1. Building a Cost Effective Portfolio
Management System…Yes You Can!
Presented By:
Linda Maleki and Cindy Trinh
Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
California Institute of Technology
NASA PM Challenge
February 22, 2012
Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not
constitute or imply its endorsement by the United States Government or the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology.
Copyright 2011 California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged.
2. We are JPL’s OCIO
Support
the
Laboratory
in meeting
its goals
Infuse the
Serve the
diverse IT OCIO right
technologies
needs of
JPL Vision at the right
time
Offer
compelling
service
alternatives
2
10. OCIO Process Derived from RUP and
tailored to JPL Needs
Inception Elaboration Construction Transition
Project Software Implementation Lessons
Vision & Plan Learned
Requirements &
Scope Business
Major Processes Training
Features Development Deployment
Configuration
High Level Project Plan
Budget &
Schedule Test Plans 10
16. Project Managers and Team Members
Speak the Same Language
Need to Must Standard
teach the practice terminology
vocabulary effective is used and
behind the Change artifacts are
process Management consistent
17. Project Action Reports: The Basic Data for BuildIT
What are
your next
steps for the
next reporting
period?
Are there
any action
items or
milestones
due or
overdue? What are any
major new
issues and
what are you
doing about it?
17
21. BuildIT Tools: Risk List
• Catalog and Track all
identified project risks and
mitigations.
• All standard risk information
are tracked on the BuildIT
Project site
21
22. BuildIT Tools: Document Tracking
• Track and Control
Project Documentation
• Directory Structure
consistent across all
sites
• Integrates with Office
Applications
• Full workflow and
reporting capability
22
29. CIO Required that All Projects be
Registered on the Development Pipeline
30. Establish a Process and BuildIT Coordinator
Walk the Expedites
users the JUMP
through the Process
tool
Audit
projects for
compliance
Full Project and
Process Support
37. Our Main Goals Were Achieved
Pipeline, weekly status Roles, responsibilities, and
updates, and metrics tools technology position
were developed statements were defined
Accomplishments
UX Experience working
Automated first online form
group established
39. “Before we had BuildIT, it was almost impossible
to know the status of all of the projects we were
working on. A week after BuildIT went Live, we
knew we had 35 active projects and we knew
which ones needed help.”
-Michael Stefanini, JUMP Process
Owner, Section Manager of IT Project
Management and Application Development
39
40. BuildIT Feedback for Continuous Improvement
Performed
ongoing
assessments
with users
Provide upper
Developed
management
specialized
with
Affinity
meaningful
Groups
metrics
We are the organization that develops IT Projects. To provide "IT that matters" and keep pace with the dramatically changing world of information technology, we created several offices within the OCIO that provide strategic planning and governance, encourage the adoption of new technologies, and foster communication with both internal customers and external partners. The OCIO mission is to make a significant, measurable contribution to JPL’s mission success by: Supporting the Laboratory in meeting its goals - The OCIO is here to help the Lab successfully reach its goals by providing IT services, solutions, and expertise. Serving the diverse IT needs of the varied JPL communities One size does not fit all. JPL’s diverse communities need a variety of IT solutions that are tailored to meet particular needs. Infusing the right technologies at the right time Track technologies that have potential for JPL, adopt those that provide benefit, and time the adoption to maximize value. In the end, we want the OCIO to be JPL’s valued and preferred information technology partner, delivering reliable, cost-effective, quality services and solutions.
Utilizing the JUMP FrameworkImplementing BuildIT to Keep Projects on TrackConversion of Templates to Online FormsMeasuring Success with Metrics and Best Practices
We knew it was important to know what was going on with our projects.Before BuildIT, we did not know the duration of a project and how long it took.
RUP is an iterative software development process framework. RUP is not a single concrete process, but rather an adaptable process framework, intended to be tailored by the development organizations and project teams.Describe Iterative processInception: Create excitement for implementing this project. Objectives are stated clearly, high level requirements, and resource estimates. Elaboration: Flesh out the details. An analysis is done to determine what it will take to achieve vision. SRD, Project Plan, choice of architecture, and resources are determined. Construction: Build it. Emphasizes managing resources and controlling operations to optimize costs, schedules, & quality. Implementation plan, test plans, and Release Notes. Transition: Hand off to Operations. Lessons Learned, education, deployment, configuration, and support.Describe end of Phase Reviews
BuildIT is built using 99% COTS Minor customizations were done for the metrics Page and rollupCost EffectivenessWe knew that we didn’t have enough funds for a huge investment in the systemWe leveraged our existing Sharepoint infrastructureMike, our Section Manager, built it in less than two weeksNo coding was involved because we used the out of the box capabilitiesOur advanced metrics and rollups took one week to developIt was cheap, easy, quick and provided value to our customers
How do we know what aspects of the project are important? How do we know what we should track?The ITIL lifecycle will assume the following processes have been addressed in the project planService Catalog ManagementThat the Service Pipeline, the Architecture Portfolio, and the Technology Portfolios have been updatedService Level ManagementThat the non-functional requirements have captured any requirements or expectations of the customers and stakeholders. An SLA can be derived from these requirementsSupplier ManagementPlans for vendor and supplier interfaces have been identifiedIT Security ManagementIT Security has verified that the project is compliantLastly, that Operations is aware of any constraints and able to provide sufficient support for the followingCapacity Management, Availability Management, and IT Service Continuity Management
Now that we’ve taught the concept, we needed to teach the vocabulary behind the processSocial Engineering - For both Process and Toolset. We educated people on why we are doing what we were doingAll artifacts need to be completed, approved, and uploaded to BuildIT before entering the next phase.Need to incorporate this process into the existing culture. Resistance from many Project Managers who were used to not following a standard process and for considering this as a “barrier” for their project and stakeholders.
A Project Status Report should be also be know as an “Action” reportIt should bring the spotlight onto the issues the project team wants to focus on. Management is interested in: 1. What are any major new issues and what you doing about it? 2. Are there an action items or milestones due or overdue?3. What are your next steps for the next reporting period?
Each Project has their own collaboration site to track all of their artifacts for each phase, other features are also available such as an Issues List, Checklists, Memberships, Risks, and To-Do Action Tasks.Purpose: Monitor and Respond to Project Issues
The Anatomy of BuildIT has Numerous Features that all Integrate EffectivelyRecommendation for Action (RFA):Purpose: Monitor and Respond to Project IssuesWorks like a Specialized To-Do ListUsed to monitor RFAs, Customer Issues, and other problemsChecklistRequired and Optional JUMP Phase RequirementsThis checklist not only shows the required JUMP tasks, but works as an assignment sheet, notebook, and status list as well.Performance Indicators are generated based on the status of the items on this list
Each Position was approved by the Technology Committee/Working Group and has metadata including description, status (Core), benefits, usage, etc.What is our Program position on Technology?
This was the first Word template that was automated and Project Managers were especially excited about this because they could create a plan in draft or concept state.For the Inception plan, you define your vision, objective, scope and boundaries, your Project Sponsor and Stakeholders, Success Criteria, Features, and Solution Estimates.
UX Experience is a review board charged with reviewing and grading both application and web site interfaces during the development cycle.User Experience includes the User Interfaces of the software tools. It also includes the design of any technical interactions with the customers, sponsors, stakeholders, and users within the scope of the product.UX will ensure that the new Re-BuildIT will be reliable, intuitive, and maintainable user experience across all IT applications.In order to implement IT Applications as efficiently and effectively as possible, it is necessary to set UI standards and underlying architecture that developers can follow in creating their applications.
JUMPIT is integrated with BuildIT.Multiple mandatory training sessions were conducted for users across the organization.There are many features on BuildIT and training users on the different modules should be done in phasesTraining gives Project Managers a Better Understanding of the Process & the Tools4 training classes: Overview, Phase Specific, Navigation, Reviews and Scorecards
We wanted to simply display various details of a project and whether or not they needed attention BuildIT provided us with these means. We were able to identify projects that were not on track As a lessons learned it was crucial that we received Management support
Metrics provided to CIO are valuable
Work with the Project Managers to ensure that the JUMP process is followed, artifacts are delivered, and signed off prior to their phase reviewsAudit projects for compliance and manages the Waiver processThe Review Board Chair during project reviews and gathers RFAs and ScorecardsHelps Project Managers walk through the tools, process, and benefits while enforcing policies and proceduresShort DescriptionPerson who uses the IT services on a day to day basis. Users are distinct from the customer as some customers do not directly interface with the system.DeliverablesRelease documents, waivers, schedules project reviews, updates CMDB, communications, and status reports.ResponsibilitiesWork with the Project Managers to ensure that the JUMP process is followed, that artifacts are delivered, and signed off prior to their phase reviews. Manages the Development Pipeline and other aspects of the CMDB (configuration management data base). Is the Review Board Chair during reviews and gathers RFAs and Scorecards to post on the project site. Distributes review materials and gathers signatures for artifacts. Manages the RFA process and post materials in the official Document repository (PDMS).Conducts JUMP training for Project Managers and usersAuthoritiesAudit projects for compliance, signoff for every phase and waivers. Authority to allow/deny or schedule reviews.Authority to move the project from one phase to the nextSummaryThe main point of contact for all JUMP process related questions and issuesHas the expertise and authority to coordinate all projects with the software development process
Interviews were conducted with Project ManagersMetrics were captured to find out the duration that it took for each phase to be completedA case study was also performed to determine the amount of time and budget spent using BuildITDivision 31 – same code base, one followed process and one did not. More done, less errorsNeed to incorporate this process into the existing culture. Resistance from many Project Managers who were used to not following a standard process and for considering this as a “barrier” for their project and stakeholders.There was an assumption that there was overhead, once the Project Managers used the tool, they realized that the project didn’t take longer than expected.
[show screenshot of what PMs find useful]
Metrics reveal how many days each project remains in each phaseMetrics can track budget allocations and actual costs[show example]
Projects had five minute weekly status reports. A Project Manager can quickly go in the tool and update their progress. We are able to pull up critical projects list and risks.If you don’t know what you are responsible for, you won’t know what to do. We defined roles and responsibilities the process and toolsetUX site- user experience and review process. Review of Graphical User Interfaces during the early stages of development to make sure it is aesthetically pleasing to the human eyesWe were excited to take our Inception Plan Word Document and automate it. The users could easily step through each area and fill in the necessary information. Often, Project Managers chose to present their Inception Review directly from the online Inception Tool.
We need a balance for bothHave an open forum at our Weekly Project Status meeting to gather feedbackReceived positive feedback from First Time users and others who use the system
All online forms will have the capability to be converted to a MS Word document and/or Powerpoint presentation.All core metadata on the Inception Plan are entered once for the online form. Other required online forms such as the SRD and Project Plan can select the core metadata from the list instead of enter the same information again.Total Time spend in Inception Phase should be no longer than 2 weeks.No redundant data entry
Purpose: Track major schedule and delivery milestonesThis list serves as a simple project schedule. A more detailed MS Project schedule is also provided as a template.The provided schedule already includes all required (and many optional) JUMP milestones – a turn-key project schedule!Projects tracks their own schedule on their respective siteThere will be a centralized rollup schedule of all project deliverables and milestonesManagement will have the ability to view the Master Schedule to determine the progress of each project
Part 1: OCIO identified a need for tracking projects and we were able to implement a low cost solution called BuildIT leveraging existing infrastructure.Part 2: Have a centralized collaboration site to track all of their information from document files, risks, action items, RFA’s, and weekly status reports.Part 3: All of the paper based documentation will be automated, there will be improved navigation, as well as Microsoft Project Server integration. The Scorecards will also be captured online.