The University of Idaho established a Portfolio and Project Management Office (PPMO) to address challenges with technology investments and projects. These included gaps, inefficiencies, duplications, and perceived project failures. The PPMO aims to provide standards and templates, manage projects, identify risks, and review projects to increase quality and alignment with university priorities and strategic direction. It took institutional commitment, resources, and educating staff to build the PPMO and define processes for portfolio management, project lifecycles, roles, and accountability. Next steps include improving tools, increasing visibility of successes, and augmenting PPMO staffing.

1. Building an IT Portfolio &
Project Management Office
From Scratch

2. Introductions
About University of Idaho
Challenges
Priorities
Why PPMO and Why Now
What Did It Take
Building the PPMO
Next Steps
AGENDA

3. ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO
Faculty - 934
Staff - 1530
ITS Staff – 100 (incl. 35 TH)
Founded 1889
Enrollment - 11,534
Campuses - 5

4. INITIAL CHALLENGES AT UI
 Gaps, inefficiencies and duplications in technology investments
 Rapid growth in technology projects
 Real and perceived project failures
• Never ending projects
• Failure to understand total cost of ownership
 Ad hoc prioritization
 Limited oversight
 Security and compliance concerns

5. UI PRIORITIES
 Gain alignment with University strategic direction
 Educate staff on portfolio and project management
 Gain better understanding of ITS Portfolio
 Develop consistency in project practices
 Increase collaboration across the University

6. WHY A PPMO?
 Easier and more beneficial way to make collaborative
decisions
 Minimize risks
 Assist with ITS resource management
 Increase efficiencies within ITS and with stakeholders
 Provide the value of ITS to stakeholders – in terms that
are important to them
 Ensure continued success with future project initiatives
 Reduced stress for ITS employees and customers

7. AND WHY NOW?
• Opportunity – access to a PM
• Solidify ITS as partner of choice
• Assure project alignment with
University strategic direction
• Transparency of prioritization of
University technology investments
• Increase visibility in project status
and key success factors
• Increase project quality

8. WHAT DID IT TAKE?
• Institutional commitment
• Assigned a dedicated person
• Understand your portfolio
• Educate staff
• Build the process and maintain consistency
• Align projects with University strategic direction
• Increase collaboration across the University
Communicate
Communicate
Communicate

9. BUILDING THE PPMO
Plan
Do
Check
Act

10. “PDSA Process" by Johannes Vietze - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PDCA_Process.png#mediaviewer/File:PDCA_Process.png
Dr. W. Edwards Deming
BUILDING THE PPMO

11. SERVICES
Keep it simple, build awareness, and grow.
• Provide standards and templates for project success
• Manage projects as staffing allows
• Identify and help manage critical success factors, issues, and risks
• Provide consultation on project management best practices
• Assist in developing new or troubleshooting existing project plans
• Perform regular high level project reviews
Define your future!

12. START UP RESOURCES
• Support
• Executive support/oversight
• Funding
• Salary and operating costs for Sr. PM
• Tools
• In-house applications used for portfolio tracking and project status
• Staffing
• Minimal staff (1) to establish policies and practices
• Measures
• Minimal (portfolio related)

13. BUILDING THE PPMO
ConsistencyAccountabilityLifecycleStructureDefinition

14. DEFINE WHAT IS IMPORTANT
ITS Project
A project is directed at achieving a specific/unique result, involves the coordinated
undertaking of interrelated activities, has a limited duration (a beginning and an end), is
unique, and involves risk.
• The work effort has an ITS component
• There is a determined beginning and end
And
• $ Amount of > $25,000 hard costs (not discounted w/projected savings)
Or
• >160 hours of work
Or
• Regulatory/Legal Compliance

15. DEFINE WHAT IS IMPORTANT
Other Definitions
 Portfolio/Portfolio Management
 Project Managemet
 Oversight Processes
 Roles
 Scoring and Prioritization
 Levels of PPMO Engagement (High, Medium and
Low)

16. STRUCTURE
PPMO reports directly to CIO/VP
Portfolio must be created in right way
 Minimize disruption (integration of existing processes)
 Maximize effectiveness (align w/current planning)
Structure aligns with existing functions
 ITS takes ownership of leading technical delivery
 PPMO owns project management tools and processes
 Unit leaders cannot ignore their role and partnership with ITS
Change is Mandatory, Disruption is Optional
Innotas 2014 ProjectManagement.com

17. PORTFOLIO LIFECYCLE
PORTFOLIO
LIFECYCLE
Idea
Generation
Preliminary
Screening
Prioritization
Strategic
Project
Execution
Portfolio
Change
Management
Centralized
Benefits
Tracking and
Accountability

18. ACCOUNTABILITY
• University focus not unit focus
• Meaningful agreement to change the way the UI makes investments
• Words backed by actions
• Cultural change
• University and personal goals tied to portfolio success
• Accountability for delivery of success criteria
• Remove stand alone project execution
• Focus on benefits realization not deliverables

19. CHALLENGES
• Inexperienced ITS project managers
• Understanding of project management and it’s importance
• Resistance
• Change (latest trend)
• Oversight
• Accountability
• Staffing - PPMO and projects
• Funding PPMO
• Appropriate Tools

20. MATURITY MODEL
Processes
are informal
or not
defined.
Processes
are defined,
but not well
adopted.
Processes
are defined,
repeatable,
and
followed.
Processes
are aligned
and
performance
is measured.
Processes
are
optimized
and
continually
improved.
<15% 30% 45% 60% 75% 90% 100%
Mastered
In Progress
Future

21. QUICK WINS
• Visibility into current projects
• Clear project scope definitions
• Project prioritization
• Successful projects

22. IMPROVEMENTS
• More effective decision making
• Enhanced Scoring – stronger risk based
• Ability to say “here is how we can help you”
• Improved picture of ITS investments

23. RESOURCES
START UP
• Support
• Executive support/oversight
• Funding
• Minimal
• Tools
• In-house applications used for
portfolio tracking and project status
• Staffing
• Minimal staff (1) to establish
policies and practices
• Measures
• Minimal (portfolio related)
FUTURE
• Support
• Presence at the President’s Cabinet
• Funding
• Meets needs of the roadmap
• Tools
• Automated tool for portfolio tracking,
project status & resource
management
• Staffing
• 1-2 additional staff to dedicate as
PM’s
• Measures
• Quality Measures (portfolio & project)

24. NEXT STEPS
• Improve Tools
• Automated Solution for Portfolio Management
• Resource Allocation/Management
• Project Budget Management
• PPMO Staff Augmentation
• Increase Visibility of Successes

25. I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I’VE SAID…
You need a defined scope because…!
It is important to identify your work breakdown and set your schedule because…!
Slow down, the process covers that, just not right now.
Please trust the process!

26. Jane Cox, Portfolio & Project Management Office
Ofc: 208-885-7233
Cell: 208-874-3734
jmcox@uidaho.edu
Dan Ewart, CIO/VP Infrastructure
Ofc: 208-885-2271
dewart@uidaho.edu
Address: Administration Bldg / 875 Perimeter Drive MS 3155 Moscow ID 83844-3155
CONTACTS