About the PMO
The Project Management Office is the department in Rice OIT that helps organizations ensure projects and programs are delivered successfully on time, on budget, and with quality targets. Our seasoned project managers participate, communicate, and collaborate with the governance group on project selection, prioritization, and performance. Finally, we define and maintain the standards for project execution.
Our role is to:
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Manage the project portfolio
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Collect project proposals and business cases
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Provide resources for managing projects
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Engage stakeholders and functional partners
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Support deployment of new functionality
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Manage methodology standards and flexibility
What is a Project?
A project is a temporary endeavor designed to produce a unique product, service or result. All projects should go through an assessment and requirements analysis.
Typical characteristics of an implementation project:
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Includes an assessment
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Requires more than four months of effort
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Requires resources from more than one OIT department
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Requires engagement from departments outside of OIT
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Will likely result in process change and/or organizational change
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Involves external vendors
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Strategic or important for security / operations of the entire university
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Must be delivered within a specific timeframe
Depending on the nature of the project, the type of project manager assigned could vary. Below are some guidelines.
OIT LEAD |
OIT MANAGER |
PROJECT MANAGER |
|
---|---|---|---|
Cost |
Cost < $5k |
Cost = $5-50k |
Cost = $50k + |
Organizational Impact |
Internal to OIT May still require approval or validation by business stakeholders |
Impacts 1 external department in a major way Impacts multiple external departments in a minor way or has the potential to disrupt business May include consulting services |
Impacts multiple external departments and/or has a significant impact to OIT infrastructure Generally longer duration or complexity than projects led by departmental managers or leads Often includes consultant or partner implementation services May be Board-mandated |
Stakeholder Impact |
Low / no visible impact. May require some settings update by campus partners |
May result in some process, technology, and/or organizational change |
Process, technology, and/or organizational change required |
Type |
Operational |
Operational / Strategic |
Strategic / Critical or Mandated |