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Project Intake
The project intake process takes a project request through several steps outlined in the chart below. Here is each step in the intake process and the typical length of time that project requests spend in that step. Within this process, a project is still considered a request and will be tracked in Jira with an "ITPM" ticket prefix. A project will begin only after the request has been accepted.
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Keep reading to learn more about each step in the project intake process.
Project Request
Project requests are created by submitting the Project Intake Form. To fill out the form, you will need to know some basic information regarding the project:
- What are the goals of the project?
- Who is requesting and sponsoring the project?
- When would you like the project to be completed?
The submission of the form creates a JIRA ticket. This ticket allows CIS, the project requester, and any other interested SPU faculty or staff to track the project throughout the intake process.
Definition
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Studies have shown that properly defined projects are more likely to succeed and be completed on time and on budget. The primary focus of the IT project intake process is to properly define projects in writing so that every member of the project team and any interested stakeholders are on the same page. A member of the CIS Business Systems team will meet with the project requestor and any immediate stakeholders to define the project. The conversation will cover the following:
- What is the project? (i.e.: What do we hope to achieve and what will it cost?)
- Why do we (as a university) need to take on this project?
- When does this project need to be completed?
- Who should be involved in this project? The people involved are part of the project team.
Scale & Scope
As the details of the project are discussed, the project team will begin to get an idea of the project's scale and scope. The scale and scope is simply, how big the project is. The "size" of a project is impacted by a number of factors, including the project's potential benefits, costs, level of impact, and complexity. The scale and scope of the project is used to determine whether the project can be expedited through the intake process, it will inform the project charter in the definition stage, and it will be used to help with the project's prioritization and scheduling.
Project Charter
Projects are defined through a document called a Project Charter. The charter is a collaborative document, which will be written by all members of the project team. The CIS staff member working with you on your project intake will guide and assist the project team with the writing of the project charter.
Click here to learn more about the Project Charter .
Expediting Projects
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To remain agile and support quick-moving initiatives around the university, the project intake process allows for projects to be expedited through the process. This includes a request from the VP of the Project Sponsor's area to expedite the evaluation, prioritization and/or acceptance of the project. For projects that are Expedited and Accepted CIS will immediately work with the identified project team to schedule the project. Even for Expedited projects, work may not begin immediately depending on current projects and existing commitments. Projects that are expedited also benefit from a project charter. If you believe that your project should be expedited, speak to the CIS staff member who is assisting you through the IT project intake process.
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For a project to be considered for expediting, it must have both of the following characteristics. High Impact This characteristic shows the impact to the service SPU can provide to the campus community. This is usually in the form of timely or broad service the campus community (usually directly to students). High-impact is also relative to the cost and complexity of the project. As those factors grow the impact to cost ratio declines and makes a project more suited to the normal prioritization process. A key component of a Project Request being High Impact is that the area VP for the Project Sponsor/Owner approves the project for expediting the project review (usually at the cost of existing projects and university initiatives). The VP should communicate the institutional importance of the Project Request to the Director of Business Systems and/or the AVP for Information Technology.
Low Cost or Complexity Projects that are low in cost, complexity, or both are perfect candidates to be expedited. Costs can include monetary, time, and/or labor and the effect can apply to the university as a whole or just CIS. Low complexity can include the people, processes, and/or resources that are involved in the project. When this characteristic is combined with high impact of the project's outcome, the project becomes a much more attractive candidate for immediate acceptance.
In addition to the criteria above, projects that have the following characteristics are more likely to be considered for review off-cycle:
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Prioritization
While the number of potential projects are limitless, the amount of resources (money, time, expertise) available to the university, CIS, and other departments are always limited. Evaluation and prioritization allows CIS, in partnership with other departments and a university-wide advisory council to analyze the pending project requests and move forward with the projects that are most beneficial to the university. These groups will evaluate and prioritize projects on a regular basis throughout the calendar year.
Click here to learn more about evaluation and prioritization .
At the end of the evaluation and prioritization stages, projects can enter one of the following statuses:
- Accepted - These projects will be scheduled to begin implementation, usually within the next 90 days.
- Expedited - Similar to accepted, this status is used for projects that were expedited through the intake process.
- Prioritization - Projects may remain in prioritization for one or more cycles.
- Definition - Project decision-makers may request that a project undergo further definition before being re-prioritized in the next cycle.
- Deferred - Projects that are deferred require additional work of some kind before moving forward. Deferred projects can be placed back in the prioritization queue when outstanding action items related to the project are completed.
- Closed - The project is canceled.
Projects that remain in the prioritization stage will be re-evaluated and re-prioritized during the next prioritization cycle. Click here to view a list of projects currently awaiting prioritization.
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Scheduling
After projects are accepted or expedited, CIS will work the project team and immediate stakeholders to schedule the project's implementation. Project scheduling is dependent on the current and planned workloads. We will work with every department involved in every project to ensure that projects are scheduled for work so that members of the project team are available for the project.
Click here to view a list of projects that are currently ongoing .
Signatures & Kick-Off
Part of the project charter is a section containing the signatures of the project sponsor, project owner, and the director-level supervisors of the project team. These signatures signify the acceptance of the project plan and commitment to start and finish the project with the resources required by the project plan.
Once the project has been accepted or expedited and scheduled, the project charter's timeline section should be updated. The charter can then be finalized and passed to each director, the project owner, and the project sponsor for signatory approval.
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