. Scope, schedule or budget needs to be re-baselined
Blue: No status. The project has not yet started.
Overall Pct Complete / Choose the percentage that best represents the status of the project. There are currently no guidelines.
Note: On reports, this field is displayed as “Mgr. Pct Complete”. TD also has a calculated field “Project Pct Complete” that is derived from the projects estimated and actual hours.
Comments / Enter in a status description for the project. This field can be selected to show up queries in general anaylsis.
Previous Comments / Displays the last comments entered by the project manager, or the audit trail of the last project detail update.

* Denotes update for new framework

Resources Tab
q  Review project resources for resource allocation and capacity planning.
o  Completeness: ensure all resources are accounted for.
o  Accuracy: ensure estimates are up to date.
o  Correctness: verify resources are still necessary and are from the right group.
q  TD field updated for new framework:
o  Functional roles
q  To see the new organizational framework, run the TD organizational report Analysis>Reports>Organizational Report
Update a Resource
q  To update a resource click on the resource name.
q  If you have not chosen the option “Manage resource allocation by the project plan(s)” then update start and end dates and estimates here. Otherwise update resources at the plan level.