OSU CIO Project Management Framework

Ohio State University—Office of the CIO

The Ohio State University
Office of the CIO

Project Management Framework

DRAFT Version 1.00
July 27, 2004

Prepared by:
Office of Project Management Services
Reena Chaba & E.J. Shaffer

CIO Workgroup Contributors:
Linda Ayres, OIT/Partnership Management
Linda DeBula, OIT/ATS
Glenn Donaldson, OIT/ADS
Bill Karl, OAA/OUS
Nanci Gobey, OIT/ADS
Cindy Gray, CIO/TELR
Jamie Lambert, OIT/UNITS
David Lindstedt, CIO/OPMS

External Consultant:
Bob Wysocki, Enterprise Information Insights, Inc.

Project Management Framework Draft V.1.00 Page 1 of 136


Introduction

The project work environment within the Offices of the CIO and the Ohio State
University customers we support is dynamic and fast-paced. Our projects must deal with
dynamic business scenarios and sometimes unclear customer requirements. It is the
Project Manager’s job to manage uncertainty and change in a manner that does not
negatively affect the outcome of their projects. The OSU CIO Project Management
Framework was built to make the Project Manager’s job a little easier. This framework
contains definitions, guidelines and templates for the various project management
activities undertaken to deliver successful projects.

We live in very tight fiscal times, short-staffed organizations, burgeoning requests for our
services, and often times unrealistic schedule deadlines. Given this environment, we
simply cannot afford to perform activities that do not add value to the final deliverables
of our projects. As such, our project management approach was designed to support our
ability to complete quality work at the lowest cost, in the shortest period of time, with the
requisite level of quality. The project management processes focus on those activities,
which are clearly value-added.

The Offices of the CIO has built the Project Management Framework, which is a
customized project management methodology, in order to enable project leaders to focus
on those processes that bring value. Our methodology:
• Provides a common language for communicating about the function of project
management within the organization,
• Encourages appropriate communication and planning prior to the start of project
work,
• Establishes a means for managing projects more efficiently,
• Enables the tracking of progress against pre-determined metrics and facilitates
standardized reporting,
• Leads to effective project outcomes which achieve institutional objectives, and
• Builds on a set of best practices learned over time.

The methodology development process was guided by the following objectives:
• The design should seek to be reasonably comprehensive, flexible, and accessible;
• The content will enforce discipline but not disallow application of a manager’s
critical judgment and insight,
The Framework will provide a clear communications vehicle about project management,
inform key stakeholders about the process, and enable all participants to mitigate project
risks.

The framework establishes common ground for all projects within the Offices of the CIO
at the Ohio State University. With the glossary of Project management terms, it will also
ensure common terminology between different areas within the university.

The long-term intent is to build a project management repository to document best
practices, lessons learned, and examples of various documents that may be developed
during a project.



A great number of people within the university have been planning, managing and
executing projects for a long time. The framework exists to help build on our successes
and learn from our failures. It is meant to grow our project management capabilities over
time. It is important to note that the framework is meant as a guide; it is not rigid and can
be tailored to suit your project’s requirements.

In order to follow the framework, one must first understand the project classification
process.

Project Classification
All projects can be classified into a category based on the amount of work effort and risk.
A small project would fall into Class 1 while a big project would fall into Class 5.

Why classify?
• “One size doesn’t fit all” when it comes to managing projects
• The amount of documentation and required project management activities must
scale to size of project

How do we classify?
• Size is determined based on work effort, represented by the estimated number of
person-hours required to complete the work (not duration) and the budget for staff
resources, both internal and external to the organization.
• It is not necessary to use actual staff salaries in calculating internal cost. A
blended rate for the department can be used.
• The point of estimating staff costs is that staff time is not “free.”

Considering the Project Risk
Although work effort and staff budget are good indicators for the amount of project
management that should be expended, certain factors can also bring about the need for
the application of more robust project management practices. The Risk Matrix identifies
five risk factors to be evaluated once the initial classification level is determined. In the
event that the total risk score is greater than 10, the classification level could be
increased.

5 Phase Project Life Cycle
The Project Life Cycle has been divided into 5 phases:
• Define
• Plan
• Launch
• Execute
• Close
Each phase has activities associated with it. Each activity has an activity definition,
guidelines and may have a template. These components facilitate the activities performed
by the Project Manager.



Project Classification—Framework Requirements Matrix
The number of activities recommended depends upon the class into which the project is
categorized. A class 1 project will involve only a few of these activities. A class 5 will
involve all the activities in the framework. Also the activities recommended for each
class are the bare minimum and it depends upon the discretion of the Project Manager to
perform other activities (even if they are not recommended) if s/he feels that the activity
is required for the project. The Framework Requirements matrix shows how the
activities are currently mapped to the project classes.



TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ...........................................................................................................2
OSU CIO Project Management Framework..........................................................8
Project Classification—Sizing Matrix.....................................................................9
Project Classification—Risk Matrix .......................................................................9
Project Classification—Framework Requirements Matrix ...................................10
DEFINE Phase—Activity Overview.....................................................................11
PLAN Phase—Activity Overview.........................................................................13
LAUNCH Phase—Activity Overview ...................................................................17
MANAGE Phase—Activity Overview ..................................................................18
CLOSE Phase—Activity Overview......................................................................21
Project Request Approval—Activity Definition ....................................................22
Project Request Form Template .........................................................................24
Project Request Approval—Guidelines...............................................................26
Project Overview Statement—Activity Definition.................................................27
Project Overview Statement Template................................................................28
Project Overview Statement—Guidelines ...........................................................29
Business Case—Activity Definition .....................................................................31
Business Case Template ....................................................................................32
Business Case—Guidelines ...............................................................................34
Project Governance—Activity Definition .............................................................37
Project Governance Document Template ...........................................................38
Project Governance—Guidelines........................................................................39
Phase Gate—Activity Definition ..........................................................................41
Phase Gate Form Template................................................................................42
Phase Gate—Guidelines ....................................................................................43
Planning Kick-off Meeting—Activity Definition ....................................................44
Planning Kick-off Meeting Agenda Template ......................................................45
Planning Kick-off meeting—Guidelines...............................................................46
Project Approach—Activity Definition..................................................................47
Project Approach Document Template ...............................................................48
Project Approach—Guidelines ............................................................................49
Quality Strategy—Activity Definition....................................................................52
Quality Strategy Template ..................................................................................53
Quality Strategy—Guidelines ..............................................................................54
Work Plan- Work Breakdown Structure—Activity Definition................................56
Work Plan—Work Breakdown Structure—Guidelines.........................................58
Work Plan—Estimating Time and Cost—Activity Definition ................................60
Work Plan—Estimating Time and Cost—Guidelines ..........................................61
Work Plan—Schedule Development—Activity Definition ....................................62
Work Plan—Schedule Development—Guidelines ..............................................63
Risk Management Strategy Plan—Activity Definition..........................................65
Risk Management Strategy Plan Template.........................................................66
Risk Management Strategy Planning—Guidelines .............................................67
Communication Management Plan—Activity Definition ......................................68
Communication Plan Template ...........................................................................69
Communication Planning—Guidelines................................................................70
Issue Management—Activity Definition...............................................................71


Issue Management Plan Template .....................................................................72
Issues Log Template...........................................................................................73
Issue Management—Guidelines .........................................................................74
Quality Assurance Plan—Activity Definition ........................................................75
Quality Assurance Planning Template ................................................................76
Quality Assurance Planning—Guidelines ...........................................................77
Resource Plan—Activity Definition......................................................................78
Resource Plan Template ....................................................................................79
Resources Planning—Guidelines .......................................................................80
Procurement Planning—Activity Definition..........................................................81
Procurement Plan Template ...............................................................................82
Procurement Planning—Guidelines ....................................................................83
Operational Transfer Plan—Activity Definition ....................................................85
Operational Transfer Plan Template ...................................................................86
Operational Transfer—Guidelines.......................................................................87
Integrated Project Plan—Activity Definition.........................................................88
Integrated Project Planning—Guidelines ............................................................89
Team Assignment—Activity Definition ................................................................90
Team Assignment—Guidelines ..........................................................................91
Launch Kick-off meeting—Activity Definition.......................................................92
Launch Kick-off Meeting Agenda Template ........................................................93
Launch Kick-off Meeting—Guidelines .................................................................94
Initial Risk Identification—Activity Definition........................................................95
Risk Management Matrix Template ....................................................................96
Initial Risk Identification—Guidelines ..................................................................97
Team Readiness—Activity Definition ..................................................................98
Team Readiness—Guidelines ............................................................................99
Performance Tracking & Reporting—Activity Definition ....................................100
Project Status Report Template ........................................................................101
Performance Tracking and Reporting—Guidelines...........................................103
Schedule Control—Activity Definition................................................................104
Schedule Control—Guidelines ..........................................................................105
Change Control—Activity Definition ..................................................................106
Change Request Form Template......................................................................107
Change Control—Guidelines ............................................................................109
Cost Control—Activity Definition .......................................................................110
Cost Control—Guidelines .................................................................................111
Quality Assurance & Control—Activity Definition ..............................................112
Quality Assurance & Control—Guidelines ........................................................113
Procurement Management—Activity Definition.................................................114
Procurement Management—Guidelines ...........................................................115
Risk Management—Activity Definition ..............................................................116
Risk Management—Guidelines ........................................................................117
Information Distribution—Activity Definition ......................................................118
Information Distribution—Guidelines.................................................................119
Time Tracking & Management—Activity Definition ...........................................120
Time Tracking and Management—Guidelines..................................................121
Transition to Production—Activity Definition .....................................................122


Transition to Production—Guidelines................................................................124
Wrap-up Meeting—Activity Definition................................................................125
Wrap-up meeting—Guidelines ..........................................................................126
Lessons Learned—Activity Definition................................................................127
Lessons Learned—Guidelines ..........................................................................128
Administrative Closure—Activity Definition .......................................................129
Administrative Closure—Guidelines..................................................................130
GLOSSARY ......................................................................................................131



OSU CIO Project Management Framework
DRAFT—July 27, 2004 (Version 0.89)

Project Management Phases and Activities

DEFINE PLAN LAUNCH MANAGE CLOSE
Project Request Planning Kick-off
Launch Kick-off Meeting Project Plan Execution Transition to Production
Approval Meeting

Performance Tracking
Assign Project Manager Project Approach Initial Risk Identification Wrap-up Meeting
& Reporting

Project Overview
Quality Strategy Initial Team Development Schedule Control Lessons Learned
Statement
Work Plan—Work
Business Case Change Control Administrative Closure
breakdown Structure

Work Plan—Estimating
Project Governance Cost Control Celebrate!
time and cost
Phase Gate—Gain
Work Plan—Schedule Quality Assurance &
approval to develop
Development Control
project plan
Assign Core project Procurement
Risk Management Plan
team Management
Communications
Risk Management
Management Plan
Information
Issue Management Plan
Distribution
Time Tracking &
Quality Assurance Plan
Management
Phase Gate—Gain
Resource Plan approval to move to
production
Procurement Plan

Operational Transfer
Plan

Integrated Project Plan

Phase Gate—Gain
approval for plan

Team Assignment



Project Classification—Sizing Matrix

Project Work Effort Staff Budget (internal
Class (Hours) & external)

1 80 – 159 <$8,000

2 160 – 499 $8,000 – $24,999

3 500 – 4,999 $25,000 – $249,999

4 5,000 – 9,999 $250,000 – 499,999

5 >10,000 >$500,000

Project Classification—Risk Matrix

Low Medium High Very High
Risk Factor Score
(0) (1) (2) (3)
Team Size
<5 5–9 10 – 14 >15
(# of bodies)
# Workgroups
1–2 3–4 5–6 >7
Involved
Technology /
Technique / Expert Familiar New to OSU Break-through
Process
The solution is The solution is There is more than The solution is
well defined and known but some one approach to not known or
Complexity no problems are problems are achieving the only vaguely
expected expected project goal defined
Political Profile /
Org Unit Director Area VP/Dean Area Enterprise-wide
Impact
0 – 10 No change to classification
Scoring 11 – 13 Increase class 1 level TOTAL
14 – 15 Increase class 2 levels



Project Classification—Framework Requirements Matrix
Project Class
1 2 3 4 5
Define
Project Request Approval X X X X X
Assign Project Manager/Lead X X X X X
Project Overview Statement X X X X X
Business Case X X
Project Governance X X
Phase Gate - Develop Plan Approval X X X
Assign Core Project team X X X
Plan
Planning Kick-off Meeting X X X
Project Approach X X X X
Quality Strategy X X X X X
Work Plan-Work Breakdown Structure X X X X X
Work Plan-Estimating time and cost X X X X X
Work Plan-Schedule Development X X X X X
Risk Management Plan X X X
Communications Management Plan X X X
Issue Management Plan X X
Quality Assurance Plan X
Resource Plan X X
Operational Transfer Plan X X
Procurement Plan X
Integrated Project Plan X X X
Phase Gate - Plan Approval X X X
Team Assignment X X X

Launch
Launch Kick-off meeting X X X X
Initial Risk Identification X X X
Team Readiness X X X
Manage
Project Plan Execution X X X X X
Performance Tracking & Reporting X X X X X
Time Tracking & Management X X X
Schedule Control X X X
Change Control X X X
Cost Control X X X
Risk Management X X X
Quality Assurance & Control X
Procurement Management X
Information Distribution X X X
Phase Gate - MTP Approval X X X
Close
Transition to Production X X X X
Wrap-up Meeting X X
Lessons Learned X X
Administrative Closure X X X X X
Celebrate! X X X X X



DEFINE Phase—Activity Overview
Activity Purpose Highlights Outputs
The objective of this activity is to formalize and Anyone can make a Project Request. The Project Approved or
Project Request institutionalize the initiation of projects. By doing this, we Request form needs to be signed by the Operating denied
Approval ensure that only those projects that warrant investment are Unit Head. The Project Approver needs to evaluate Project
actually undertaken and executed. This will also help in the request on the basis of pre-set criteria. Request form
managing the workload of individual departments.
Assign Project
Manager
The Project Overview Statement (POS) essentially is a The problem is identified. The project goal and Project
short document that establishes the purpose of the project, objectives are determined. The success criteria are Overview
and explains what business value it will provide to the identified. The required effort is estimated. Statement
organization. The objective of this activity is to secure Assumptions, risks and obstacles are identified.
Project Overview
management approval and to provide the Project Manager
Statement
with the authority to apply organizational resources to
project activities. The POS becomes a source of reference
for the project team.

The objective of this activity is to help Initiators in The Business Need is established. Dependencies are Business
justifying a business need. This activity is needed so as to identified. A Cost-Benefit analysis is done. Funding Case
Business Case ensure that the costs and benefits for all projects are requirements and risks are identified.
weighed before investment is made.
The objective of this activity is to define the roles and Escalation procedures are defined. Rules and Project
Project Governance responsibilities of the various team members and responsibilities are defined. Governance
stakeholders, and to define the decision-making structure document
for the project.
The objective of this activity is to ensure that management Senior management analyzes status reports and the Approved or
Phase Gate—Gain approves the transition of a project across its various communication with the customer, and in rejected
approval to develop phases. This will ensure that projects that are not likely to conjunction with the Project Manager makes a Phase gate
project plan succeed are ‘killed’ early. decision if the project should move to the next form
phase.



Assign Core Project
team



PLAN Phase—Activity Overview
The objective of this activity is to review the approved The Project Manager calls for this meeting. S/he Minutes of
Project Overview statement, set expectations, and sets the guidelines for project execution and the kick-off
Planning Kick-off articulate any risks that are likely to occur and dispel any articulates expectations from the project team. meeting
Meeting doubts that the team may have. Project timelines, Project Approach, risks,
assumptions, and constraints are discussed.

The objective of this activity is to establish a high-level The Project life cycle and the various phases for the Project
approach of how to implement the project goals by project are determined. Any reusable components Approach
developing an implementation approach, and project from other projects are identified. The various Document
Project Approach policies/standards. The purpose is also to define the methods in which the project objective can be
solution for the project and the method of delivering that achieved are evaluated and the best method is
solution. This activity will also validate which planning chosen. A rationale is provided for this decision.
activities will be needed for the project.
The objective of this activity is to decide on the Quality The Project Manager and team decide which List of QA
Strategy that will be used for the project. Quality Assurance and which Quality control and QC
Quality Strategy
activities will be carried out for the project. activities

The objective of this activity is to decompose the project The project work is decomposed into smaller Work
Work Plan—Work into activities, sub-tasks, and work packages. This allows components to give better management control. Breakdown
Breakdown the Project Manager to estimate the duration of the structure
Structure project, determine the required resources and schedule the
work.
The objective of this activity is to estimate the time and Time duration estimates are given for each task Time and cost
Work Plan—
cost for each task. This will be an input to the depending upon resource availability and capability. estimates
Estimating time and
development of the Work Plan.
cost
Work Plan— The objective of this activity is to document the various Resources are assigned to tasks. Quality reviews and Work Plan
Schedule tasks that need to be executed during the project duration, testing are planned for. Once the overall schedule is
Development to assign responsibility for each of the tasks, and to set, the Project Manager is responsible for closely



establish timelines for the tasks. It also establishes monitoring progress.
dependencies between various tasks. This will ensure that
the project can be completed on time and that the business
scope of the Overview statement is addressed.
The objective of this activity is to define how risks will be The process of identifying risks is defined. Roles Risk
identified, determine who owns the responsibility of and responsibilities for the risk management process Management
identifying risks, decide at what frequency the risks need are defined. Frequency of updating the matrix is Strategy Plan
Risk Management to be revisited, identify the risk monitoring tool, determine determined.
Strategy Plan to whom risks will be escalated, define how to manage
risks, and how to handle issues that are likely to become
risks.

The objective of this activity is make sure that team Target groups for different types of communication Communicati
Communications members, customers and stakeholders have the are defined. The frequency, format, and results of on
Management Plan information they need to do their jobs. the communication are defined. Management
Plan
The objective of this activity is to ensure that issues are An issue management process is defined. Roles and Issue
identified, evaluated and assigned for resolution. This responsibilities are assigned. An issue log is Management
Issue Management Plan, Issues
Plan process brings visibility to issues, accountability as to how documented and tracked.
they are acted upon, and their timely resolution. log

The objective of this activity is to validate that the major Acceptance criteria for deliverables, quality Quality Plan,
deliverables are completed and that the processes are assurance activities, in-process control plans, and checklists
being implemented with an acceptable level of quality. quality -related responsibilities are defined.
Quality Assurance Frequency of project plan reviews, frequency of
Plan receiving and sending status reports, and frequency
of checking for process improvements are
determined.



The objective of this activity is to document how many The type and amount of resources needed are
resources will be needed during the various phases of the determined. The estimated output, availability, and
project and how they will be acquired, to examine if any cost of the resources are determined. Training needs
Resource Plan
of the resources need training, and if so, to ensure that are identified and planned for.
they receive the required training.

The objective of this activity is to identify procurement Items that will be procured are identified. Inability Procurement
strategies that will be used, outline the scope of products of currently used products to fulfill this need must Plan
Procurement Plan and/or services to be procured, and identify be described. Evaluation criteria of vendors are set.
responsibilities for the full procurement lifecycle. Officials who must approve the purchase are
identified.
The objective of this activity is to lay down the pre- Roles and responsibilities for the installation process Operational
Operational requisites of rolling out an application. This is to ensure are identified. Dependencies that exist are identified. Transfer Plan
Transfer Plan the smooth transition from the ‘project’ to the ‘going live’
stage.
The objective of this activity is to ensure that the various Assumptions used are reviewed. This activity Integrated
elements of the project are properly coordinated. ensures the following: Roles and responsibilities are Project Plan
Integrated Project identified, a quality plan is written, reviews are
Plan planned for, and most importantly that all the plans
have considered all relevant factors.

The objective of this activity is to ensure that individuals The Project Manager resolves conflict between Team
with the required skills are assigned to a project, and to resource availability and Work Plan. Work Assignments
Team Assignment level resources in the Work Plan. packages are defined, assigned and any questions Fine tuned
regarding work packages are discussed. Work Plan

Phase Gate—Gain The objective of this activity is to ensure that management Senior management analyzes status reports and the Approval or
approval for plan approves the transition of a project across its various communication with the customer, and in rejection
h hi ill h j h lik l j i ih h j k



phases. This will ensure that projects that are not likely to conjunction with the Project Manager makes a
succeed are ‘killed’ early. decision on whether the project should move to the
next phase.



LAUNCH Phase—Activity Overview
The objective of this activity is to ensure that all the The Project Manager should inform the team of the Minutes of
Launch Kick-off project team members are aware of the ground rules of the ground rules for the project, the working style, the the meeting
Meeting project. communication plan and the escalation process for
conflict resolution.
The objective of this activity is to ensure that the entire Risks are identified and categorized. For each risk Risk matrix
Initial Risk team identifies risks for the project. This ensures that all identified, assess the risk event in terms of
Identification perspectives are taken into account while planning for likelihood of occurrence and its effect on project
risks. objectives if the risk event occurs.
The objective of this activity is to ensure that individuals Training needs identified need to be met. Team Key goals for
assigned to a project are provided the requisite training in members identify key goals at the start of the each team
Team Readiness order to perform the job and that key goals and project. member
responsibilities are identified for the team members at the
start of the project.



MANAGE Phase—Activity Overview
Project Plan
Execution

The objective of this process is to ensure that the team is Team meetings can be held so that information can Weekly
Performance making satisfactory progress toward the project goals. The be exchanged. The Project Manager monitors—at Status
Tracking & purpose is to: 1.Track cost, time, scope and quality, 2. least weekly—progress to plan on key elements. Reports,
Reporting Track actual accomplishments and results, and 3. Provide The status of the project is reported to the relevant Tracked
visibility into progress. stakeholders. Project
Schedule
The objective of this activity is to ensure that tasks are The Project Manager is responsible for tracking the Tracked
executed as per Work Plan so that the deadline for the various tasks in a project. Tracking is done by Work Plan
project can be met. If the schedule cannot be met, the exchanging task status information with team
relevant stakeholders need to be informed. members and then incorporating the latest status
Schedule Control information into your project Work Plan. If the any
task, schedule or resource information has been
changed, the Project Manager needs to
communicate the revised Work Plan to the project
team.
The objective of this activity is to ensure that all changes Any change to scope has to be communicated to the Approved or
to scope are documented and authorized by the relevant Project Manager. The Project Manager ensures that denied
Change Control stakeholders. the Change Request Form has been filled out. The Change
Project Manager analyzes the change request. The Request Form
Project Manager and established governance may
approve or deny a change request.
The objective of this activity is to manage project cost Costs are agreed upon with the sponsor at the start Status reports
Cost Control such that it is aligned with budgeted cost. and upon completion of the project. The budget has
to be constantly monitored by the Project Manager.



The variance between Budgeted cost and Project
cost needs to be communicated to and approved by
the sponsor/customer. This should also be present in
the status report.
The objective of this activity is to ensure that the project This process comprises project reviews, product Review
Quality Assurance team meets the project requirements and that all requisite reviews, code reviews, testing, and any other reports, Bug
& Control quality criteria are met. process that the Project Manager might think reports
necessary. Defects are identified, and categorized.
Root causes are analyzed.
The objective of this activity is to ensure that appropriate Any guidelines set by the University in this regard Signed
resources are employed, that the process of selection is supersedes this process. A vendor is chosen on pre- Contract(s) /
Procurement fair and that the quality of work is acceptable. set criteria. The contract needs to be signed by Purchase
Management authorized signatories. Order(s)
/Statement(s)
of Work
The objective of this activity is to identify risks, to reduce Management monitors risks with a risk exposure Revised Risk
the probability of the identified risks, to identify over the threshold limit. Risk mitigation strategies Matrix
Risk Management mitigation strategies, to identify contingency plans for the are planned and contingency plans are developed.
bigger risks, and if realized, to reduce the impact of these The Risk Matrix is revisited at and appropriate
risks. frequency.
The objective of this activity is to ensure that all All relevant information needs to be communicated Status
Information appropriate parties are kept informed. to the appropriate parties at the right time and in the reports,
Distribution appropriate format. Minutes of
meetings

Time Tracking & The objective of this activity is to ensure that all time Time spent is tracked at a project level, and Time Sheets,
Management spent on a project is logged in. analyzed at an organizational level. Variance
Reports,



Estimates for
future
projects
The objective of this activity is to ensure that management Senior management analyzes status reports and the Approved or
approves the transition of a project across its various communication with the customer, and in rejected
Phase Gate—Gain phases. This will ensure that projects that are not likely to conjunction with the Project Manager makes a
approval to move to Phase gate
succeed are ‘killed’ early. decision on whether the project should move to the form
production next phase.



CLOSE Phase—Activity Overview

The objective of this activity is to ensure that the Its ensured that all planned testing is carried out, all Summary
Transition to Operational Transfer Plan is carried out after the required customer requirements are met and that the product Report,
Production checks are done. is fully operational. The Project Manager ensures Customer
that the customer accepts the product before Sign-off
Transition to Production.
The objective of this activity is to ensure that the Project The Project Manager calls this meeting. The Project Minutes
team discusses the project after the project has been Manager, and the team members discuss the project
Wrap-up Meeting executed so that Lessons Learned are captured and issues experience including problems faced during project
are analyzed. execution. Solutions to such problems are suggested
and discussed. Lessons Learned are discussed.
The objective of this activity is to ensure that the Lessons The Project Manager develops this ‘Lessons Lessons
Lessons Learned Learned during the project are documented and Learned’ document with the help of the project Learned
incorporated in the knowledge base for future use. team. This document is deposited in the knowledge Document
base.
The objective of this activity is to ensure that the Project is The Project Manager ensures that the project is
Administrative approved, accepted and closed. approved and accepted by the relevant stakeholders.
Closure All documentation and records are reviewed,
organized and archived. Backups are taken.
Resources are released and the project is closed.

Celebrate!



Project Request Approval—Activity Definition

Purpose:
The objective of this activity is to formalize the process by which new projects/service
requests are initiated. By doing this, we can ensure that only those projects that warrant
investment are actually undertaken and executed. This will also help in managing the
workload of individual departments.

This process applies to all projects undertaken by the Office of the CIO of the Ohio State
University.

Participants:
Initiator: Any customer or member of the Office of the CIO who submits a request
Operating Unit Manager: Resource Owner
Approver: The appropriate decision maker
Sponsor: The body or person who funds the project

Inputs:
Project Request Approval form [1]

Process:
1. The Initiator completes the Project Request form and requests approval (signature)
from the appropriate person as established via the standard operating procedure of the
work unit. Anyone can initiate a request. The form contains information such as:
a. Customer name, phone, and department
b. Description of the business need or production problem
c. High-level business reason category for the request
d. Goal of the project
e. Impact on the business unit
2. The appropriate area manager reviews the request to determine a high-level work
effort range for planning purposes.
3. The request goes to the Project Approver for a decision. Approval signifies
authorization to invest effort.
4. The Governance Body/Process evaluates the Project Request form and makes a
decision to accept or deny the request based on the following criteria:
a. Value to organization
b. Criticality
c. Estimated effort and resource availability
d. Risks
e. Impact and/or dependence on other projects
f. Any other criteria thought necessary and relevant to the organization/project
5. If the Governance Body grants approval, the project moves to the next stage, based
upon the Project Class, where a Project Overview Statement is created. In some
cases, the creation of a separate Business Case document may be required.
6. Depending on the size and scope of the project, the Project Manager and the Core
Project team may be assigned at any time after project initiation and definitely prior
to project kick-off.



Outputs:
Approved or denied Project Request form

Top



Project Request Form Template

Request Identifier (To be completed by OIT):

Initiator
Operating Unit Manager
Customer/Sponsor Name
Department
Date
Email ID
Phone
Description of business
need/problem/opportunity
Type of Request
Internal mandate (University Policy, System Upgrade)

External mandate (Legal requirement, Government)

Correct an error (Malfunction/Fix)

Value-add/Process improvement/Business opportunity
Goal

Business Impact

Estimated labor hours (optional)

Date needed (Explain in Impact)
(optional)
Project Initiator:

Date Sign

To be completed by the Project Approvers
Project request Approved / Denied Sign:
Comments, if any: Date:
Governance Sign:
Date:
Sponsor Sign:
Date:
Customer Sign:
Date:
Others Sign:
Date:


Project Request Approval—Guidelines

1. Customer details: - The customer name, phone number, and customer department
need to be filled out in the form.
2. Description of business need or problem or opportunity: - Why is this project
required? A brief description of the business need has to be filled in. e.g. Different
departments of the University use different email systems. This increases the
amount of training provided to people taking calls in the help desk.
Supporting documentation (if available) for the ‘Business Need’ field needs to be
provided by the Initiator.
3. Classify the request by type: This field will help assign priority to the project. Is
this project being created to correct errors that exist? Or is this project request a
result of an internal or external mandate? Is it a process improvement, a value add
or a business opportunity? e.g. A change in legal requirement would be an
external mandate while a system upgrade or a change that is mandated by the
Department Head would be an internal mandate.
4. Goal: Describe the project goal. What does the project plan to achieve? e.g. The
goal is to route all help desk inquiries through a single point. OR The goal is to
ensure that all university departments use the same email system.
5. Business Impact: Determine if any area of work will be affected by decisions on
the project. What will be accomplished if the project is undertaken? What will be
the result if the project is not undertaken? The Initiator needs to identify related
projects i.e. projects which are dependent on this initiative, or projects upon
which this initiative is dependent.
6. High-level effort range: Estimate approximately how many person-hours will be
required for executing the project.
7. Date Needed: This is an optional field and needs to be filled in only if there is a
deadline before which the project definitely needs to be completed.
8. To grant or deny approval to the project request:
The criteria that need to be taken into account while evaluating a project request are
as follows:
• Value to organization: Is this project aligned with the overall strategy?
• Criticality- How critical is the project? Is the need being satisfied by a less
efficient method or is it not being satisfied at all?
• Amount of effort to be spent
• Workload of resources- If the existing workload doesn’t allow for immediate
assignment, then the project priority must be reviewed with the initiator.
• Risks
• Impact on other projects
• Any other criteria thought necessary and relevant to the organization/project
9. Additional approvals from the sponsor or customer may be required.



Project Overview Statement—Activity Definition

Purpose: The Project Overview Statement (POS) is a short document that establishes the
purpose of the project, and explains what business value it hopes to provide to the
organization. The objective of this activity is to secure management approval and to
provide the Project Manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to
project activities. The POS becomes a source of reference for the project team.

Participants: The Project Manager prepares this document. The intended audience is
management, stakeholders, sponsor and the project team.

Inputs: Approved Project Request form[1]

Process:
1. State the Problem or opportunity that the project addresses.
2. Establish the Project Goal. The goal gives purpose and direction to the project.
3. Clearly state the project objectives that are concise, verifiable, feasible, and
measurable.
4. List the criteria that will be considered while measuring the success of a project.
5. Determine the effort that will be required for the project. This estimate should be a
more fine-tuned estimate compared to the one made in the Project Request Form.
6. Estimate the total cost of the project i.e. effort, operating expenses, and any capital
costs like licensing costs.
7. Determine the Class of the project.
8. List any assumptions made, and any known constraints or obstacles imposed by the
environment or management. Identify any project risks that might be present.
9. Attach documentation, if necessary to support any of the above.
10. This document needs to be approved by the relevant stakeholders.
11. Maintain versions and details of what changes are made in what version.

Outputs:
Project Overview Statement



Project Overview Statement Template
Project Overview Statement
Project Name
Date
Version
Project Sponsor/Customer
Project Manager/Lead
Problem/Opportunity

Goal

Objectives

Success Criteria

Effort

Total Cost
Class of Project
Assumptions, Risks,
Obstacles

Supporting Documents

Prepared By:

Date:
Approved By:

Date:



Project Overview Statement—Guidelines
1. Project Name and Date
2. Revision History and versions: Date, what changes were made and who made the
amendments. Version is incremented for each significant change or edit. The signed
off version becomes v1.0. Changes after this acceptance are incremented.
3. Project Sponsor/Customer
4. Project Manager
5. Problem/Opportunity: State the problem that the project will resolve.
5. Goal: What does the project hope to accomplish?
6. Objectives: A concrete statement describing what the project is trying to achieve.
The objective should be written at a low level, so that it can be evaluated at the
conclusion of a project to see whether it was achieved or not. A well-worded
objective will be specific, measurable, attainable/achievable, realistic and time-bound.
e.g. there should be no more than 2 queries in a day regarding the use of function X
after the project is executed.
7. Success Criteria: Success criteria should be identified. To the extent possible, these
factors should be quantifiable and measurable. These success criteria should be
determined based upon the following considerations:
a. Metrics and User Surveys,
b. Financial Savings,
c. Operational/Readiness Improvements, etc.
e.g. all web pages should download on a 64kbps line within 2 seconds.
OR there should be an increase in savings by 0.10 dollar per transaction.
8. Effort: Estimate the time that team members will spend on the project.
9. Total Costs: An estimate of the effort that will be required to execute the project is
required. Costs are divided into three types:
a. Capital Items are costs associated with the procurement of assets such as hardware
and software.
b. Expense Items are costs associated with operating expenses, material, travel,
training, supplies, books, copying, printing, etc.
c. Effort are costs associated with the total time team members work on a project
based on an hourly rate for each skill set or the actual salary of the team members.
10. Class of Project: The Project Classification matrix needs to be used in order to
determine the class of the project. When using the Classification matrix, the work
effort; not the entire cost needs to be taken into account.
11. Assumptions: Project assumptions are circumstances and events that need to occur for
the project to be successful but are outside the total control of the project team.
Assumptions are made to fill knowledge gaps; they may later prove to be incorrect and
can have a significant impact on the project. List only those assumptions that have a
reasonable chance of occurring. If an assumption is invalidated at a later date, then the
activities and estimates in the project plan should be adjusted accordingly.

Risks: Project risks are circumstances or events that exist outside of the control of the
project team and will have an adverse impact on the project if they occur. (In other
words, whereas an issue is a current problem that must be dealt with, a risk is a
potential future problem that has not yet occurred.) All projects contain some risks. It
may not be possible to eliminate risks entirely but they can be anticipated and managed,


thereby reducing the probability that they will occur. Risks that have a high probability
of occurring and have a high negative impact should be listed.

Obstacles/Constraints
List any known constraints imposed by the environment or by management. Typical
constraints may include fixed budget, limited resources, imposed interim and/or end
dates, predetermined software systems and packages, and other predetermined
solutions.
12. Supporting Documents: Include in this section copies of pertinent documents such as:
Business Case or Plan
University guidelines or policies applicable to this project
13. Approval: Use this section for approval signatures from project stakeholders.



Business Case—Activity Definition

Purpose:
The objective of this activity is to help Initiators in justifying a business need to senior
management. This activity is needed to ensure that the costs and benefits for all projects
are weighed before a commitment of resources is made. This also ensures that the
projects invested in bring the greatest value to the organization.

Participants:
Initiator: Person from whom the project idea originated
Sponsor: Person or body who will be funding the project
Approver: Established governance

Inputs:
Approved Project Request form [1]

Process:
1. Draft a project summary.
2. Establish the business need that the project intends to fulfill. Collect necessary data
and information to support this. Establish dependencies that exist. Establish that the
project fits within the overall organizational strategy.
3. Consider various options that might be considered in order to fulfill this business
need. Choose an option and state why this option was preferred and chosen.
4. Perform a Cost-Benefit Analysis. Identify the Total Cost of Operation and the
Opportunity Costs. Identify funding requirements and risks.
5. Identify competitive offerings and assess the proposed solution against these
offerings. (Optional)
6. Describe the overall approach as to how the project will be executed.
7. Identify factors that need to be in place in order for the project to succeed.
8. Identify measures that will be used to determine if the project was a success.

Outputs:
Complete Business Case with cost-benefit analysis

Notes:
Clearly mention what is and is not included under costs.

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Business Case Template

BUSINESS CASE
1. Project Summary
a. Project Initiator
b. Project Sponsor
c. Project Description
d. Needs and scope
e. Target customer
f. Objectives, outcomes, and
benefits
g. Features to be included and the
need they satisfy
h. Costs
i. Risks
j. Complexity assessment
k. Duration
l. Leadership requirements
m. Team skill requirements

2. Statement of Need
a. Unmet Need or Opportunity
b. Anticipated Benefits
c. Rationale for assigning priority
d. Specific Business needs
(current and future)
e. How was the need determined
f. Supporting data
g. Names of stakeholders
consulted
h. Names of stakeholders
supporting this proposal
i. Consequences of not
proceeding

3. Consideration and selection of Preferred Option
a. Options considered
b. Strengths and weaknesses of
each option
c. Reason preferred option was
chosen
d. Investment alternatives
e. Assumptions made
f. Alignment with University
policies and strategies



g. Any Business Process changes?
If so, outline them

4. Financial Analysis – Outputs, Benefits, costs, and Risks
a. Costs Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
i. Capital costs
ii. Operating costs
iii. Total cost of ownership
iv. Impact on other projects
v. Impact on HR
policies/requirements
b. Benefits
i. Savings
ii. Potential Revenue
iii. Expected Outcomes
Summary
c. Funding
i. Net Impact (Cost –Benefit
analysis)
ii. Funding Requirements
iii. Other sources of funding
d. Unquantifiable impact
e. ROI
f. Risks

5. Competitive Analysis

6. Implementation Strategy

7. Factors critical to project
success

8. Criteria for measuring
success



Business Case—Guidelines

A Business Case must include the level of detail appropriate to the project or initiative.
The most important aspect of the documentation is that it be detailed enough to enable
sound judgments to be made about the merit of what is being proposed, and whether
funding and other resources should be allocated to it.

1. Project Summary
a. Identify the project initiator and the project sponsor
b. Describe the Project
c. Present the Needs and Scope. Define the needs that drive the investment proposal.
Define the scope of the project clearly. Be clear about what the project will
include and what it will not include.
d. List the Target customers or population.
e. List the Objectives, Outcomes and Benefits
f. List the features to be included and cite the specific business needs they satisfy.
The developer of the Business Plan should present sufficient detail to allow the
decision-makers to understand the business solution in order to evaluate it
properly.
g. List the Costs and Risks
h. Assess the Complexity
i. Duration
j. Project leadership requirements: Are there any specific skills required of the
person leading the project?
k. Team skill Requirement: Identify the project resources by role and quantity, but
not by name, over the life cycle of the proposed project. State how the resource
estimate was calculated. Include an explanation of the split of effort between in-
house and external resources, if appropriate. Examples of resource requirements
are: Technical skills, Management skills, Technology resources, Capital
Partnerships, alliances, etc.

2. Statement of Need—Establishing the business need, issues definition, opportunity
description
a. Describe the extent of an unmet need, demand for services or opportunity that has
been identified and which is considered to be a high priority. Identify why this
need or demand has not been met with existing systems and facilities.
b. Identify anticipated benefits to various groups.
c. Explain the rationale for assigning the priority and the reasons that the timing is
appropriate to implement the project.
d. Define the specific business needs that drive the investment proposal. Account for
both current and future needs of the business.
e. Supporting data and information—Explain how the need was determined and how
critical, urgent or important it is. Provide data or other evidence of need.
f. Identify which stakeholders have been consulted.
g. Identify how many stakeholders support the proposal.
h. Look at the consequences of not proceeding with the project.


3. Consideration and Selection of Preferred Option
Generate a wide range of options that can be considered to address the identified need.
Evaluate each option by summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of each option.
State why the preferred option has been chosen.
Include financial and investment alternatives.
State the assumptions that have been made in choosing the preferred option.
Comment on the strategic alignment of the project with University policies and strategies.
Outline Business Process changes proposed to facilitate this project.

4 Financial Analysis – Outputs, Benefits, Costs and Risks
a. Costs
Identify the capital and operating cost of the preferred option for Year 1, Year 2 and
beyond.
The proposed budget must include:-
Capital and recurrent expenditure, including salaries, equipment, and consumables for
• Software
• Hardware
• Maintenance
• Training
• Ongoing support
• Operating cash
Identify total cost of ownership
Identify impact upon other projects and initiatives
Identify impact upon Human Resources requirements and policies. Do we need to train
people or recruit people for this project?
b. Benefits
Identify any savings and how those savings will be used
Identify any potential revenue
Describe the expected outcomes in terms that are as specific as possible, and relate to the
needs identified. e.g.
• Compliance with statutory or other obligations
• Improved decision making as a result of better information
• Reduced cost
Summarize benefits and costs, and explain why the benefits outweigh the costs involved.
c. Funding
Calculate net impact of project by combining cost and benefits.
Identify funding requirements. If funds have not been allocated or approved, state the
means by which funds will be acquired.
Identify other sources of funding being considered or investigated.
d. Unquantifiable Cost and Benefit Analysis
Identify unquantifiable impact to
• The University
• The economy
• Society
• Distribution of benefits
e. ROI



ROI benefits may either be earned once upon the implementation of the proposed
solution or recur over the operational life of the solution. They may yield direct revenue,
or strategically position the enterprise for market gains. Identify the ROI benefits and
classify them as such.
4.6 Risks
Identify the expected risks to which the project will be exposed. Assess the likelihood of
each risk occurring and its impact on the project. Outline a plan for managing the risks;
include risk-minimization measures and contingency plans for recovery and damage
limitation.

5. Competitive Analysis
Describe how the proposed solution is competitive in the marketplace. Assess it against
the top three competitors’ offerings, including price and quality.

6. Implementation Strategy
Describe the proposed implementation strategy including:
• How will the project be implemented
• Project milestones and key dates
• Who will be accountable for managing implementation
• What resources (human, physical, other) and skills are required
• What changes are required to working practices, and
• Integration with existing and proposed systems.

7. Factors critical to project success
List those factors that must be in place to ensure success of the proposed solution. Be
specific.
e.g. Commitment and awareness from Executive Sponsors
Access to necessary source data
Cooperation by affected business or IT areas
Full-time staff assignments to project
Architecture fit (Status of interfacing systems)

8. Criteria for measuring success
Describe what measures will be applied to measure the success of the proposed solution.
e.g.
• Financial (Cost vs. Revenue)
• Performance
• User acceptance
• Schedule
• Competitive differentiation



Project Governance—Activity Definition

Purpose:
The objective of this activity is to define the roles and responsibilities of the various team
members and stakeholders, and to define the decision-making structure for the project.

Participants:
Project Manager and stakeholders

Inputs:
Approved Project Request form [1], Project Overview Statement [1], Business Case [4]

Process:
1. Identify the various roles that exist. e.g. Project Manager, team member, reviewer.
2. Identify the responsibilities that each role has. e.g.
a. Define who will establish project requirements with the customer.
b. Define who can interface with external providers, internal and external
resources and customers.
c. Define who reviews and approves the project plan.
d. Define who authorizes project scope, schedule, and cost.
e. Define who authorizes change in scope.
f. Define who can sign a contract with a vendor.
g. Define who can communicate with vendors.
h. Define who can assign work.
3. Define the rules of communication. e.g.
a. Define who reports the status of the project to the stakeholders and at what
frequency.
b. Communication to the project resources from the management should go
through the Project Manager.
4. Define the organizational structure that the project will follow. e.g. even if a
functional team member has a designation higher than the Project Manager, for the
purpose of the project, the team member will be reporting to the Project Manager.
5. Determine the person to whom the customer can escalate issues.
6. Define the decision-making structure.
7. Define the team operating rules.
8. Outline the team meeting structure.

Outputs:
Project Governance Document

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Project Governance Document Template

1. Role Definitions and Responsibilities:
Roles Responsibilities
e.g. Project Manager
Mentor
Reviewer
Quality Manager
Testing Team
Project team

2. Rules of Engagement
e.g. a. Communication
b. Status Reports
c. Procurement of human resources
d. Resource acquisition

3. Organizational structure for the project

4. Escalation Procedure

5. Decision-making Structure
a. Technical decisions
b. Changes in scope
c. Conflict resolution
6. Team Operating Rules

7. Team Meeting Structure
e.g. Who facilitates the
meeting?
Who records the
minutes of the meeting?



Project Governance—Guidelines

1. Identify roles that will exist in your project. e.g. Project Manager, mentor, reviewer,
Quality Manager, Testing Team, Project team etc.

2. Define the roles. Identify the responsibilities of each role.

e.g. Project Manager may be responsible for the following:
· Developing the project plan
· Directing project resources
· Managing project schedule
· Managing project budget
· Estimating project resources
· Communicating project status
· Tracking project status
· Defining, assessing and mitigating project risks
· Ensuring project meets technical requirements

3. Define the rules of engagement. Some examples are:
a. Communication. e.g. communication to project resources from say, the
Program Director must flow through the appropriate Project Manager.
b. Status reports e.g. the status of individual work assignments needs to be
communicated on a daily basis to the Project Manager, bi-weekly status
reports need to be sent by the Project Manager to the Operating Unit Head.
c. Procurement of human resources e.g. the Project Manager acquires human
resources for the project after speaking with the Operating Unit Head and the
Resource Manager

4. Organizational structure for the project. e.g. all team members report to the Project
Manager, the Project Manager reports to the reviewer of the project, etc.
Operating Unit Head

Functional Heads Project
Senior Project Reviewer
Manager

Project Manager

Project team
5. Escalation Procedure - In case of issues, a person should be identified as the ‘go-to’
person for a customer in order to escalate issues that the team cannot manage.



6. Decision-making Structure: e.g. Identify sponsoring groups for decisions related to
costs, Define who will decide on technical issues. Define who authorizes change in
scope. Define who will resolve conflicts.

7. Team Operating Rules: e.g. in the absence of the Project Manager on a certain day,
does the Project Technical Lead assign work to the technical team?

8. Team meeting structure: Does the Project Manager facilitate the meeting? Who
records the minutes? Who will validate the minutes before sending it out to
stakeholders?



Phase Gate—Activity Definition

Purpose: The objective of this activity is to ensure that management approves the
transition of a project across its various phases. This will ensure that projects that are not
likely to succeed are ‘killed’ early.

Participants: The Project Manager, relevant stakeholders

Inputs: Project Status Report [1], important customer communication [1], Phase gate
form of earlier phases (if applicable)[3]

Process:
1. At the end of every phase, the Project Manager prepares a project status report and
submits it to senior management to get approval to move on to the next phase of the
project.
2. The Project Manager also submits any important customer communication, which
shows satisfaction or unhappiness with the project progress.
3. The relevant stakeholders analyze the status report and the communication, and in
conjunction with the Project Manager make a decision on whether the project should
move to the next phase.
4. The relevant stakeholders sign off the phase gate form.

Outputs: Approved or denied Phase gate form



Phase Gate Form Template

Project Name
Project Manager
Phase
End of the Define phase
End of the Plan phase
End of the Manage phase
Status
Significant Variances
Comments by Project
Manager
Problems to be resolved
Comments/Recommendations
by approver

Areas to be examined in next
phase gate
Approved/Kill
project/Revise/Delay/Other
changes
Governance:

Name:

Sign:

Date:



Phase Gate—Guidelines

1. In a lot of projects, this might seem a mere formality but this process proves to be
very useful in ventures where there is no clarity of objective, and effort is being
wasted.
2. Where it seems that a few recommendations might put the project back on track,
the established governance should document and communicate these
recommendations to the Project Manager. It is the responsibility of the Project
Manager to implement the suggestions or provide an explanation why the
recommendation cannot be implemented.
3. In some cases, senior management may approve at the phase gate while in other
cases, the approval may be sought from an external body e.g. the customer may
decide whether the project should move to the next phase.
4. Questions to be asked are:
a. Is the project on time? Were all milestones met?
b. Is the project on budget?
c. Is the project according to specification?
d. Is the customer satisfied with results up to this point?
e. What are the barriers standing in the way of the success of the project?
f. What are the problems that the project faces?
g. Were recommendations given in the past implemented?
5. The documents that accompany the phase gate form will be different for each
phase of the project.
6. At the end of the definition phase, check if any comments have been listed by the
governance in the Project Request Form. Also read through the assumptions,
risks, and obstacles section in the Project Overview Statement and see if any
assumption is untrue now, or if any risk is critical.
7. At the end of the planning phase, check if all the planning activities that were
needed for the project have been performed. Ensure that the Quality Strategy
activities are carried out. Ensure that the Work Plan is realistic. Ensure that the
communication matrix has identified all relevant stakeholders for the various
communications.
8. At the end of the launch phase, ensure that the Risk Matrix has identified all risks
relevant to the project.
9. At the end of the management phase, ensure that all change requests are taken
into account during transition to production during project closure.



Planning Kick-off Meeting—Activity Definition

Purpose:
The objective of this activity is to review the approved Project Overview Statement, to
set expectations, to articulate any risks that are likely to occur, and to dispel any doubts
that the team may have.

Participants:
The Project Manager calls for the meeting.
The audience includes the relevant stakeholders (i.e. customer representative and affected
business units) and the core project team.

Inputs:
Project Overview Statement [1], Business Case [4], Governance Document [4]

Process:
1. Schedule the meeting. Send out the agenda of the meeting in advance. The
management and the project team need to be present for the meeting.
2. Walk the team through the Project Overview Statement.
3. Set guidelines for the project planning phase and articulate expectations for the
planning activities from the core project team.
4. Hand out copies of the Project Overview Statement and discuss the roles and
responsibilities/governance document.
5. Discuss project timelines.
6. Discuss the overall approach of the project. This is the point at which brainstorming
for the project starts.
7. Discuss risks, constraints and assumptions.
8. Answer any questions that the management or project team may have.
9. Assign someone to take notes during the meeting. Identify action items and timelines.
Send out the notes to relevant stakeholders.
10. Determine (in advance) whether you want to discuss the Project Approach in the
same meeting or in a separate meeting.

Outputs:
Notes taken during the kick-off meeting

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Planning Kick-off Meeting Agenda Template

Project Name:
Attendees:
Date:
Time:
Location:
Project Manager:
Core Project team Members:
Stakeholders:
Items:
• Introduction of meeting participants
• Start Date of the planning phase
• End Date of the planning phase
• Guidelines and expectations
• Discussion of the Project Overview Statement
elements
• Discussion of Roles and responsibilities/Governance
document (if applicable)
• Project Approach and overall timeline
• Existing Issues
• Project Resources/Tools/Repository
• Questions
• Recap / summary/Acton Items



Planning Kick-off meeting—Guidelines

Prior to the meeting:
1. Send out a meeting announcement with a meeting agenda to attendees with the
project objective, meeting objective and time frames. Team members are required
to ‘RSVP’ to you. That requirement needs to be stated in the meeting
announcement.
2. Take copies of the agenda to the meeting for the participants.
3. Prepare handouts for the meeting, if necessary

During the meeting:
4. Make sure all the items in the agenda are discussed.
5. The start and end date of the planning phase needs to be articulated.
6. The Project Overview Statement and the Business Case (if applicable) could be
handed out during the meeting. Discuss all the elements in the Project Overview
Statement.
7. Distribute the Project team Organizational Chart from the Governance document.
It is imperative this is distributed during this meeting. If it is not official yet,
create a draft. Discuss roles and responsibilities.
8. The team needs to know their part in the project. Inform them that you will be
discussing their responsibilities with them.
9. Project team Rules need to be set in the Kick-Off meeting. Start them off with one
rule and give them a time limit to come up with more.
10. You need to let the team know what you expect from them as a group. e.g. They
need to know that all information regarding the project needs to be validated by
you before anyone else receives the information.
11. Discuss any existing issues and assign the issues to team members for resolution.
12. Discuss what resources and tools will be used for the project. Discuss where the
project repository will reside.
13. Consider what skills the team can bring to determine the Project Approach and
the WBS.
14. Emphasize the importance of the planning activities schedule.
15. The Project Manager may choose to discuss the overall approach of the project in
this meeting or arrange for a separate meeting for this purpose. The Project
Manager should consider which stakeholders need to be involved in the Project
Approach meeting. Other factors that could be considered are the length of the
meeting, the information that one would want the customer to hear, and the
decisions that the customer should participate in.
16. Answer any questions that the team or other stakeholders may have.

After the meeting:
17. Identify action items and send out the notes taken during the meeting to all
relevant stakeholders



Project Approach—Activity Definition

Purpose:
The objective of this activity is to establish a high-level approach of how to achieve the
project goals specified in the Project Overview Statement, by developing an
implementation approach and project policies/standards. The purpose of this Approach
document is to define the type of solution for the project and the method of delivering
that solution. This document will re-state the project goal and articulate how this will be
achieved. It will also validate which planning elements will be needed for the project.

Participants:
Project Manager, Project team, relevant stakeholders, and customer

Inputs:
Project Overview Statement [1], Business Case [4], Governance Document [4]

Process:
1. The Project Manager can decide whether the project approach should be discussed in
the planning kick-off meeting or a separate meeting should be held for this purpose.
2. An explanation of the project life cycle and the various phases of the project will be
given in the Project Approach document. Determine if any tailoring of the normal
project life cycle will be done.
3. Determine if there are examples of similar projects.
4. Identify any reusable components from other projects that can save effort, cost, and
time for this project.
5. Arrive at the project guidelines. Define ground rules for the project.
6. Document the various steps that need to be executed in order to meet the project
objective. Discuss the various methods in which these steps can be executed.
7. Evaluate each method and select the best method.
8. Reasons for selecting a method need to be given.
9. Determine which planning activities would be necessary for the project.
10. Identify dependencies that exist for the project.
11. Define a conflict resolution process for the project.

Outputs:
Project Approach Document

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OSU CIO Project Management Framework

OSU CIO Project Management Framework

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