This document provides an agenda and materials for a workshop on project management and strategic planning. The workshop will cover topics such as initiating projects, design teams, project deliverables and timelines, stakeholder analysis, and strategic options. Participants will engage in exercises to apply these concepts, including analyzing a project charter, identifying stakeholders, and developing strategic recommendations. The goal is for participants to gain knowledge on project processes and collaborative strategic planning to inform their work on task forces.

1. Credits: Many, but especially:
Human Technology, Inc. 1999.
The complete guide to managing
change and transition.
Amherst, Mass: HRD Press, Inc. and
former colleagues in Cornell’s
Organizational Development group.

2. WHEN WE FINISH THIS WORKSHOP YOU WILL KNOW
MORE ABOUT:
 Initiating projects
 Working on a design team (and what that is)
 The context, stages and deliverables of our work as a team
 Identifying key stakeholders
 Sharepoint as a collaborative toolkit
 The purpose and characteristics of a Future Search conference
 Developing “strategic options”

3. TENTATIVE SCHEDULE FOR TODAY - 1
Time Topic or Exercise
12:40-12:50 Intro and project initiation
12:50-1:00 First exercise – discussion of a project “charter”
1:00-1:20 Our project teams – what is a “design team” and what do
they do? How does our work relate to achieving the goals
of the ULS Long Term Plan? What are some examples of
“desired outcomes”?
1:20-1:45 Second exercise – preliminary group work on designing
the future state
Group 1 – Environmental scan – what factors are driving
the ULS to change? What data should be considered in
designing the future state?
Group 2 – What does the ULS Long Range Plan tell us
about desired outcomes? What three outcomes (from a
sample list provided) are the most critical to the
realization of the ULS Long Range Plan?

4. TENTATIVE SCHEDULE FOR TODAY - 2
Time Topic or Exercise
1:45-2:00 Our near term deliverables
2:00-2:30 Third exercise – group work – stakeholder analysis
2:30-2:45 BREAK
2:45-3:00 Do I really have to learn how to use Sharepoint? – Heidi
Card
3:00-3:25 What is a Future Search conference?
3:25-3:50 What is a strategic option? What factors, trends, issues,
opportunities should each TF consider? How will we
develop our first set of recommendations? When are they
due to Senior Staff?
3:50-4:20 Discussion, feedback, action planning, wrap up
4:20-4:30 Reserved time for packing up and getting on the shuttle

5. PROJECT INITIATION
Authorize expenditure of resources
Assign project manager
Establish roles and responsibilities of project manager
and other participants
Identify high-level goals/objectives
Notify people/organizations affected by project

6. NOW LET US BE PERFECTLY CLEAR… (A
PROJECT “CHARTER”)
Project name
Project sponsor(s)
Project manager
Statement of purpose—reason for the project
Specific high level project deliverables
Authorized project resources (i.e., people, budget)
Basic project timeline
Constraints or ‘givens’

7. EXERCISE 1: DOES OUR TF CHARGE ANSWER THESE
QUESTIONS?
1. Who is the project manager?
2. Who is the project sponsor? Does the sponsor know
he/she is a sponsor?
3. Who is on the project team?
4. What is the purpose of the project?
5. When the project is done, what will be different? (What are
the deliverables?)
6. What human resources are available for the project?
7. What is the basic project timeline?
8. Are there any “constraints” or “givens”? Are these stated or
merely implied?
Handout: Copies of TF charge from SP site

8. A HIGHLY SELECTIVE GLOSSARY OF PROJECT
MANAGEMENT TERMS
• Sponsor – Executive-level position responsible for integrating the
results of the project with the operations of the organization.
• Deliverable – Any item produced as the outcome of a project or a
part of a project. A deliverable is tangible and verifiable.
• Constraint or “given” – A restriction or limitation that influences
the project plan. Up-front design criteria such as “no additional
staff can be added,” “deliverables must be in hand by x date,”
“the focus should be on these types of services,”
“recommendations must be presented in priority order,” and so
on,

9. WHAT IS A DESIGN TEAM AND WHAT DO THEY
DO?
• A group of people responsible for translating a vision into operational (actionable)
terms
• They articulate a clear picture of a desired future state – what it is really going to look
like – by providing a blueprint for the organization
• Members are selected for their expertise, ability to influence and work with others,
knowledge of the organization and its processes
• Concerned with (1) getting from ideas to actual, specific activities and (2) questions
like:
• What new services should be delivered?
• What will changed processes look like?
• What will our new organizational structures look like?
• How will technology be used?
• What roles or responsibilities with people have?
• How will people relate to the communities that we serve?
Handout: too small to read

10. HOW DOES OUR TASK FORCE WORK RELATE TO
THE “VISION” – THE ULS LONG RANGE PLAN?
Overarching Theme: User-Centered Collections and Services
LONG RANGE GOALS OBJECTIVES
• Understand user needs, expectations
Information resources
Deliver innovation (enhance access)
and collections Stewardship of collections (conservation, preservation)
• User-centered renovation of space, equipment, systems
Infrastructure
(space, equipment, systems)
• Closer integration within and across ULS with faculty and departments
• Develop a new service model for reference blending traditional and
digital formats
Services
• Innovate information literacy instruction and assessment
• Innovate access services
• Articulate and exemplify new models of scholarly communication
• Partner with faculty and researchers at and beyond Pitt
Scholarly communication
• Support creation of new digital collections, publishing services, trusted
repositories
• Increase effectiveness by directing resources to highest priorities (as
indicated by assessment data analysis)
Organizational agility • Monitor and respond quickly to needs
• New skills development
• Recruit and retain professional staff
CROSSING THE CHASM FROM VISION TO REALITY –
DEFINING THE FUTURE STATE IN OPERATIONAL, EXECUTABLE TERMS

11. WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF “DESIRED
OUTCOMES”?
Type of outcome Examples
Business outcomes • Increased usage of facilities,
collections, services
• Increased responsiveness to user
needs
• Reduced cost of operations
• Faster turnarounds
• Full utilization of technologies
“People” outcomes • More work accomplished with same
number of people
• Increased flexibility
• More meaningful work
• More teamwork (or cross-functional
work)
• Better working conditions
“Organizational” outcomes • Alignment to community needs
• Open communications; inclusion
• Rapid, high quality decision making
• Easy coordination, linkage of units
• Culture of assessment
• Culture that supports mission of
university

12. Group 1 – Environmental
scan – what factors
are driving the ULS to
change? What data
should be considered
in designing the future
state?

13. Group 2 – What does the
ULS Long Range Plan
tell us about desired
outcomes? What three
outcomes (from the
sample list provided)
are the most critical to
the realization of the
ULS Long Range Plan?

14. OUR NEAR-TERM DELIVERABLES – FY13
PLANNING TASK FORCE
October TF October 26 November to
meetings early December
• Investigate • Future • Submit
and begin to Search strategic
identify FY13 conference options
strategic with selected analysis to
options ULS staff UL and PBC
• Presentation
to Admin
Council

15. OUR NEAR-TERM DELIVERABLES – USER
SERVICES TASK FORCE
October TF November 2 November to
meetings early December
•Scan •Future Search •Submit
environment to conference strategic
investigate and with selected options
identify FY13 ULS staff analysis to ULS
strategic Sr Staff, FY13
options Planning TF.
PTDG, PBC
•Presentations
TBD

16. STAKEHOLDERS AND THEIR REQUIREMENTS
AND EXPECTATIONS
• If an organization does not meet the requirements of
its key external stakeholders, it will ultimately fail
• Analyzing who the key stakeholders are and what they
require or expect is critical for determining what and
how to change
• For the purpose of our exercise, stakeholders can be
internal or external to the ULS

17. IDENTIFYING STAKEHOLDERS
Who is allocating budget? Who makes final decisions about
what will be resourced (funded)?
Who will use the results; who benefits?
Who originates? (Whose idea is it?)
Who defines “success”?
Who will feel the impact?
 Who gains? Who loses?
Who does or will do the work?
Who will maintain the outcome?
Who knows the “big picture”—future direction?

18. EXERCISE 3: STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS: GET
YOUR POST-ITS!
High Power High Power
Low Concern High Concern
Stakeholders
POWER
Low Power Low Power
Low Concern High Concern
CONCERN

19. TAKE A BREAK!

21. WHAT IS SHAREPOINT?
• SharePoint is Microsoft's collaboration and document
management software often used for organizations' internal
knowledge management.
• In practice we see it as a hybrid - somewhere between a
website, Outlook, a file system and an Intranet.
• SharePoint is web-based and users interact with it via their
web browser

22. INFORMATION OVERLOAD!
various shared
documents
Fragmented folder structure
– if any!
internal
Knowledge
Management outdated
e-mails
intranet
structure
Outlook public
paper-based
folders: email,
statistics
documents, &
collection
calendars
some public
web pages

23. WHY SHAREPOINT?
• Consolidate our internal content
• Learn about and use collaboration features for different
groups and across groups
• Reduce paper-based processes and broaden availability of
stats collection
• Explore using Announcement & Discussion features as
alternative to email

24. SHAREPOINT COMPONENTS & TERMS
Document Libraries
 Shared files & folders, incl. photos
Lists
 Announcements
 Calendars
 Tasks
 Links
 Discussions
 Contacts
 Custom
Web parts
 Main area to view snapshots of content from lists & libraries, rss
feeds, etc.

25. Presentation: SharePoint in Libraries, John
Heintz & Ben Durrant from the University of St.
Thomas Libraries, retrieved October 10, 2011
from
http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/libtech_conf/2010/concurrent_a/17/

27. FUTURE SEARCH
Structured interviews
Six questions
One of the questions is assigned to you; you will
interview 6 people on this question
You need to take notes on the answers to your
assigned question!
You will be interviewed on all questions
(including the one assigned to you)

28. OBJECTIVES
Highly interactive, collaborative approach
Gather information from all in short period of
time
Identify strategic actions that, if taken, will make
greatest positive difference
Develop common ground and shared
commitment

29. AGENDA FOR FUTURE SEARCH CONFERENCE
Arrival and coffee
Welcome and introduction (Karen)
“Future Search” Interviews
Individuals Identify Themes
Break and Social Time
Groups Analyze Data and Prepare Action Proposals
Reporters Present Themes and Action Proposal
Debrief and Wrap Up, Farewells

30. SIX SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Looking three years into the future, what would you want the
university community to be saying about the ULS?
2. What would you say are the major strengths or recent
accomplishments of the ULS in accomplishing its mission?
3. What would you say are the major threats, limitations or internal
barriers facing the ULS in accomplishing its mission?
4. What new opportunities might the ULS seize over the next two
years?
5. What strategies, objectives, projects, programs, or new initiatives
should the ULS pursue over the next two years?
6. What are some of the skills and competencies that ULS staff will
need to develop further in the coming 2 or 3 years? Which of
these skills and competencies will be most important to our
continued success?

31. YOUR QUESTION / YOUR GROUP
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6
Participant Participant Participant Participant Participant Participant
1 7 13 19 25 31
2 8 14 20 26 32
3 9 15 21 27 33
4 10 16 22 28 34
5 11 17 23 29 35
6 12 18 24 30 36

32. ROOM SET UP DIAGRAM: 36 PARTICIPANTS, 6
QUESTIONS
Q1 Q2
Q1 Q2 Q1 Q2
Q3
Q2 Q3 Q3
Q2 Q2
Q4
Q3 Q4 Q4
Q3 Q3
Q4 Q5
Q4 Q5 Q4 Q5
Q5 Q6
Q5 Q6 Q5 Q6
Q6 Q1
Q6 Q1 Q6 Q1
ROW 1 ROW 2 ROW 3

33. INDIVIDUALS IDENTIFY INTERVIEW THEMES
Sit down by yourself
What is highly characteristic of what my
interviewees said to me?
What is somewhat characteristic of what my
interviewees said to me?
What are some unique perspectives from my
interviewees?
You have 15 minutes (followed by break)

34. DATA ANALYSIS / ACTION PROPOSALS
Each group break out separately
Identify recorder/reporter and a timekeeper
As a group, compare “highly characteristic,” “somewhat
characteristic” themes and consider unique perspectives
Develop an action proposal for FY13
Write your proposal legibly on flip chart sheets
You have 45 minutes
Suggest you split time evenly between data analysis and
development of action proposal

35. SIX QUESTIONS >> ACTION PROPOSALS
1. Looking three years into the future, 1. Write a couple of headlines —then write
what would you want the university down what we need to do to make the
community to be saying about the
ULS? headlines true.
2. What would you say are the major 2. How and in what ways can the ULS use
strengths or recent accomplishments these strengths going forward?
of the ULS in accomplishing its
mission?
3. What are some of the things that we will
3. What would you say are the major need to do differently in the future to
threats, limitations or internal continue successfully serving our
barriers facing the ULS in
accomplishing its mission? communities?
4. What new opportunities might the 4. How should the ULS respond to these
ULS seize over the next two years? opportuntiies?
5. What strategies, objectives, projects,
programs, or new initiatives should 5. What are the 3 or 4 most important
the ULS pursue over the next two projects or initiatives?
years?
6. What are some of the skills and 6. Which are the most important and how
competencies that ULS staff will can we develop these new skills and
need to develop further in the competencies?
coming 2 or 3 years? Which of these
skills and competencies will be most
important to our continued success?
Printed handout for group work at Future Search conferences

36. Group discussion -
How will we manage
preparing (1) the
questions and (2)
the ULS staff for our
Future Search
conferences?

38. WHAT IS A STRATEGIC OPTION?
Strategic options are creative, action-oriented responses to the
library’s changing environment. They take into account the facts,
community needs, trends, opportunities and threats facing the
ULS. Strategic options are identified following an organizational
assessment that keeps in mind the changing environment,
mission and aspirations of the library. The TF will conduct the
organizational assessment inclusively by using “Future Search”
conferences focusing on (1) public and collections services and
(2) the ULS digital library. They will analyze the output of the
Future Search conferences to develop and submit a strategic
options analysis …
--Charge, ULS FY13 Planning Task Force

39. FY13 PLANNING TF: FOCUS ON THE ULS
DIGITAL LIBRARY
Possible factors, needs, trends, opportunities to consider:
• Digital library users - identifying constituencies (user communities) and their needs,
behaviors, preferences. Assessment and continuous improvement.
• Services for digital library users – delivery, remote access, mobile devices, reference and
outreach services for special or digitized collections, metadata and production services, more
• The collections of digital libraries – licensed and open access, digitized collections, born
digital sources, image collections, data collections, repositories, the library as publisher,
more …
• Organizing access to digital collections – enhancing discoverability/visibility, evolution of the
catalog, DL platforms and management systems, user-centered design, knowledge
organization, more …
• Metadata, standards, interoperability – design, outreach services, ingest and export,
mapping, conversion, sharing and re-using metadata, protocols, more …
• Legal, economic, human factors – IP, copyright, rights management, open access, library
cooperation, social networks, marketing and communications, assessment and evaluation,
more …
Handout: copies of this slide for TF members

40. USER SERVICES TF: FOCUS ON USER-CENTERED
SERVICE AND SPACE REDESIGN
Factors, needs, trends, opportunities to consider:
• Studying user communities, information-seeking behavior, needs, preferences –
realigning services accordingly
• Future of service points – combining desks
• “Privileging the user” in library buildings – space redesign
• “Virtual space” redesign – including web site, mobile devices, apps.
• Engagement and outreach with user communities – F2F and virtual
• Future of instruction – partnerships with faculty, instructional design
• Role of the liaison librarian – combining roles, new roles, new job descriptions
• New roles for staff
• Professional training, development, competencies for new roles
• Assessment and continuous improvement
Handout: copies of this slide for TF members

41. WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO TO DEVELOP OUR
STRATEGIC OPTION RECOMMENDATIONS?
1. Review the ULS Long Range Plan (the vision)
2. Consider: What are the most important problems to be solved or barriers to be removed?
3. Review the TF charge esp. any constraints or ‘givens’ (see slide 8)
4. Analyze the input from the Future Search conferences
5. Then consider the following questions about the ideal future state (pick the ones most relevant to your TF
charge) to identify the possibilities:
 What new or changed services need to be provided?
 What should renovated spaces look like?
 What will new or changed organizational structures look like?
 What types of key roles or responsibilities will people have?
 How will people relate to the communities that the ULS serves?
 What new or changed technologies will be used?
6. Review your TF’s stakeholder analysis (try for “wins” for as many stakeholders as possible, and consider
possibilities for compensating for “losses”)
7. Prioritize the possibilities and identify the recommended strategic options for making progress toward the
ideal future state in operational, executable terms
Handout: copies of this slide for TF members

42. WHEN IS OUR FIRST DRAFT DUE TO SENIOR
STAFF?
Strategic Options -
User Services
Task Force
Mid- Strategic Options -
FY13 Planning
November Task Force
Strategic options
– Thanksgiving

43. DISCUSSION, FEEDBACK, ACTION PLANNING, FINIS
CC-BY RVWithTito
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rvwithtito/6161674618/