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An Enhanced Framework for the Management of Information Technology Projects

PPTO-PS-003 Project Tracking and Oversight Process

January 2000
Chief Information Officer Branch
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose

The purpose of this document is to describe the process to be followed by a project manager to track a project.

1.2 Scope

This process is applicable to any Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) project and to any phase of the IM/IT development life cycle.

1.3 Roles

Everyone in the organisation has a role to perform in this process.

Role	Description/Responsibilities
Project Leader (PL)	This is the person appointed by the sponsoring department to be accountable for all external and internal aspects of a capital project. http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/dcgpubs/TBM_122/abkglos-eng.asp
Project Manager (PM)	This is a person formally appointed to manage a project with specific accountability for achieving defined project objectives within allocated resources. A project manager has access to, and a formally defined relationship with, the project leader to which the specific project has been assigned. http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ pubs_pol/dcgpubs/TBM_122/abkglos-eng.asp
Project Team Member (PTM)	Software engineer or writer assigned to a project Responsible for completing project tasks, providing input to plans, and providing status
Project Management Office (PMO)	This is a distinct and temporary organisational unit led by the project manager tasked to administer a project. It consists of assigned full or part-time members of the sponsoring department and, when appropriate, representatives of participating departments working together in accordance with any interdepartmental agreements or memorandums of understanding. http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ pubs_pol/dcgpubs/TBM_122/abkglos-eng.asp
Quality Assurance (QA)	Responsible for support of quality assurance activities.
Configuration Management (CM)	Responsible for support of configuration management activities.

 

1.4 Definitions and Acronyms

Refer to Enhanced Management Framework Lexicon.

Refer to Enhanced Management Framework Acronyms.

Refer to Enhanced Management Framework Web Links

1.5 References

1.5.1 Traceability

This process was designed to satisfy the SEI Software Capability Maturity Model goals for Level 2 Key Practice: Software Project Tracking and Oversight.

1.5.2 Policies

Treasury Board Secretariat Policies:

• Capital Plans - Glossary
• Management of Major Crown Projects
• Procurement Review Policy
• Project Management
• Project Approval

The policies above are located at the following URL:

http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/dcgpubs/TBM_122/siglist-eng.asp

1.5.3 Standards

Annex A - Flowcharting Symbols

1.5.4 Processes

PPTO-PS-001 Project Management Process

PPTO-PS-002 Project Planning Process

PEER-PS-001 Peer Review Process

1.5.5 Procedures

PPTO-PD-001 Estimate Software Product Size Basic Procedure

PPTO-PD-002 Estimate Project Resources/Schedule Basic Procedure

1.5.6 Guidelines

EMF Business Case Guideline

1.5.7 Templates

PPTO-TM-001 Process/Procedure Template

PPTO-TM-002 Project Plan Template

PPTO-TM-003 Project Estimates Template

EMF Project Charter Template

1.5.8 Checklists

PPTO-CK-001 Project Management Checklist

2. Process

2.1 Entry Criteria

The following entry criteria describes the input's state, an event, or an expired amount of time, which is required before this process can begin.

Details of Entry Criteria

Approved Business Case Approved Project Charter Approved Set of Requirements, as required by your IM/IT methodologies Approved Project Plan

2.2 Process Map

The overall process flow given below shows the interaction and flow among the activities. More details about the activities can be found in 2.4 Activities.

 2.3 Inputs

The following inputs are used in this process. Where they don't exist, identify any associated risks.

Input	Detail of Inputs and remarks	Ref.
Project Plan	Original or Revised	PPTO-TM-002
Project Actuals	The current status of the project

  2.4 Activities

The following activities are performed in this process. Document all assumptions, risks, constraints etc. in the Project Plan.

No.	Activities	Action by	Detail of Activities and Remarks	Ref.
1	- Project Planning	PM	- Project planning in the context of overall project management is documented in the referenced documents.	PPTO-PS-002 PPTO-PS-001
2	- Obtain Tracking Requirements	PM	- Obtain the data collection requirements for project tracking from the Project Plan.	PPTO-PS-002 PPTO-PS-001 PPTO-TM-002
3	- Obtain Baseline	PM	- Obtain the baselined estimates from the Project Plan.	PPTO-PS-002 PPTO-PS-001 PPTO-TM-002
4	- Collect Actuals - Compare Actuals to Plans	PM	- Collect and store the current actual values of the tracking data, and compare them to the baselined estimates. - Perform according to Project Plan Schedule.	PPTO-PS-002 PPTO-PS-001 PPTO-TM-002
5	- Evaluate Status and Performance - Monitor Risks	PM	- Evaluate the project's performance and status relative to the plan. Identify the reasons for deviations from the plan; identify both delays and accelerations; and monitor risks.	PPTO-PS-002 PPTO-PS-001 PPTO-TM-002
6	- Status Meeting - Project Review - Commitment Review		- Determine whether the project's objectives, plan, or resources need to be adjusted. - Re-planning Needed? - [Yes] Go to activity 1. - [No] Is project completed? - [Yes] Write postmortem. - [No] Go to activity 4.	PPTO-PS-002 PPTO-PS-001

2.5 Outputs

The following outputs are produced or modified by the activities in this process.

Output	Detail of Outputs and Remarks	Ref.
Project Logs and Status Report	- Update issue log, decision log, action log and risk log. - Document: - Reasons for deviations from the plan - Corrective actions taken - Recommendations for further adjustments - Track and report on requirement changes, size, schedule, cost, quality, people and resources such as equipment, tool, training, development environments, infrastructure, as defined in the Project Plan. - Assess and document status as per the schedule and reporting requirements defined in the Project Plan. - Store the logs and status reports in the project's quality records to form part of the projects historical data.
Project Postmortem	- Conduct a postmortem to capture lessons learned.

2.6 Verification and Validation

Output Validation

To determine if the outputs are within specification, - Use the (PEER-PS-001) Peer Review Process and any techniques described in your IM/IT methodology. - Use validation techniques referred to in your IM\IT methodology such as testing, demonstration, analysis and inspection.

2.7 Exit Criteria

Details of Exit Criteria

Client approves, revises or terminates the project, product or services. Approved postmortem.

2.8 Metrics

Refer to Enhanced Management Framework, Exposure Draft Executive Toolkit, November 22, 1999 for the Project Health Check Dashboard.

2.9 Records Control Table

Not applicable at this time. Populate table if seeking ISO certification. For more information, refer to (PPTO-TM-001) Process/Procedure Template.

Description (no. and name)	Storage Location	Filing / Index	Minimum Storage Period

2.10 Controlled Documents Table

Not applicable at this time. Populate if seeking ISO certification. For more information, refer to (PPTO-TM-001) Process/Procedure Template.

Number	Name	Revision Date (or version)	Owner

Annex A - Lexicon

Refer to the Enhanced Management Framework Lexicon or insert a reference to your organisation's Lexicon.

Annex B - Acronyms

Refer to the Enhanced Management Framework Acronyms or insert a reference to your organisation's Acronyms.

Annex C - Flowcharting Symbols

Parallelogram represent inputs and outputs to or from a process/procedure.
Rectangles represent individual process/procedure activities.	Diamonds represent important decision points in the process/procedure.
Lines with arrowheads connect symbols to show the progression or direction of the activities.	Circles represent connectors when a process/procedure flowchart continues on the next page.

Annex D - Bibliography

Caputo, Kim, CMM Implementation Guide: Choreographing Software Process Improvement. Addison Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1998.

Refer to Enhanced Management Framework Web Links.

Annex E - Document Change Control

Revision Number	Date of Issue	Author(s)	Brief Description of Change
0.1	1999-09-23	EMF/PPTO	Draft 0.1
1.0	1999-11-09	EMF/PPTO	First Draft
1.0	2000-01-13	EMF/PPTO	Second Draft