IT Portfolio and Project Management - IT Project Requests and Project Management

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Objective

This document provides an overview of Expectations, Guidelines, and Instructions for using TDX for Project Requests and Project Management within the TDX Project & Portfolio Management (PPM) Module.

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What’s New?

  • Project Requests are now done through the TDX Client Portal
    • Enterprise Project - Enterprise Project Management Office processes these requests
    • IT Department Project
      • Future Planning Request
        • Reviewed by PPMO before project created
        • Annual Planning (and Continuous Planning) requests are submitted here
        • Portfolio Management Team will review these requests and explain next steps to the requestor
        • If Project Manager not assigned, the Functional Lead from the project request is the default Project Manager
      • IT Department Project Request -
        • Project automatically created
        • Follow up support from PPMO if needs identified in request
        • Functional Lead from project request is the default Project Manager
    • IT Project - Use limited to the PPMO
      • Use the same form as IT Department Project Requests
      • These are strategic projects within MSU IT
      • These requests will be submitted by the PPMO and managed by an IT Project Manager
  • For those opening an IT Department Project request, it is created immediately after submitting the request. The Functional Lead becomes the Project Manager and can update and manage the Project immediately.
  • Request form has new attributes to allow the user to get PPMO support for: Future planning requests, funding requests, resource requests, and Enterprise Architecture review.

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Descriptions of TDX Project Types

  • Enterprise Project -Large, broad projects that have impact across MSU and may or may not have an IT component. These requests are handled by the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO). IT is involved in assessing the request and participating in the project as needed.
  • IT Department Project – Project within IT Department that is small, well-understood, and of limited scope. These are often activities that are larger than a ticket but smaller than a project and tracking them are helpful. These can be operational projects. IT Department Projects are designed to fill the gap between Tickets and IT Projects.
  • Future Planning Project - A type of request that will go through PPMO review before becoming and IT Department Project or an IT Project in TDX.
  • IT Project – Strategic project within MSU IT. This type of project likely requires an IT Project Manager (PM) or support from an IT PM. IT Projects involve multiple IT Units and/or are complex. While they may impact MSU on a larger scale, the responsibility and sponsorship usually lies within MSU IT as there may not be a clearly identifiable Business Owner. These will generally be submitted by the PPMO

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How do I Request a Project?

  • Enterprise Project – Complete form as required. Usually comes from Business Sponsor.
  • IT Project – Complete form as required. Will usually be submitted by a PPMO resource or converted from a Department Project to an IT Project by an IT Project Manager.
  • IT Department Project – Complete form as required. Usually comes from Lead who will manage project.

Note: Any project may require some level of IT Assessment based on complexity. The assessment will generally be done by the Functional Lead/Project Manager with support from the PPMO. The request form identifies four areas where further assessment is advised:

  1. Future Planning Request - These may be Annual Planning related requests or projects in the future the requestor wants to ensure is on the project roadmap or has time for appropriate review and assessment with support from the PPMO
  2. Funding Request - PPMO will provide guidance on completing the appropriate funding request
  3. Resource Request - PPMO will provide guidance on resources that may support non-operational, non-routine requests
  4. Enterprise Architecture Review - PPMO will provide guidance on and EA Review to help ensure compatibility, security, and proper integration with existing systems

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How do I Manage a Project?

  • Go to the Projects tab on your >TDX home page
  • If you do not have the Projects tab, click the waffle on the upper left and select ‘Projects’
  • Select a project, and click: “Manage”

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TDX PPM Requirements/Expectations with Instructions

  • Update Frequency
    • Projects – Update every 2 weeks or as determined by Project Manager and Sponsor.
    • IT Department Project – Update before the last day of every month.
  • Attributes to Update
    • Project Details – Update using Update Button
      • Status
      • Health – Note: If Red or Yellow will require need to document assistance needed in Comments section (Yellow – Have resolution for issue/risk, Red- Do not have resolution).
      • Percent Complete
      • Comments
        • These feed your status report
        • Select Templates (IT Project or IT Project Lite as appropriate)
        • Complete template and add any other useful information
        • Notification – clicking the people icon will add all contacts and email status report after you ‘Save’ updates
        • Click Save to save and send status report
    • General
      • Start Date and End Date – these default to date project created and one month after start if not completed in the project request. NOTE: Project Health will be updated to Yellow or Red if project is not started after planned Start date or finished by planned End date so monitor regularly.
      • Edit other fields as appropriate (Project Name, Type, Acct/Dept, Description)
        • Portfolio – MSU Information Technology for all MSU IT projects, unless part of a Program. If part of a Program, leave blank.
        • Program – select as appropriate if project part of program.
        • Classification – select as appropriate. Stewardship & Sustainability projects require additional information be completed (Expected Benefits & Expected Savings when the project is in planning and Realized Benefits & Realized Savings at end of project). See Stewardship & Sustainability Projects KBA for more information.
        • Expected Benefits - add for Stewardship & Sustainability projects at project start.
        • Expected Savings - add for Stewardship & Sustainability projects at project start.
        • Realized Benefits - add for Stewardship & Sustainability projects at project end.
        • Realized Savings - add for Stewardship & Sustainability projects at project end.
        • Update Sponsor if necessary
        • Update Priority as appropriate (defaults to Medium)
    • Settings
      • Project Components – Check those you want to use, uncheck those you will not use.
      • Project Sections – Check those you want to use, uncheck those you will not use.
    • Resources
      • Add/update as appropriate
        • Functional Lead from Request will be Manager in IT Department Projects and assigned by Portfolio Management for Projects.
        • Manager and Alternate Manager
          • Make Supervisor an Alternate Manager.
          • More than one Alternate Manager can be added.
          • Add backup as Alternate Manager when appropriate.
    • To make updates and send your Status Report go to Project Details and select Update. Then:
      • Update Status (New, In Process, On Hold)
      • Update Health (Green, Yellow, Red) – Must ID assistance needed if Yellow or Red
      • Add Comments – These will make up much of your status report
        • Under Templates: Select appropriate Template then Standard Update
        • Add updates or modify content as needed
      • Notification – Select people to receive email of status report. Selecting the “People” button will add all project Contacts (Resources & Stakeholders).
      • Click “Save” and Status Report is emailed to those selected for notification and added to the Previous Comments section
    • To Close a Project or Project Lite
      • Complete all project updates in all sections – Mark 100% complete, Update End Date.
      • Send final status report with notes indicating project is complete and will close
      • Navigate to Project Details
      • Select the Actions button, then Close from the dropdown menu
    • Other requirements to be determined with usage

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    Strongly Encouraged (likely to be required in future)

    • Attributes to Update
      • Settings
        • Time Types – Add Time Types (bottom of section) associated with Services provided by project resources
        • This is necessary for Effort Reporting
      • Resources
        • Resources are people who will do work on the project and are automatically added to Contacts and receive Status Reports when you select Contacts to receive the status report.
        • For Resources remember to add service(s) provide by a resource as Time Type(s) under Settings
        • This is necessary for Effort Reporting
      • Stakeholders
        • Stakeholders are those not working on the project who have an interest in the project and will automatically be added to Contacts and receive Status Reports when you select Contacts to receive the status report.

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    Other Helpful Components and Sections

    • Risks Register – Use to track and manage risks.
    • Issues Log – Use to track and manage issues.
    • Plans – Use to create a plan for your project in waterfall (gantt chart) or card wall (kanban) format.
    • Milestones – Use with plan to identify progress toward key tasks or deliverables.
    • Note: Sections and Components can be added and removed within the Settings section and using the checkboxes to add and remove.
    • Note: Not all Sections and Components have been fully explored and understood. Staff are encouraged to experiment and share benefits and best practices. See Appendix A for list and vendor supplied information.

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    Knowledge Base Articles (KBAs)

    These can be used to get assistance on how to complete activities related to the TDX Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) functionality. To access KBA, go to the >Knowledge Base and search for the appropriate article. If an article does not exist, you can request assistance from the IT Project Management Office and help develop a KBA for future use.

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    How do I get help?

    Managing a project can be difficult. Assistance can be provided by seeking a consultation with an IT Project Manager or by utilizing tools and techniques utilized by the IT Project Management Office (IT PMO) or the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO).:

    • Request Project Management Consultation - Complete and submit the Request Form and a IT PMO Project Manager will be assigned to reach out to provide suggestions on tools and techniques that will assist you in working through project challenges.
    • Utilize the IT PMO Requirements and Guidelines - Department projects are not required to complete all the deliverables required of IT Projects managed by IT PMO Project Managers, however, the Requirements and Guidelines provide some basic project management instruction and the deliverables can help organize and clarify the project for the manager of the project and the project team. The Project Charter, Project Management Plan, Architecture Diagrams, Scope and Requirements, and Change Request are tools that may be very useful for smaller projects.
    • Utilize the Enterprise Project Management Office Solution Delivery Lifecycle (SDLC) Framework - The EPMO has a robust set of tools that can be utilized if the manager of a Department Project feels it would be helpful. These are not required, and not likely needed, but could provide value for specific projects.

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    Appendix A (Components and Project Sections)

    Components and Project Sections are features in TDX PPM to manage projects more effectively; used as appropriate for each Project. IT Projects may use more of these features while Project Lites will use them less frequently. The manager of the project determines what to utilize. The Project Manager can determine which of these will be used (beyond those identified in Expectations/Instructions section) until Standards for use are developed.

    Components and Project Sections can be added or removed using the check boxes in the Settings section.

    Note: Save after adding and removing Components and Project Sections.

    Components

    Sections

    • Project Details - This is where the Project Manager performs updates against the project, such as adding Project Baselines and Resources. This is also where the regular IT? Project Update can be performed.
    • General - The general data-sheet of the project, including type, start and end date, etc. Separate heading exists for Time & Expenses, including Advanced details such as Program, Portfolio, and Sponsor. Also where Custom Attribute Project Sections will appear.
    • Settings - Place to manage Project Component and Attribute display settings; also overall project display and functionality Settings. Use to configure each Project as needed.
    • Goals* - Displays the Goals the Project is seeking to accomplish. Most useful during the Scorecard step of the Project Review phase, the Project Goals can be put on display during the Project Management phase as well.
    • Systems Affected* - This is a list of Affected Systems that the Project will impact during the course of its completion.
    • Related Processes* - This is a list of Affected Systems related processes that the Project will impact during the course of its completion.
    • Organizational Risks* - Displays the Organizational Risks the Project is seeking to accomplish. Most useful during the Scorecard step of the Project Review phase, the Organizational Risks can be put on display during the Project Management phase as well.
    • Benefits* - This is a list of Benefits that the Project brings.
    • Expenses* - Add and Manage all Project-related Expenses. Displays all Approved Expenses in a full list view.
    • Returns* - This is a list of Affected Systems that the Project will impact during the course of its completion.
    • Role Forecasts* - Useful when managing large groups of teams with overlapping Roles. Role Forecasts assist with Project Planning by working with employee roles, capacities, and project schedules to keep projects moving and running on time and within budget.
    • Resources* - Add or Remove Resources from a Project, and Shift the Schedules of current Resources to help meet Project Deadlines. Resources differ from Stakeholders in that Resources have license permission to use TDNext whereas Stakeholders do not (they only have TDClient access).
    • Scorecard* - Useful for evaluating Projects during the Review Phase of Project Management. Scorecards are displayed in the Project Management Phase if they were used in assessing a Project's value during review.
    • Stakeholders* - Stakeholders are individuals that have a stake in the outcomes of a Project. They can be a Vendor, CIO, or other Team Member. Stakeholders access the Project from the Client Portal (TDClient), where as Resources have license to use TDNext for their Project work.
    • Plans**Reference >Plans above for more information.
    • Milestones* - This displays a full list of Project Milestones from across all Waterfall plans on the Project.
    • Risks Register** - Reference >Risks Register above for more information.
    • Workflows - Displays the full list of Workflows that the Project has been through during the Review process.
    • Feed - A full list of all actions performed against the Project. Includes the ability to send notifications to Project Resources and Stakeholders.
    • Status Chart - Displays Project Statuses over time. Useful for tracking historic project health.
    • Baselines - Historical list of Project Baselines by Date, including Start / End Date adjustments, Est. Hours, as well as Time & Expense Budgets.
    • Announcements** - Reference >Announcements above for more information.
    • Briefcase** - Reference >Briefcase above for more information.
    • Calendar** - Reference >Calendar above for more information.
    • Calendar Feeds - A place to Add and Manage all Project Calendar Feeds
    • Contacts** - Reference >Contacts above for more information.
    • Issues** - Reference >Issues above for more information.
    • Links** - Reference >Links above for more information.
    • User Stories** - Reference >User Stories above for more information.

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