Mantle Project Closure Report Version 1.0 Final
Introduction
Mantle was a strategy map project under the theme improving our effectiveness and
specifically targets the underlying aim “We have management information that is
understood, cascaded and used to inform decision-making” under E4 Improving core
systems and processes.
In summary the project captured current and MI future requirements, compared them to
current provision to identify gaps in provision and generated the essence of this report,
options to actually bridge those gaps. These options include organisation and process as
well as technology.
These options were drawn together into a portfolio of recommended projects and
smaller initiatives forming a roadmap for 5 years commencing 2008/09. This was the
projects key deliverable in the form of a final report and is available on request (use
contact details below).
Summary
In terms of timescale the project finished 11 weeks later (on an original duration of 10
months) compared to its original plan. This was primarily due to two factors; firstly,
over optimistic estimating of the time needed for the project work, especially
consultation time with Faculties & Schools, (about 6 weeks) and secondly difficulty in
securing staff resource to undertake the work (about 5 weeks).
In terms of finances the project had no formal budget and did not incur significant direct
expenditure other than some direct costs funded out of the APPO’s budget (£1500 in
total).
Scope wise the original plan was adhered with three specific exceptions:
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requirements capture extra work was added in for top down work relating to
strategy map measures;
the scope was narrowed with regard to information systems and no real work on
the strategies or technology choices was undertaken other than an audit of
current MI systems;
the scope was narrowed with regard to the final report contents, with less detail
than originally planned for the some of the proposed projects and the business
cases for them.
The overall project recorded and fielded 2,388 project issues, managed 79 project risks,
built up a list of 221 contacts and held 4 Working Group, 5 Steering Group meetings and
3 workshops plus 19 one to one interviews. Over 20 Faculty Executive meetings
internally in the University were attended in the consultation exercises that formed part
of the project.
Follow on Recommendations
A list of recommended further actions is included as Appendix 1.
Initial Lessons Learnt
A list of initial lessons learnt is included as Appendix 2.
Thanks
Appendix 3 is just to say thank you to all those involved in or who have assisted with
the project.
Contact point for further enquiries:
Academic Planning & Performance Office
University of Leeds
Contact: 0113 343 1839 or appo@adm.leeds.ac.uk
Original project sponsor (John Fisher)
Original project manager (Andrew Busby)
Appendix 1 Follow on Recommendations
Recommendations for follow on work are as follows, including specifically an owner of
each action from the original Steering Group.
Note the Mantle report itself contains significant recommendations and hence this list is
short.
Recommendation
Undertake post project review in spring
2009 to review the results of the project
and assess if subsequent benefits are being
realised.
The project Sounding Board (the group of
Heads of Schools, Deans and
administrators who advised through the
project) should be reviewed and members
asked if they wish to continue on an
interim basis till formal governance is
resolved.
Action
John Fisher
David Belk
Appendix 2 Initial Lessons Learnt
Below are the key lessons learned from the project, to aid any future projects in this area.
The list should be developed further as part of the post project review.
Positive
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Where a project results have a potential broad impact, across different services and
including Faculties, ensure it is not too parochial in its direction and management or
associated with one particular service. By making Mantle a strategy map project
this was avoided;
Ensuring agreement on the nature of the problem to be addressed was useful;
Explicit tasks in the project to keep up to date with any related projects was vital; it
is not enough to be passive with regard to this, the project manager must actively go
out and find out what is going on;
Internal University projects are very time restricted for workshops; typically the best
approach found was an 11-2 workshop that did not take up a full day and provided
lunch as well;
Using Faculty Executives or their equivalent can be a useful consultation route, but
one that should be used with care so as not to overload Faculties with multiple
requests for time at meetings. An alternative approach, if an Administrator and/or
Academic within the Faculty is supportive of the project, is to ask them to raise it at
an Executive meeting rather than the project manager attending;
In project workshops break up group work membership across different areas (e.g.
don't put all Research related staff in one group);
Having a project Sounding Board, made up of Heads of School, Pro Deans and a
selection of Faculty Administrators (Finance, HR, L&T etc.) proved very useful;
Recommend using one to one interviews for Heads of School (or similar level)
requirements capture as very difficult to get them all in the same place at the same
time for a workshop;
Wherever possible compare Leeds experience to peer institutions – mutually
beneficial discussions always useful;
Find a good source of external expertise, especially if it is free (e.g. University
Gartner subscription very helpful);
If project manager leaves and it does not affect the project critically, don't mention it
to the wider audience of stakeholders as it may cause difficulties with the
perception of the project when it need not.
Project timescales – Mantle took 12 months to complete. Whilst this was felt to be
long it was considered to have been necessary and useful in the context of the
culture of the University and achieved significant levels of support for the projects
final recommendations.
Negative
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Do not try to define management information in academic terms or generically – it
isn’t feasible, is a moving target and means different things to different people –
take pragmatic choices on scope as a result;
To undertake a project of this nature properly, with proper levels of Faculty and
School involvement, requires a very high project management overhead (project
management hours for the project as a whole: 1020);
The Project Manager should have met directly with the project sponsor closer to the
start of the project, and the project should have recognised earlier on the vital
necessity of adequate Head of School representation via a project Sounding Board.
Both could have been done earlier, saving time;
When running a project that produces a report, scope it by providing a template of
the final report to the Steering Group and other key stakeholders;
Needed to take a more considered approach to the requirements analysis; i.e. did
too much of a summary too quickly and going back into the detail to produce a
different analysis was time consuming. Should have used an Access database from
the start rather than Excel;
Should have used a more structured approach to one to one interviews to capture
requirements and make input and subsequent analysis easier;
Need to pay more attention to Steering Groups when they mention particular
queries or facts more than once;
Ensuring Steering Group full attendance was particularly difficulty given the senior
membership and the usual diary issues – one possible approach to mitigating this is
for the project manager to ask for individual follow up meetings with any Steering
Group members who gave their apologies;
The project could have benefited from a small amount of targeted paid external
consultancy to advise on the management of the project;
Appendix 3 Thanks
Thanks should be given to all of the following for working on, advising on or just being
plain supportive through the project.
Firstly, by definition this is a very long list, but among those involved special mention
should go to:
John Fisher for sponsoring the project and resolving the serious issues promptly and
effectively.
David Belk and Mike Kennerley for a day to day level advising on the project and
undertaking specific work as well.
Margaret Perkin, the project administrator, for both ensuring a smooth running project
and for perceptive comments and ideas about the ideas and approach Mantle.
Dave Li in ISS and Sally Edwards in SPG who undertook specific tasks as part of the
project.
Last but not least Margaret Suttill for undertaking the project administrator role for the
final two months of the project (and keeping it well organised) and Gemma Pitt and Jill
Pharaoh for administering the project Steering Group.
Project Steering Group
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John Fisher, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Chair)
John Leach, Dean of Education, Social Sciences & Law
Roger Pollard, Dean of Engineering
Phil MacDonald, Financial Controller
Matthew Knight, Director of Human Resources
Mark Lloyd, Head of Information Systems, ISS
Martin Holmes, Marketing Director
Peter Noble, Faculty Director of Health Development, Medicine and Heath *
Peter McWilliam, Dean of Medicine & Health *
David Belk, Head of Academic Planning & Performance
Mike Kennerley, Strategy & Performance Manager, Strategy Project Group
* for part of the project
Project Working Group
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David Belk, Head of Academic Planning & Performance, APPO (Chair)
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Mike Kennerley, Strategy & Performance Manager, Strategy Project Group
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Owen Adams, Programme Manager, Enterprise & Innovations
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Michele Troughton, Estate Planning & Information Manager, Estates
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Wendy Rose, Senior Management Accountant (Reporting), Finance
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Caroline Langham, Human Resources Services Manager, Human Resources
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Paul Marshall, Faculty Administrator, Arts
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Steve Aylmer, Service Group Leader (Technical Support & Development), ISS
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Christina Robinson, Assistant Registrar - Review, Academic Quality and
Standards
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Daniel Norton, Market Research Assistant, Marketing & Student Recruitment
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David Hambleton, Director of Finance (Medicine & Health), Medicine & Health
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Andy Kirk, Faculty Information Officer, Medicine & Health
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Andrew McKie, Project Officer, APPO
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Michelle Double, Research Performance & Policy Team Manager, RSU
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Sheila Mathison, Faculty Research Manger, Environment
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Nadine Bleasby, Review Manager
Project Sounding Board
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David Sutcliffe, General Manager, Biological Sciences
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Richander Birkinshaw, Faculty Learning & Teaching Administrator, PVAC
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Dr David Jackson, Head of School of Fine Art, History of Art & Cultural Studies,
PVAC
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Professor Roger Boyle, Head of School of Computing, Faculty of Engineering
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Dr. Margaret Kellett , Dean/Director, Leeds Dental Institute
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Alasdair Dewar, Academic Business Manager, Leeds Dental Institute
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Judith Hardy, HR Manager, Faculty of Arts
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Professor John Gooch, Head of School of History, Faculty of Arts
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Karen Innis, Marketing Manager, Faculty of Engineering
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Dr Stephen King, Head of Management Division, Faculty of Business
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Janet Mackintosh, Research Finance Manager, Faculty of Mathematics & Physical
Sciences
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Professor Bronek Wedzicha, Pro Dean for Research, Faculty of Mathematics &
Physical Sciences
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Adrian Bailey, School of Geography
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Tim Benton, Pro-Dean for Research, Faculty of Biological Sciences
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James Craig, Project Manager
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Susan Daniels, Head of the School of Performance and Cultural Industries
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Nick Ellison, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy and Head of School
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Frank Finlay, Director of Research, Professor of German
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Adrian McDonald, Head of School of Geography
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Julie Reeves, ESSL Faculty Finance Manager
Project team
Andrew Busby, Margaret Perkin (to August 08), Margaret Suttill (August 08 to
September 08)
Other individuals of note
All of the following contributed to the project in various ways; the list is in no particular
order.
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Allan Bolton, Faculty of Business
Joanna Bowen, School of Environment
Hazel Briggs, ITS
Colin Coghill, ISS
Diane Collett, Geography
Simon Donoghue, SPG
Allan Evans, ISS
Penny Hatton, SDDU
Ben Plumpton, Library
Paul Potter, ISS
Derek Sergeant, Library
Finally, those in Faculties who helped the project find its way round the University, its
Faculty executives and senior academics.