1. Building a Business Case for a
Project Management Organization
High Level View
Prepared by Brian N. Fariss, Business Analyst

2. Major Themes
Identify Goal
Critical Roles Identify Gaps
Propose
Solutions
What are the
goals and
tasks we do?
What else
do we need
to be
effective?
How can we
meet those
needs?

3. Analysis Frame Work

4. Step 1: Identify Types of
Projects
Waterfall is best for:
• Projects that require
detailed planning and
unchanging requirements
• Projects with physical
deliverables
• Projects that must be
done in a single iteration.
• The “traditional” Project
Management
Agile is best for:
• Projects where
requirements can change
frequently.
• Projects with non-
physical deliverables.
• Projects where iterations
can be improved over
time
• IT development is best
completed with Agile1

5. How Waterfall Projects Exist
today
Since the change in organization for the PMO, there have not
been any traditional Waterfall projects initiated.

6. How Agile projects exist
today
Divisional
PMO
Product
Owner
Clearinghouse
Each division
makes a list of
proposed
priorities for
the next Period
of
Development
The Product
Owner makes
the same list
with minor
variation
The Leadership
Clearinghouse
makes decisions
at the
DELIVERABLE
level

7. KEY Concept
PBI’s
Epics
Deliverable
A Deliverable is roughly equivalent to the
way that we referred to Projects.
This is the level that leadership is
generally most interested it, it represents
the total functionality requested. “Case
Manager Screen” is a Deliverable.
An Epic is a large piece of the
Deliverable, and every deliverable could
have many Epics This is the process of
decomposition which is too granular for
leadership purposes. In the above
example of “Case Manager Screen” an
epic would be “Recording Client
Demographics”
Finally, the PBI is the specific piece of
development based on a requirement.
Only the BA/PM and Development Team
work at this level. In the above example,
we would have a PBI for “Make Health
District a Drop Down”

8. Step 2: Identify Role
Project Manager:
• Applies the knowledge, skills,
tools and techniques to
determine main project
activities to meet the project
requirements.
• Manages complex
choreography of tasks to
ensure that timelines are met.
Business Analyst:
• Completes the tasks and uses
the skills and abilities to clearly
define a problem faced by a
business (Business) and then
to determine the scope of a
solution to that problem.
• Solutions may include:
– Process improvement
– Organizational change
– Technology components
While each profession has clearly delineated roles on
traditional projects, in many places one person performs
both roles.

9. IT Development - Scrum
• Currently, BA’s and Project Managers both
work on Agile Projects, independently
creating product back-log items (PBI’s)
• Both sets of professionals prioritize
Deliverables for Leadership
• Both roles work with the Development
Team to create the needed functionality
How it exists today:

10. Non-IT Projects
• Traditionally, Project Managers have been
assigned to large projects that required
major resource management.
• Business analysis, as a tool and a role,
was not generally required outside of IT
projects, and if used was done by the PM
who may have had little training in the area
of business analysis.

11. Step 3: Identify Gaps
Of the Gaps identified in this
analysis, the deepest and most
wide ranging is the lack of clearly
defined goals.
This absence of direction leads to
role confusion between IT staff,
PMO and between Project
Managers and Business Analysts.
Because of this role confusion, it is
difficult to identify appropriate
needs for resource allocation and
deployment.
Resource
Allocation
Systemic
Role
Confusion
Lack of Clearly
Defined Goals

12. Clear Goal Definition
• Currently the Project Alpha trumps most
other projects.
• This is the established direction for now,
but what will occur after it is completed?
• We know that retiring the legacy system is
a major goal, but no one has decided how
that is to occur.
• Without that clear direction, development
will flounder.

13. Goal Definition - Solution
Identify Possible
Solutions
Select Solution that
fits Business needs
Implement Solution
5-1-2015
The potential
options for
retiring legacy
systems
should be
available for
review by
Leadership
7-1-2015
Based on the
needs as
identified by the
Business, the
solution with the
greatest benefit
over time is
selected
On-Going
Following
completion of
JRI
development,
development of
chosen solution
begins.
Depending on
solution chosen,
this may require
a freeze in CIS
development.

14. Expected Results
By having a clear path forward the IT
team and the PMO will have a common
goal to work toward.
One group will not be attempting to
implement a different solution or
expectation.

15. What do Business Analysts/Project
Managers do anyway?
Business Analyst
• Completes the tasks and
uses the skills and abilities
to clearly define a problem
faced by a business
(Business) and then to
determine the scope of a
solution to that problem.
• Solutions may include:
– Process improvement
– Organizational change
– Technology components
Project Manager
• Applies the knowledge,
skills, tools and
techniques to determine
main project activities to
meet the project
requirements.

16. Similar, but not the same!
Ensures accurate
requirements to
meet Stakeholder
needs
Focus on Project
Schedule, Cost,
Managing Resources
In some localities, BA’s are
considered “baby Project
Managers”. This is problematic
because
In smaller organizations, with
smaller budgets, the two roles of
Business Analyst and Project
Manager are frequently shared by
one person.
While this does work for smaller
projects, larger projects may suffer.
The triple constraints of Project
Management on large projects with
major deliverables does not allow
effective gathering, and
management of requirements from
stakeholders.
BA
PM

17. Systemic Role Confusion
Building from the foundational need
for a clear direction, defined roles
are also essential.
Currently, Business Analysts and
Project Managers are treated as
interchangeable roles. Additionally
the roles that the two share are
often times neither Business
Analysis or Project Management.
This often takes the form of
expecting one or the other to act as
librarian or observer rather than
active participant.
Both the Project Management
Institute and International Institute
of Business Analysis stress the
separation of duties as essential to
successful project completion.
Completed Project
Subject
Matter
Expert
Project
Manager
Business
Analyst

18. The Domain is the THING
Business Domain
• The world of the
business:
– PO’s
– DARs/Clinicians
– Section Supervisors
– District Managers
– Central Office Staff
• Focuses strictly on the
Business and what
IDOC needs to
accomplish
• The WHAT the Business
needs, their goals
Solution Domain
• The world of the
solution provider:
– IT
– Contractors
– Service providers (
• Focuses on the
solution
• The HOW we are
going to meet the
need and goals of
the business

19. Role Confusion Confounds
Projects
If the Business Domain ignores
the Solution:
If the Solution Domain
Dominates:
• Front line staff are
frequently told “No”.
• Solutions tend to be
focused on what works best
for IT/Service Provider and
not on what is actually best
for the staff using the
solution (admission
processes can be overly
complex, applications may
not be useable in context)
• Without the constraints set
by available solutions,
groups tend to set high
expectations that may be
unattainable.
• Stakeholders rarely know
what they want in the way
that can be put into
development.
• Requirements tend to be
vague and difficult to pin
down.

20. Business Analysts and Project
Managers live in the Gap
Between
• Both help to identify challenges facing the
Business in addressing recidivism
• Business Analysts gather the requirements and
refine them through the elicitation process to
provide the solutions.
• Project Managers ensure that tasks are
completed in a timely manner and that things do
not fall off the plate
• Both ensure that the solution meets the needs of
the business while taking into account any
constraints of the solution.

21. Wait, Why Do the Two Groups
need someone in Between?
Business People
• Rarely have a
background in the
solution domain.
• Their jobs are not in
developing solutions but
in working with offenders
to make a safer Idaho
Solution People
• Rarely have a Criminal
Justice background.
• Do not have the time to
meet with every
stakeholder.
• Because IDOC is a public
service, personal
opinions of what “should”
be done can cloud
provision of solution.

22. The Cost of Requirements
Errors*
Relative cost to repair a defect at different project lifecycle phases
* Adapted from Managing Software Requirements, Dean Leffingwell and Don Widrig.

23. But how does the Field see any
benefit???
Technology
• BA’s and PM’s ensure
that a wider swath of
people are included,
increases a sense of
ownership in the process.
• BA’s and PM’s advocate
for the end user and the
Business domain with
technology
• BA’s and PM’s help to set
achievable expectations
for solutions
Non-Technology
• BA’s and PM’s ensure
that the processes and
policies that are created
or changed are well
documented.
• Time spent by the field in
determining solutions is
diminished.
• There is greater input
from larger groups
meaning that no one set
of stakeholders sets the

24. But how Do the Officers in the
Field see any benefit???
Technology
• Using an Agile approach,
having BA’s and PM’s
make sure that changes
and new features are
useable and are what the
field wants and needs.
• BA’s and PM’s assist the
Systems Trainer in
making sure that all staff
know how to use the
system
Non-Technology
• BA’s and PM’s make it
easier for executives and
managers because they
do not have to know
solution domain.
• BA’s and PM’s diminish
the instances of projects
running over budgets or
over using resources.

25. Types of Requirements
• Business Requirements: Things that a business owner or
manager would say. Business requirements represent high-
level objectives of the organization or the customer representing
the system. They represent the why the organization is
implementing the project – the benefits the business hopes to
reap.
• User Requirements: Things stakeholders would say they need.
Often expressed as the name of a business process, data
needed, rules we comply with, and performance requirements.
• Software/Solution Requirements: Specifies the parameters of the
solution. The solution may require process re-engineering,
organizational change, software functionality that developers
must build etc. Describes the what and how the solution will
provide
Adapted from The Software Requirements Memory Jogger, Ellen
Gottesdiener, pp 22-25

26. Requirements Roles
Role on Project Requirements Development
Define Business
Requirements
Develop User
Requirements
Specify Software
Requirements
Requirements
Change
Management
Project Sponsor Owner, ApproverReviewer Approver
Project Manager Producer Reviewer Reviewer Approver
Business Analyst Reviewer Producer Producer, ApproverProducer
Subject Matter Expert Reviewer
Owner, Approver,
Reviewer Owner, Reviewer Owner
Developer Reviewer Reviewer
Producer,
Reviewer Reviewer
Owner: Provides correct and complete requirements; requirements change notification
Approver: Approves and authorizes requirements
Producer: Creates and maintains requirements
Reviewer: Stays informed; provides information and feedback
Adapted from The Software Requirements Memory Jogger, Ellen
Gottesdiener, pp 22-25

27. Why This Matters
• These are expensive positions.
• Role redundancy in the form of two roles
gathering the same requirements is wasteful and
does not support the professionalism of either.
• While having a well-rounded team is important for
success, treating one profession as a stand in for
another means that sometimes critical roles are
will not be fulfilled by those with the training and
skills to complete them.

28. Role Confusion- Solution
Separate Role by
Project Type
Institute Portfolio
Management
Scrum does not recognize the role of
the Project Manager. The duties in
an Agile project are fulfilled by the
Development Team and BA. The
BA’s should be responsible for IT
development. This frees up the
Project Managers who should
function at the
Deliverable/Interdivisional level and
ensure that the set priorities are
followed by holding Project Team
members accountable for their tasks.
There should be established a role of
Portfolio Manager to manage large
groups of linked projects (portfolios).
This role, while not directly supervising
the PM’s and BA’s, would function as
the link to leadership for reporting
progression towards portfolio
completion as well as identifying and
removing barriers to completion. This
role should exist outside the Divisions
and function as an arbiter on projects
when there are disagreements.

29. What About the Product
Owner?
• Scrum requires that for each development team, there be a single Product
Owner. It does not specify that the product owner be unchanging.
• The role of Product Owner could be shared by each Division on a rotating
basis.
• Further, a representative from each Division’s PMO (including the
Commission of Pardons and Parole) meets with the Development Manager
following the Sprint Midpoint in a single meeting.
• At this meeting, the group will create a proposal for next Sprint’s priorities
based on global analysis, stated Leadership priorities and blocking issues
related to development.
• This single proposed development list will be based solely at the deliverable
level and will be presented to the Clearinghouse for approval.

30. It Could Look Like this
• Develops software based on
requirements communicated in
PBI’s
• Determines which PBI’s are
pulled into Sprint based on
priority set by Product
Owner/Leadership
• Completes Business Analysis
as needed by PM
• Elicits requirements from
Stakeholders
• Decomposes Requirements into
PBI’s
• Manages solution scope
• Works with Leadership on
Business/Criminal Justice
System wide changes and
projects.
• Ensures projects/deliverables
are completed.
• Works on projects affecting
more than 1 division
• Manages project scope and
stakeholder engagement
• Identifies barriers to project
completion
Project
Manager
Portfolio
Manager
Development
Team
Business
Analyst

31. Review
• But only if those goals are well defined.
Business Analysis and Project
Management are tools to meet goals…
• While you can use a screwdriver to put in a nail, a
hammer is more appropriate
Like any other tool of use, the right tool
for the right job
• By having the system in place to manage the right
projects in right way, with the right roles, costly
mistakes can be avoided
Establishing and growing a PMO will
save money in the long run