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Project Management Practices at UNTThis is an edited version of an article that appeared in the February 2008 issue of The Enterprise, a quarterly web-based publication containing EIS-specific information - Ed. By John Hooper, Executive Director of Administrative Information SystemsThe many teams within the Computing and Information Technology Center and other information technology providers across the university do hundreds of projects each year in support of the mission of the university. Many of these projects are small but some are very large. Significant university resources, both human and financial, are committed to these projects. These efforts have a significant impact on the delivery of services to our constituents – students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and the community. Yet despite the importance of these projects and the resources of the university involved in their delivery, UNT has not had standards, consistent practices or policies for prioritization and execution of information technology (IT) projects. New requirements from the state’s Department of Information Resources require that the university develop a project management practice. The elements of this practice will include:
IT Advisory Committees at UNT (draft) This proposal is currently under consideration by the IRC. Please provide your feedback to your representative on the IRC. Also under consideration is a policy document titled “Project Management Policy.” The State policy titled Texas Administrative Code, chapter 216 requires that public institutions of higher education in Texas have a policy that communicates an institution-wide approach to project management practices. It also states that those institutions manage information technology practices in a manner that includes documented and repeatable methods that the university uses to apply knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to satisfy project activity requirements. The proposed policy document is intended to satisfy the state’s requirement for such a policy. This proposed policy provides definitions relating to projects at UNT. It will provide a classification system to be used in determining the level of management that must approve a project and the project management rigor required for the execution of that project. This proposed policy may be reviewed at: Project Management Policy (draft) Another draft document, the “UNT Project Management Handbook,” describes the project management practices to be employed for IT projects at UNT, the project approval structure that defines responsibility for approving projects based on their size (as determined by the Project Classification procedure in the “Project Management Policy”), and the project management rigor required based on the classification of the project. This handbook is consistent with the Texas Project Delivery Framework promulgated by the Texas Department of Information Resources. Please pay particular attention to Appendix A which describes the Project Approval Structure and Appendix B which prescribes various levels of Project Management rigor depending on effort, complexity, etc. The approval structure will tie closely to the committees and roles described in the overall “Information Technology Advisory Committees Proposal.” The draft handbook may be reviewed at: UNT Project Management Handbook (draft) Both the “Project Management Policy” and the “UNT Project Management Handbook” are under review by the Standards and Policy Planning Group which is a standing committee of the IRC. This group is chaired by Tim Christian. Please provide feedback to Tim. Although these efforts will not change the quality of the products delivered or the services provided by information technology providers at UNT, they will change some aspects of how those providers perform their responsibilities. In addition to meeting state requirements, these changes should provide for more effective execution of projects, more structured and appropriate approval and prioritization of projects consistent with their cost and impact on the university, more transparency about project prioritization and delivery, and more effective use of resources. For this to be effective and at an appropriate level of structure that meets the goals of the project management practice without being overly burdensome, the university needs your feedback on these proposals.
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