Project Management Work Group Initiatives and Accomplishments

2007-2008 Work Group Accomplishments

2008-2009 Work Group Projected Initiatives

Items in italics under "2008-2009 Projected Initiatives" for each work group are those suggested at the Annual NYS Forum Planning Session held on July 11, 2008. Any initiatives receiving priority votes cast by participants on July 11th are bolded and in blue and the number of votes cast is shown in parenthesis.

The Forum's Standing Committee on Project Management was created to support government entities and government project managers as they implement project management standards and practices, Project Management Offices (PMO'S), and project portfolio management (PPM) within their organizations.

2007-2008 Accomplishments

For the Project Management Community of Practice (PM COP) (open to all):

  • May 2008: An overview of two New York State projects was provided: NY FMS (Financial Management System) by Mahesh Nattanmai and NYS Worker's Compensation Reform by Jon Haverly, Keane Consultant on behalf of WCB.
  • January 2008: Joint meeting with Upstate NY Chapter of PMI (Project Management Institute) was conducted, featuring J. Davidson Frame, PhD, PMP, Academic Dean at the University of Management and Technology (UMT) in Arlington, Virginia. Dr. Frame's topic was "Agile Project Management: Re-thinking PMBOK, CMM, ISO 9000 and Other Standards". Approximately 175 people were in attendance.
  • December 2007: Project review practices from both the public and private sectors were reviewed. Representatives from the New York State Office of the Comptroller reviewed the level of audits, criteria used for audits and key findings from OSC and Project Quality Assurance processes employed at OSC were also reviewed. Keane, Inc. provided a detailed overview of how Keane audits their projects including audit types, processes, categories and scoring used on all Keane Managed Projects.
  • September 2007: Held in conjunction with the Government Technology Conference (GTC East) the session was dedicated to the topic of certifications. Speakers from the OSC, OFT, and OCFS discussed both Project Management and Business Analyst certifications.

For the Project Management Office (PMO) Roundtable (open to all agencies currently implementing a PMO or PM Practices):

  • June 2008: A discussion of establishing and staffing a PMO in a state agency including experiences using the new Project Manager title series, establishing new positions, reclassifying current staff, use of Business Analysts in the PMO and other PMO needs.
  • March 2008: Enterprise Level PMO - A brief introduction to the evolution of the EPMO concept followed by a panel discussion by representatives from various NYS agencies discussing how their PMOs evolved "beyond IT" to encompass and support projects across the entire Department, Division or Office.
  • December 2007: A presentation and panel discussion on Project Rescue, Triage, and Recovery. Experiences and advice on identifying projects in trouble, and implementing a plan to get the project back on track or minimize loss by closing it out properly.
  • September 2007: Review Process for Proposed and Active Projects - an overview of the development of the checklists and a roundtable discussion to brainstorm potential uses of the checklists within agencies. The CIO Peer Review Process enables the State CIO, through the CIO Council, to provide project recommendations and strategies to agencies that mitigate project risks and contribute to increased project success. The checklists are available to all state agencies via the PM Repository and are a valuable tool for agencies to use to assess project health and well being.

The PM Standing Committee members met monthly to plan and execute the above activities as well as completing the following Special Projects:

  • First joint event with PMI New York City Chapter in October 2007 featuring Dr. J. Davidson Frame was attended by over 100 people.
  • An update of the PM Matrix to facilitate sharing of PMO resources across the state agencies is in progress.
  • Marketing and education of project management are supported by the NYS Forum PM Committee Newsletter which was published quarterly
  • Promotion of the Project Manager title series first exam holding in February 2008.
  • Aggregate Agency Project Management Training remains on hold until funding and/or resources can be identified to complete the project. Demand for a consolidated, standardized PM curriculum for NYS remains high.

Update on 2007-2008 Annual Planning Session Initiatives

  • Promote awareness of the new PM title series and the civil service exam: completed through various announcements at meetings and newsletter articles.
  • Undertake outreach/identification of people performing PM in NY Government to enhance the user base of PM: The committee reached out through various groups including PMMP graduates, known PM practitioners outside of IT, and the Personnel Council in attempts to increase awareness of project management and this committee's offerings.
  • Develop and offer an executive level, transition session on project management topics: Forum suggested this should be done as part of a larger introduction to the Forum work. The PM committee put together a fact sheet for use by the Forum in creating an executive briefing.
  • Continue to conduct quarterly PMO Roundtable sessions on relevant topics: Completed - see above.

2008-2009 Projected Initiatives

Education

  • Provide project management educational opportunities for various audiences including NY State and local government Project Managers, Project Management Office Directors and agency executive management.
  • Complete the aggregate project management training work started under a Governor's Office of Employee Relations (GOER) grant in 2006.
  • Provide a focus on Project Portfolio Management practices, especially on the value of formalized selection, prioritization, and management of projects within a fiscally constrained environment.
  • With the NYS CIO, plan and conduct a session on the value of PM. (12)

Communications

  • Promote the NYS methodology, including newer SDLC methods, as the standard and encourage incorporation of the process into RFP's. (3)
  • Improve PM information sharing in a "safe" environment enhance the repository as resource tool central to sharing knowledge, techniques and materials. (9)