Project management office
Budget: $10 – $30 USD
Computing & Information Services (CIS) at Oklahoma State University (OSU) is
responsible for providing information technology and customer support for OSU and
eight other institutions. This unit comprises 170 full time employees and 100 student
employees. In 1996, OSU decided to undertake the deployment of Lotus Notes for
the entire campus. At that time, CIS had very hierarchical and functionally
independent groups. With the introduction of the Lotus Notes deployment project,
there was a need to involve many of these groups and coordinate their activities. The
project became a turning point in cross-functional project management in CIS.
Over time, there was further need for more cross-functional coordination of projects.
However, each group had the responsibility for its own projects and managing
resources. Each group performed its portion of the project, but communication did
not always go well. In some projects, different activities were forgotten or missed,
which caused conflict between CIS and its end users. Since each group was
responsible for its own projects, several projects were active simultaneously and
resources were spread thin across them. It was not unusual for one person to be
working on 6 to 10 projects at a time. At one point, several weeks were spent
surveying upper management to outline all open projects. At the end of this exercise,
it was determined that there were 14 pages (Excel landscape) of projects being
worked on by the organization. The organization tried to prioritize these projects and
work on several projects, all designated as number one priorities. However, this still
caused resource issues. One of the difficulties in trying to have one set of priorities
was that each functional area thought of its projects as being top priority for the CIS
group. Often, the priorities were set based on who had the most influence or push to
make it happen. There was no formal approach because anyone in the entire
organization could start a project with no agreed-to procedures or processes to
follow. With the resulting conflicting priorities, some projects were completed
behind schedule or simply not completed at all.
At this stage, OSU asked you to help them with your knowledge and expertise
to achieve their goals on time, within budget and scope.
1)What would you propose to OSU and how would you sell your ideas?
2)How you can help OSU to improve their processes?
3)What would you do to overcome conflict over resources?
responsible for providing information technology and customer support for OSU and
eight other institutions. This unit comprises 170 full time employees and 100 student
employees. In 1996, OSU decided to undertake the deployment of Lotus Notes for
the entire campus. At that time, CIS had very hierarchical and functionally
independent groups. With the introduction of the Lotus Notes deployment project,
there was a need to involve many of these groups and coordinate their activities. The
project became a turning point in cross-functional project management in CIS.
Over time, there was further need for more cross-functional coordination of projects.
However, each group had the responsibility for its own projects and managing
resources. Each group performed its portion of the project, but communication did
not always go well. In some projects, different activities were forgotten or missed,
which caused conflict between CIS and its end users. Since each group was
responsible for its own projects, several projects were active simultaneously and
resources were spread thin across them. It was not unusual for one person to be
working on 6 to 10 projects at a time. At one point, several weeks were spent
surveying upper management to outline all open projects. At the end of this exercise,
it was determined that there were 14 pages (Excel landscape) of projects being
worked on by the organization. The organization tried to prioritize these projects and
work on several projects, all designated as number one priorities. However, this still
caused resource issues. One of the difficulties in trying to have one set of priorities
was that each functional area thought of its projects as being top priority for the CIS
group. Often, the priorities were set based on who had the most influence or push to
make it happen. There was no formal approach because anyone in the entire
organization could start a project with no agreed-to procedures or processes to
follow. With the resulting conflicting priorities, some projects were completed
behind schedule or simply not completed at all.
At this stage, OSU asked you to help them with your knowledge and expertise
to achieve their goals on time, within budget and scope.
1)What would you propose to OSU and how would you sell your ideas?
2)How you can help OSU to improve their processes?
3)What would you do to overcome conflict over resources?