1st Course Data Project Team meeting
Samantha Scott – Project Manager
18 June 2012
http://blogs.staffs.ac.uk/coursedata
Agenda
3.00pm Meet the team (10 mins informal catch up with Tea and coffee)
3.10pm Introductions/Round the table – (all 10 -15 mins)
3.25pm Project Overview and vision – presentation by Sam Scott and
sharing of overview document (10-15 mins) Discussion re:
Work Packages and Roles/responsibilities (30 mins)
4.10pm Project Admin – Zoe Hargrave)
4.20pm Questions/discussion – all
4.30pm Close
Meeting objectives:
• To introduce each of the team members to each other
• Officially “kick start” the Project
• Establish a shared understanding of the project and what we are working
together to achieve
• Understanding roles and responsibilities by being the project leads within
each area
What are we trying to do
Project Objective: This project will aggregate our course data from a
variety of identified sources into a single database and embed this
into ongoing course management processes
Project Benefits:
• Increase efficiency – through the increased consistency and accuracy of
our data (for internal audit purposes and marketing material, literature, online
content)
• Reduce duplication, better use of staff time and reduced data entry
(with the focus on the creation of a single trusted source of course
information).
• It will support in our readiness for future requirements (use by partners,
3rd party sites such as UK Hot courses etc)
The Vision
New PG course data entered directly
into database (through the “to be”
processes that we will design with
users starting at the start of the process
of the creation of Validation info)
Existing information held about our PG
courses will be migrated into the new
database (manual entry or interfaced
from multiple sources inc.Thesis and
other databases held locally – which we
will need to identify)
Quality and accuracy of info
will need to be checked
JISC XCRI-CAP Course Data Database
Consistent fields, descriptions and character length – “Data definitions” for
PG courses. The “single truth source” for PG course data. This is to be built
with the functionality and requirements we spec based on understanding the users needs (e.g.
reporting, marketing, web presentation etc)
Functionality
Web pages
presentation of
accurate
information with
defined authors
and consistent
presentation
Reliable source
of information
that can be
accessed by
users across the
University to
support
recruitment
Feed information
to existing
systems within
the University
(Thesis and the
new Student
Records system
Tridion, CRM
etc)
Link to 3rd party
aggregators
sites – e.g.
UCAS therefore
reduced levels on
manual entry and
increased
accuracy
Document
creation with
accurate source of
info that is
currently held in
PDF’s/docs on
local drives (e.g.
validation docs,
award handbooks)
The Vision
• This be the agreed “single source of truth” for PG course data – with
the functionality that could apply to all courses
• Provide the functionality required so that users use it
• Inter-operability with existing systems
• Reduce duplicate sources of information which can lead to
inaccuracy and mis-information
• Consider the longer terms view of our systems (i.e. paving the way
for the new student records systems through establishing processes
that will have synergy/compatibility– future proofing)
• Enable us to be more responsive
• Use data creatively – online personalised prospectus, reduce
manual entry required on web pages and 3rd party sites, meaningful
and personalised direct mail to existing customers etc.
• Responsive – to customers needs – internal and external
• Use technology more effectively to support the business
requirements that will help us realise and achieve the things we want
– and need to, in a competitive marketplace
How we are going to get there
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Project Plan
The work packages and milestones
Ownership of tasks and activities
Ensuring the quality of what we do is of a high standard
Reporting
Communication
Identify challenges, risks and issues quickly and document it
Adhere to the project governance arrangements
Be willing and open to learn and share your learning - this is a
positive thing when working on a project
Help each other and work as a team!! Any shortcomings are a
reflection of the team not an individual
The “C” word…Change!
The Project Mantra
• “The “product” isn’t the I.T. system/database that we build, the
product is the environment we (as and organisation) create, plus
the people who act within in and what we do with that system as a
result”
• “Change doesn’t just happen, it is about the change in behaviours
across the organisation that is key to this projects success”
(source: Me!!!! Samantha Scott - May 2012 after listening to the JISC webinar
Managing Large Scale Organisational Change and taking some inspiration from it!)
What do we need to do to
reach our goal?
• An understanding of how we currently operate both centrally and within
faculties “As is” position – document processes to give us an accurate
starting point to work from These may already be documented in a
formal way – or will require workshops and consultation to find out and
then be recorded
• Educate and enlighten the rest of the organisation as to why this project
is positive and will generate shared benefits – be an advocate!
• Work with and listen to colleagues to ensure we understand their
requirements – their input and confidence into the way the system works
will hopefully encourage sustainability and use
• Change the way we/the organisation works day to day when it comes to
managing our Postgraduate course data through processes and training
to use the new database that we create as the “single source of truth”
Can we do it alone or
do we need help?
Central Services
Teams
Marketing
and PR
Faculty Staff
Recruitment Marketing, Digital
Marketing/Web team and Project
Admin, Business Managers, Quality
Support
Administrators, Faculty Champions,
(User)
Award leaders
(Users)
IS/Development
Team
Strategic, build,
implementation, “aftercare”
support
(Supplier)
? External
developers
Learning, Development
and Innovation (LDI)
colleagues
Experience on other JISC Projects,
“Critical friend” to the project
Quality, Admissions, Student
Records, Management (EPVC/SLT)
(Users)
JISC and
best practise
62 other institutions and Programme
Manager, JISC resources, Project
blogs
(Customer due to funding
the project)
Project Team Structure and
Governance
• Project Team – Work package leads
• Project Board – advise, guide, communicate, support, approve
• JISC Project Management Guidelines – with synergy to PRINCE2
principles (PRojects IN Controlled Environments)
“PRINCE2 doesn’t do the work for you, it cannot guarantee a project
will be successful. Good projects that deliver quality results, on-time
and within budget are dependant on the quality of the people
involved from Project Board down to individual members.
www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/project-management/prince2.pdf
• Roles and responsibilities
The team structure
Appendix 2 (from the Progress Report to JISC
25.5.12) – revisions made to original 18.6.12
JISC XCRI CAP: Course Data Management
Project Governance structure
The Work Packages (WP’s)
•WP1 (Project Management) –Sam
•WP2 (Detailed review of Course marketing processes and procedures)–
Katrina Hutchins (Digital Marketing) and Graham Brown (Recruitment
Marketing) – IS to prepare schema
•WP3 – (Detailed review of Course Processes and procedures) – Chris Gray
(Quality) with support from Quality, Student Office, Faculty input, and LDI. This
includes the analysis of current validation data and processes taking into
account upcoming HEAR and KIS Requirements
•WP4 – (Definition of Combined Marketing and Course Model) – Graham
Brown and Katrina (some support from Sam if req) input from Quality, Student
Office, IS, Faculty, LDI
•WP5 (Requirements analysis of Course Database and XCRI CAP field) Pete
(IS) and Sam based on Workshops; IS, Marketing, Quality, Student Office and
Faculties. To develop a requirements Document. Activity includes definition of
scope and requirements of a course information database (Joint Business and IS
Lead) Get requirements for course database, system interface and XCRI-CAP 1.2
feed with Cool URI.
The Work Packages (WP’s)
• WP6 – Definition of the processes and procedures that need to be in
place alongside the course database to ensure the ongoing management
and update of course data - Sue Barnett (Business Change), supported by
Helen Ferneyhough, (Student Records) Graham Brown (Mktg) and Chris
Grey (Quality)
• WP7 - Development, Test and Implementation of Courses Database and
XCRI-feed Pete Moss (IS) with support on user testing from wider team
•WP8 – Manual data entry /migration of PG Dip, PGCert and PG Masters
data into the course database For discussion - Helen Ferneyhough and
Chris Grey to co-ordinate, Marketing to resource?
.
Work package owners
In teams:
• Can you define what a work package is?
• What are the responsibilities of a work
package owner/lead?
For each one you can think of use a separate
post-it note
Work package owners/team leads
• A work package can be thought of as a mini project, that when
combined with other work package units, form the completed
project.
• An individual work package contains essential steps involved in
completion of the work package along with a deadline by which
each of the steps must be completed in order for project
management to stay on track.
• A work package may in itself be thought of as a deliverable. Work
packages allow for simultaneous work on many different
components of a project at the same time by multiple teams.
• Each team follows the steps defined in the work package and
completes them by the specified deadline. When all teams have
finished their individual work packages, the whole project comes
together with seamless integration.
Source: http://www.prince2primer.com/prince2-work-package
http://www.prince2primer.com/managing-product-delivery
Useful reading/handout source: http://www.businesschangeacademy.com/prince2-controlling-a-stage-csprocess/
Timescales
WORKPACKAGES
Month
1. Project
Management
Jan-Mar
May - Mar
2:
Jan-Mar
Jun-Jul
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
Detailed Review of
Course Marketing
Processes and
Procedures
Detailed Review of
Course Processes
and Procedures
Definition of
Combined
Marketing and
Course Model
Requirements
Analysis of Course
Database and
XCRI-CAP field
Design to-be
processes and
procedures for ongoing management
of Course Data
Development, Test
and
Implementation of
Course Database
and XCRI-CAP Feed
Data migration /
Data Entry
Jan-Mar
Jul Aug
Mar-Apr
Sept
May-Jun
Aug - Sep
Jun-Sep
Mid Oct Nov
Jul-Nov
Initial dev
(Aug-Sep)
Customisa
tion DecJan
Nov-Mar
Jan-Feb
Implementation of Jan-Mar
new Processes and Jan-Mar
Procedures
Appendix 1(From Project Progress Report 25.5.12)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
x
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Scope and activities required
• Review of the project plan – detailed timescales
• Workpackage leads – you will need to be clear on the outputs you are
responsible for delivering and work with the Project Manager to ensure the
steps taken are adequate and that the outputs are fit for purpose before we
move to the next stage
• Further discussion with each work stream lead re: time allocated is required
Time and money
Budget: £80,000 (JISC)
Institutional contribution: £36,000
Database build (from JISC funding):
£10,000 (estimate)
Deadline or delivery: end of March 2013
Time = money also!
•
Time driven and outcome dependant – no meetings for
meetings sake
•
Ensure we are clear on what we are trying to achieve
before a meeting to ensure that we begin to see
outputs/actual results as a product of the meeting or
discussions that support the steps of change that we
need to achieve our goal
Time and money
• The remainder of the budget is to ensure we have people on this project that
engage and create engagement within their sphere of influence and work with
others to increase that sphere and generate momentum.
• In order to change we need to know where we are starting from and where we
are trying to get to
• Creating change is the challenge!
• Communicating the vision may be challenging
• Enabling our organisation to work SMARTER and not harder, be more
responsive and the provision of accurate, high quality information will be the
reward
Risks and challenges
There are a number of key issues and risks that would need to be addressed and these
are:
1. Different steps of the project requires leadership from different areas with all areas
contributing and driving this forward.
2. This is a large cross university project, and because we are not starting in a position
where we already have a centralised store of course information nor are we in a
position where this data can be simply accessed and fed into a database - process
analysis is required as a first step within this and the project has not been able to
identify who in the organisation can fulfil this role.
3. The interface to our student records system is proposed as a later stage but the
analysis may impact this and mean that this needs to be in place sooner and
therefore impact the project.
4. This project may be impacted by the review of whether the in-house student records
system will be replaced and the impact of this depending upon the scope of the new
system. However this project would collect and cleanse the course data which could
then be imported into another system if required.
Organising ourselves and the work we do
Zoe Hargrave – Project Support
•
•
•
•
•
•
The shared folder and mapping to it
How the folder is structured
Version control
Document naming
Amending/deleting information
Recording the time you spend on project related activites –
getting an accurate picture
• Resource planning – recording leave on the calendar
Next team meeting: 4/7/12
TASKS FOR ALL (for the next meeting)
1. Think about any process maps/diagrams/documents that you may already
have in your area that could support in establishing the “as is” position –
save them in the relevant WP folder
2. Write few sentences that you would use to describe/sum up this project
and its benefits if you were to have 30 seconds with Michael Gunn e.g.
having a stairway/lift encounter – to present to each other on 4.7.12 so we
have an agreed one. Email to Zoe by Mon 2.7.12 to collate them
3. Ensure you have linked to the shared drive and calendar
4. Record time that you have already spent doing work for the project – a
monthly return to finance will be based on what is recorded in the calendar
5. Familiarise yourself with the ABCD reporting template
6. Sign up to the JISC newsletter
7. Printing for meetings
8. Looked at the project bloghttp://blogs.staffs.ac.uk/coursedata
and if you tweet/twitter please join
the conversation #StaffsXcri or follow @platformsedge..
and tell others – take it to a team mtg, talk to people!