NUIT Project Management
PM Framework Overview
Instruction
This document serves as an overview and description of NUIT’s Standard Project
Management Framework. There are twelve phases to the framework. Each phase has
associated documents and templates designed to facilitate the completion of each phase.
The primary benefits of using the standard framework and associated documents include:

Consistency of communication internally and with customers across the university

Elimination of re-work (reinventing the wheel) for each new project

Facility of tracking and managing projects

Common language and methodology throughout NUIT

Reduction of surprises and firefighting
The graphic on page two of this document illustrates the framework, lists the documents in
each phase and identifies the phases within which approval or sign-off is required before
moving to the next phase.
Pages three through nine of this document provide detailed descriptions of each phase and
the associated documents and templates.
It is highly recommended that you read through this document in its entirety prior to starting
a project.
Note: All project-specific documents should be saved on the designated location in Depot
using the following naming convention: “document name_project name_vXXXXXX” where
XXXXXX = the most recent revision date.
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00. PM Framework Overview
While not an official phase in the PM Framework, the overview section of the intranet has
important documents that are useful to project managers and project teams. In addition to
this PM Framework Overview, the Framework Guidelines and the Phase Selection and Signoff documents are available.

The Framework Guidelines document provides project managers with a high-level
review of each phase and document in the PM Framework. The document is
designed to help the project manager determine which phases and documents should
be selected for his or her project.

The Phase Selection and Sign-off document is used to define which phases and
documents are selected for the project. The document also serves as a single source of
tracking approval/acceptance at the completion of each phase of the project. Having
a single source ensures that the project manager, project team, and designated
approver stay aligned in their knowledge and understanding of the project’s progress.
01. Intake & Prioritization
Intake & Prioritization is the first phase of NUIT’s Standard Project Management Framework
and the starting point of a project lifecycle. This phase is divided into two steps, which are
described below:
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
Project Request – To start a new NUIT project, the requestor completes a Project
Request Form. This form will describe their specific technology need(s) as well as the
benefit(s) and impact(s) of doing the project. Completed request forms will be
reviewed by NUIT and prioritized using a consistent rating process.

Prioritization – All project requests are prioritized using the following criteria:
Business Impact, Feasibility, Ongoing Maintenance, Breadth of Usage, and Relative
Priority within Requesting Unit, and Relative Priority across the University. The
prioritization portion of this phase may not be necessary for projects that are already
funded and/or prioritized.
02. Inception
During the Inception phase, NUIT will assess available funding for the project and conduct a
more rigorous evaluation of the project’s priority and determine if funding is available to
support the project’s completion and ongoing maintenance.

The Getting Started document provides an easy step-by-step guideline and checklist
to complete during the inception phase.

The Project Prioritization Scoring Worksheet provides a standardized approach to
evaluating a new project against other projects being handled by NUIT. Information
from the Project Request Form is used to score various elements of the project, such
as business impact, feasibility, ongoing maintenance needs, breadth of usage, and
relative priority within requesting unit. Additionally, this worksheet provides a
means of input from (and can be shared with) appropriate advisory groups and
stakeholders.

The High-Level Technical Design Template enables NUIT to more accurately
estimate the cost of technology needed to successfully complete the project and
provide ongoing maintenance, access, back-up, and security.

The Budget Estimate document is designed to help the project manager collect
detailed information to assess the cost of the project. The easy-to-use Excel
spreadsheet is based on existing forms and documents used for NUIT funding
requests, thereby facilitating funding request processes for each project.
03. Project Charter
The Project Charter phase includes the development of one of the most critical documents in
the project lifecycle. The Project Charter document provides a more detailed definition of
the project and serves as a baseline of information throughout the project lifecycle.
The Project Charter clearly and concisely outlines the project goals, scope, deliverables, as
well as the proposed approach to completing the project and the high-level project timeline.
It serves as a reference point for keeping the project on track and in scope. It is used as a tool
to measure progress and keep the team focused on the deliverables. Ultimately, the Project
Charter serves as a contract between the project team and the project requestor(s).
The Project Charter must be approved before the Project Launch phase begins.
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04. Project Kick-off
The Project Kick-off sets the tone for the project, establishes leadership, outlines project
communication strategies, and helps to garner buy-in from the project team and key
stakeholders.
Key activity during this phase is the kick-off meeting, during which the project manager
discusses the objective(s) of the project, project guidelines, and expectations for project
delivery. The kick-off meeting also provides an opportunity for the project manager to
ensure all team members and key stakeholders are in agreement that the Project Charter and
Project Timeline are complete and accurate.
A Kick-off Planning Template, which includes a sample meeting agenda and sample project
timeline (also provided as a separate document) is available to assist the project manager
with preparing for this critical phase of the project lifecycle.
05. Requirements & Design
Every project involves delivering a solution that addresses some need on the part of the
organization. That need may be a business need or a technical need. It may fix some
problem the organization is facing or it may improve some aspect of the organization.
Regardless of the reason for delivering a solution there are always two important questions to
ask: 1) what are the requirements of the solution - OR - what is the solution expected to
deliver? And 2) what is the design of the solution - OR - what should the solution look like?
The Requirements & Design phase of the project addresses those two fundamental questions
and all of the smaller questions that surround them.

The Business Requirements Analysis template addresses the business requirements
that the solution must meet to satisfy the business needs of the customer. The
business requirements represent a target for the solution and the expectations of the
customer. If the business requirements are well-defined then the people developing
the solution will know what is expected of the solution and the criteria for success.
Conversely, a poorly defined business requirement represent a vague and mushy
target that the solution may appear to hit “on paper” but does not actually meet the
customer’s needs or expectations upon delivery. Poorly defined business
requirements often give rise to the situation where IT believes that a project is
successful while the customer does not.

The Detailed Technical Design Template documents the specific technical needs and
solution design for the project. Using the High-Level Technical Deign Template from
the Inception phase, this tool elaborates on the technical resources needed to
successfully fund and support the solution. The Detailed Technical Design Template
is technical in nature and answers all of the technical questions related to the design
of the solution. It also serves to represent a common understanding of what the
solution will look like. Similar to the Business Requirements Analysis, an ill-defined
design will leave too much open to interpretation – and will result in mismatched
parts, mismatched expectations and a poor solution for the customer.
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
The Reporting Requirements Template is used to outline the details related to any
reports the customer needs as part of the project. As with the other two templates in
this phase of the project, the project manager needs to ensure that the Reporting
Requirements Template is complete and accurate so that the delivered solution meets
the customer’s needs and expectations.
06. Planning
The Planning phase of the project is when the information gathered within previous phases is
used to create a master project plan and roadmap. During this phase, resources are allocated
to various tasks, technical and operational specifications are developed, and plans for future
activities – such as system testing, change control, and deployment – are defined. Early
planning of future activities will ensure that resources are properly allocated, emergencies
and unexpected challenged are minimized, and both the customer and the technical team are
aligned with expectations and timeline.
There are many templates available within this phase. They are outlined below. The most
critical tool will be the Project Plan itself, which may be created in MS Project (preferred
tool), Basecamp, Excel, or other shared software. The Project Plan, used to forecast and
sequence all activities, define allocated resources, is the definitive schedule for all project
activities.
The following is a list of other planning tools available on the PM Framework intranet site:

The Planning Process Guidelines provides guidance on how to approach NUIT’s
project planning phase. It outlines the various aspects of the planning process and
identifies key documents that can facilitate specific actions and activities. This
document also outlines the elements that should be tracked in the Project Plan and
provides guidance other plans that need to be developed during this phase.

A Sample Project Plan Template (created in Excel) is available on the PM
Framework intranet site. This template is based on the details provided in the
Planning Process Guidelines described above. While this template is available for
your use, NUIT’s preferred project planning tool is MS Project. Basecamp may also
be used for this purpose.

The Security and Risk Plan is used to define the technology-related risks and security
needs associated with NUIT projects. This document outlines the process by which
risk and security needs are assessed and includes a sample Risk Analysis
Questionnaire.

The Master Test Plan helps the project manager, the team, and key stakeholders
define how the solution will be tested prior to deployment. The template provides
guidance on gathering specific information related to scope, resources, test strategy,
environment, key milestones, and more.

The Change Control Plan sets the parameters for how change requests will be
managed and approved throughout the project. Managing change is critical to the
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success of every project. This plan can help to reduce the risk and frustration often
related to unexpected project changes.

The Transition Plan defines the tasks and activities that need to take place to
efficiently move a product (i.e., in-house developed software) from the development
or pilot environment to the production, operations and maintenance environment. It
is important to plan the transition at this stage of the project to ensure expectations are
aligned, resources are appropriately allocated, and deployment delays are minimized.

The Support Services Plan ensures that correct procedures are in place to support a
newly created service and defines roles and responsibilities.

The Marketing Communications Plan provides guidance for developing a
comprehensive communication plan for your project, in collaboration with NUIT
Communications.

The Budget Plan document is identical to the Budget Estimate document used during
the Inception phase. The Budget Plan provides an opportunity for the project
manager to update and finalize project costs after the detailed Requirements & Design
phase is complete. The Budget Plan is be used to define the final project budget and
support requests for operational and capital funding.
07. Execution
This phase of the project is when the Project Plan is executed and the solution is developed
and/or built. The project manager and the project team may use MS Project, Excel,
Basecamp, or other shared software to manage the Project Plan. However, it is critical that
everyone is able to access the plan details pertaining to their assigned activities (and related
dependencies).

During the building of the solution, issues are documented and tracked using the Issue
Management Template. The success of a project depends on transparency of the
issues – making sure all project team members and key stakeholders know what
issues exist and how they are going to be addressed. Managing issues and sharing
information related to the issues is easily managed using this template. The template
provides space to document a comprehensive and accurate description of the issue, a
description of the impact of the issue, available options to resolve the issue,
recommended actions, and the final decision on the resolution.

The Status Report Template is used to report on the status of the project to
stakeholders and/or NUIT management. The importance of the Status Report
increases with the visibility of a project. This report is an indispensible tool in
communicating to the stakeholder community and ensuring that everyone is apprised
of progress on, and changes to, the project.
08. Testing
Testing occurs after the solution is built and before it is deployed into production. Testing is
critical in that it ensures that the solution meets the requestor(s) needs and accomplishes what
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it is designed to do. There are several templates that help the project manager (and team) to
effectively manage testing activities. The Master Test Plan, developed during the Planning
phase, is used to direct all testing activities during this phase.
Additional documents are available and should be used to effectively manage the testing
process.

The Test Strategy document defines the scope, resources, methods, and risk
associated with testing the functionality of the delivered solution. The details
captured in this document re critical to the success of the testing phase, and
subsequent success of deployment.

The Performance Test Strategy accomplishes the same goal as the Test Strategy, but
is focused on the testing the system performance required to support the delivered
solution.

The Test Issues Tracking Guidelines provides the project manager and team guidance
on what should be tracked during the testing phase and how the tracking can be
accomplished.

The Test Issues Tracking Template can be used to track issues that arise during
testing. The team may also use an existing database or ticketing system for this
purpose. The important aspect of tracking testing issues is transparency and
communication across project team members and key stakeholders. This is best
accomplished by making the tracking information accessible to all involved.
09. Training
After a solution is built and fully tested, training must be delivered to a variety of individuals
including IT staff, stakeholders, and end-users.
The Training Preparation Checklist provides guidelines for designing and planning the
training program. Whether training is delivered in person, via the web, or in
electronic/printed materials, it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of training from the
perspective of the participants and users. The standard Training Evaluation provides a core
set of questions that should be asked of all training participants. The resulting data should be
used to assess the effectiveness and drive continual improvement of the training.
10. Deployment
Now that the solution is fully tested and training has taken place, you are ready for the
Deployment phase. The Transition Plan, developed during the Planning phase of the project,
is the key document that guides deployment activities. It is recommended that you verify
that the plan is still accurate and update it if anything has changed.
The Transition Plan should clearly define the key elements needed to ensure the deployment
runs smoothly and results are successful. The document addresses scope, risks,
contingencies, deployment strategies, the transition schedule, tasks and activities, allocated
resources, reporting and communication procedures, project acceptance and approval of
project-related materials.
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The Deployment Signoff Template used to obtain customer approval for the deployment
phase. This template can also be used to request review and approval of project
documentation and materials between NUIT and the customer or within NUIT itself (where
internal approval is required).
The SLA Template outlines the services covered under the Service Level Agreement (SLA)
and identifies external vendors whose services may impact service continuity and the SLA
itself.
11. Post-implementation
After a project has been successfully deployed, it is very important to 1) review the success
of the project and determine if the results were as expected, and 2) to assess if the team met
the business and operational goals and objectives of the project.
The Evaluation and Lessons Learned document provides guideline on how to effectively
learn from each project and apply that learning to future projects. The document includes a
sample set of project related questions to be discussed with project team members and key
stakeholders. The document also outlines a structure by which the responses to the questions
are evaluated and used to improve future NUIT projects.
12. Change Control
While this phase is number 12 in the framework, it is not a final phase. Instead, Change
Control standards are used throughout most of the project lifecycle – from the Execution
phase through Post-Implementation, and beyond.
The goal of Change Control is to ensure that standardized methods, processes and procedures
are used to effectively and efficiently manage all changes throughout the project.
Standardizing the way change is managed during a project is critical to maintaining the
proper balance between the need for change and the potential detrimental impact of changes.
The Change Control Plan, developed during the Planning phase of the project, is a core
document that defines how change requests will be managed throughout the project. Change
Control activities include identifying and recording change requests; assessing the impact,
cost, benefit and risk of proposed changes; developing business justification and obtaining
approval to make changes; managing and coordinating change implementation, and
reviewing and closing change requests.
Documents used to facilitate the Change Control include:

The Change Request & Sign-off Form, which defines the specific change and the
impact of the change. It also captures the approval needed to incorporate the change
into the project.

The Sample Change Request Log, provides an easy-to-use Excel spreadsheet for
tracking and managing change requests throughout the project.
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Once the above steps have been completed, the delivered technology is supported by NUIT
as per the approved Operational Level Agreement, written and approved during the Planning
phase, and/or the Service Level Agreement, written and approved during the Deployment
phase.
Document Tracking
Date
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Action Taken
By Whom
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