Project initiation & closeout steps

This article describes the OIT Portfolio & Project Management Office standards for managing projects, in context of project management system (TeamDynamix) and other collaboration tools.

Pre-project Planning

• Determine project scope, goals, and timeline and milestones in collaboration with Sponsor & Executive Sponsor.
• Identify stakeholders, their roles, & levels of engagement (desired vs. current) for each.
• Identify list of all systems affected by project.
  • Engage individuals who support identified systems - discuss project and possibility of their involvement.
• Determine appropriate project team members, getting input from Sponsors, stakeholders, etc. as appropriate.
  • Get supervisor approval for team members' involvement (ideally with estimate of time commitment).

Project Initiation

• Create project in TeamDynamix (or convert from project request to project).
  • Document in TDX the project Sponsors, scope, goals, start and end dates (as agreed upon with Sponsors).
  • Create project plan in TeamDynamix & draft based on information available prior to kickoff meeting.
  • Add any known risks to project Risk Register in TeamDynamix.
  • Add project team members and stakeholders to project in TeamDynamix.
• Create team in Microsoft Teams for project - following naming convention of "OIT-Project-project_name_here".
• Inform team of project materials in TeamDynamix & Microsoft Teams (and ensure they have access) by kickoff meeting.

Project Closure

• Transfer ownership of emails, system, etc. to operational team.
  • Ensure Project Manager and non-operational employees are removed from group email alerts, from system Admin or other roles, etc.
• Convey Product Management expectations and outline materials for that role to relevant individual(s).
• Ensure new applications/systems were added to the OIT Application Portfolio; verify info is up-to-date as of project closure.
  • Ensure vendor is created as a "Supplier" in TeamDynamix (required to create entry for the application).
• Document and ensure availability of deliverables (as applicable):
  • Process flow diagram
  • Data flow diagram
  • Roles & Responsibilities document (or KB article)
  • Lessons Learned document (summarize outcomes, successes/failures, and recommendations for future projects)
• Ensure documentation is complete and stored in appropriate location(s):
  • Create a folder for the project & upload copy of all project documentation to archive location (Storage-ITS "Projects" folder in SharePoint).
    • In subfolder "3 - Completed Projects" if all project goals were achieved.
    • In subfolder "3 - Closed or Cancelled Projects" if project was cancelled or otherwise closed without meeting all project goals.
    • Note: be mindful of retaining files with sensitive data (e.g. SSNs); if a policy violation email notice is received after upload, delete the file or remove the relevant data from the file and retain only the modified version.
  • Store documentation needed for operational reference in that team's desired retention location & ensure they have access.
• Close out project in TeamDynamix - including tasks in plan, issues, and risks; close project and post final status update.