About the PMO

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:

  • Manage the project portfolio

  • Collect project proposals and business cases

  • Provide resources for managing projects

  • Engage stakeholders and functional partners

  • Support deployment of new functionality

  • 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.

An assessment:

  • Duration may vary

  • Requires resources from more than one OIT department

  • Requires engagement from the business

  • May require consultants

  • Implementation funding not confirmed

-vs-

An implementation project:

  • Includes an assessment

  • Requires more than three months of effort

  • Requires resources from more than one OIT department

  • Requires engagement from the business

  • Will result in process change and/or organizational change

  • Is scoped and funded

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 < $5

Cost = $5-50k

Cost = $50k +

Duration

< 1 month

< 3 months

3+ months

Departmental

OIT-only or OIT + 1 external department

Impacts more than 1 external department

Impacts more than 2 external departments or has internal dependencies

SOW signed for software implementation

Documentation

Knowledge Base

Support Ticket if applicable / source

Approved scope, project plan, status reporting, project close

Project methodology deliverables

Reporting

Internal departmental reporting

Departmental status reporting

Included in OIT project listing in PMO tool

PMO status reporting

Included in OIT project listing in PMO tool

ITEC / Board level / Leadership reporting as required