Web Content Unit - PMO,
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency,
U.S. Department of Treasury
Portfolio Based Technology Decision Making &
Coordination – A Simple How to Guide (Case Study)
Kristofer L. Mathisen, PMP
VP Cognitive Technologies Inc.
www.cogtechinc.com

Cognitive Technologies, Inc
• A professional project & program management firm that provides products
and services to Fortune 1000 and government clients whose technology
projects absolutely must succeed.
– Consistent record of program management success
– Proven proprietary products like C3PMO and Performance DNA that yield improved
project success rates
– Certified Project Management Professionals (PMPs), BAs, and Performance Analysts,
many with advanced degrees
– Strong references
• Primary differentiators
– We approach project management from a holistic point of view: successful project
management is more about people than technology
– We offer the rapid deployment of a turnkey solution for enterprise-wide project
management.
– Integrated tools suite within 4 months
– We have an organization with deep knowledge and extensive practical experience
– 80% with advanced degrees
– 80% Project Management Professional (PMP) certified
– We have broad marketplace appeal with our scalable integrated tools suite
– “Excellent” rating from independent 3rd party on customer satisfaction
People Focus, Practical Knowledge, Reliable Results
2

U.S. Department of Treasury –
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
CASE STUDY
Goal:
To enhance the Web Content Business Unit’s insight Cognitive Value Added:
and management of internet technology related •Skilled project managers and business
decision making activities through the analysts
implementation of a program management office •Implemented processes and procedures
based on industry and government best
practices
Situation:
•Implemented an integrated COTS tool
Web content projects and processes in support of
suite.
the OCC’s internal and external constituents where
ad-hoc, non standard and not repeatable. With the •Provided coaching and mentoring to
upcoming implementation of a CMS system this client team members
needed to be resolved.
Solution:
Implement a PMO infrastructure with proven tools “The measure of success is not
whether you have a tough problem to
and processes to manage their portfolio of projects.
deal with but whether it’s the same
problem you had last year.”
-- John Foster Dulles
People Focus, Practical Knowledge, Reliable Results
3

Phase 1: Project Priority vs. Operational Activity
What is a project? A temporary endeavor with a definitive start and
planned end date. It must have an associated project charter and project
schedule.
People Focus, Practical Knowledge, Reliable Results
4

FY07 Project Inventory
Project Inventory:
Ensuring the safety and soundness of national banks for all Americans
People Focus, Practical Knowledge, Reliable Results
5

Phase 2: Project Portfolio Management
Step 1.
Request
For
Step 2.
Project
Project
Inventory
Project
Step 4.
Schedule
Project
Step 3. Charter
Step 5. Controlling, Collaborating & Communicating
Weekly
Reporting
People Focus, Practical Knowledge, Reliable Results
6

Phase 3: Controlling, Communicating, Collaborating
Control
Control
• Schedule, resource & cost management
Managed
Managed
• Independent control point
Optimization
Optimization
• Standard processes and tools
• Risk and scope management
Collaboration
Collaboration
• Teams – sharing and best practice “Business”
“Business”
• Individuals - better alignment and thru Sharing
thru Sharing
coordination of work
• Stakeholders – knowledge and sharing
Communication
Communication
• Enhanced reporting Real Time
Real Time
• Timely and accurate information Visibility
Visibility
• Navigation of alternatives thru data
• Issue management & action tracking
People Focus, Practical Knowledge, Reliable Results
7

Phase 3: Today and Tomorrow
Schedule/Time management— WBS/Task structure, Quality management— deliverable tracking, peer
project schedule, work estimates, assignments, time review management, SDLC training
Develop an integrated tool suite to support data collection, knowledge sharing, communication, and
collaboration using COTS products (Microsoft Project Server and SharePoint):
tracking
Scope management— requirements definition, Risk/issue management— identification, escalation,
requirements management, change control monitoring, and control for issues and risks
Resource management— time reporting, resource Project repository/library— searchable, common set
allocate. on, global resource pool, skill tagging and of directories for all project related documentation, final
identification deliverables, standards, templates, methodology
guides
Communications and reporting—executive reporting, weekly status reporting, team collaboration sites,
‘dashboard’ reporting, discussion boards, project calendar, contact lists, project news, action item tracking, on
boarding documents, training, forms
People Focus, Practical Knowledge, Reliable Results
8

Executive Dashboard: Program Review
Customer Sat xx/xx – xx/xx Accomplishments This Period
(Latest Available)
Issues
Issue Red Yellow Green
Type:
ITS 5 3 6
Non-ITS
4 1 2
Total 9 4 8
100
90
80
70
77
60 66
58
53
50 41
40
30
11 17
20 16 17 16
10 18 13
11 9 7
0
11-Sep 9-Oct 23-Oct 6-Nov 5-Dec
Week Of
People Focus, Practical Knowledge, Reliable Results Active (Non-ITS) Active (ITS) Closed
9

Integrated Master Schedule
People Focus, Practical Knowledge, Reliable Results
10

Operations Dashboard: Content Management
People Focus, Practical Knowledge, Reliable Results
11

Summary
People Focus, Practical Knowledge, Reliable Results
12

End of Presentation
People Focus, Practical Knowledge, Reliable Results
13