ITS PMO Methodology
The ITS Project Management Office has created a Project Management methodology to guide project delivery. As our office matures, so too will our methodology; we expect to make updates in order to remain current with best practices. We offer waterfall, agile, and hybrid methodologies.
Our methodologies employ practical elements that work together to support the delivery of successful projects. These elements are outlined in the project management life cycle, or project phases. Understanding these elements is the first step to embarking on your project management journey.
Please review the expandable sections below for a high-level overview of each project phase.
Initiation Phase
Activities
- Justify the need for the project
- Identify critical success factors and definitions of done
- Define project goals, including high-level timelines, deliverables, and milestones
- Identify stakeholders, scope, initial risks, resources, & budget
- Determine the level of ITS PMO service needed/desired (prior to Project Intake development)
- Identify and elicit requirements
Documents
- Project Intake Document (summarizes project information from above)
- Requirements Traceability Matrix and Gap Analysis (if necessary)
Gates
- Project Sponsor and ITS approves the project
Planning Phase
Activities
- Thorough planning of all project work at a detailed level, or for Agile projects, at epic or story level
- All documentation combined into Teams
Documents
- Project Schedule and/or Milestones
- Critical Success Factors
- Communication Plan
- Budget (if applicable)
- RACI Chart (roles and responsibilities matrix)
- Roles and Responsibilities w/Org chart
- Stakeholder Analysis
Gates
- Project Sponsor approves plan
Execution & Control Phase
Activities
- Delivery of project plans, or for Agile, backlog
- Determine the testing strategy
- Monitoring to ensure project stays within scope, on time, and on budget
- Management of issues and change requests
Documents
- Status Update Reports
- Issues/Changes, Risk and Decision Logs
- Testing Strategy
- Updates to Project Plan documents
Gates
- Project Sponsor and stakeholders are kept informed through regular status update communications to inform decisions and issue management
Closeout Phase
Activities
- Ensure all deliverables meet acceptance criteria and are transferred to Operations staff
- Discuss, review, and document Lessons Learned
- Celebrate project success
- Archive project files
- Release the Project Team from further work
Documents
- Lessons Learned
- Project Closeout Report
- Thank You messages to Project Team members
Gates
- Project Sponsor approves Project Closeout Report