After a six year hiatus contributing elsewhere at Carleton (in Financial Services and Quality Initiatives), I am happy to be returning to ITS as the Manager of the Project Management Office. A lot has changed in the department but the tried, tested and true foundations of project management remain.
In this new role, I have three primary improvement goals for the Project Management Office:
- Consistency
- Transparency
- Communication
Your IT project is complex – you have a vision but you often need assistance to make that a reality. We’d like to provide a consistent approach to bringing your projects to life – one that is predictable and demonstrates that ITS is a partner in your initiative, not just a resource. With this approach, as part of the Project Management Methodology, we develop and maintain a great deal of information about your project (scoping document, schedules, task lists, budgets, status updates, health indicators) that we could be making accessible to you to provide greater transparency as to where things are with your project. Lastly, there are a lot of fantastic IT initiatives going on across campus and we’d like to highlight them to you. In some cases, we may even need your help with them! We can also play a role at fostering a culture of project management outside of IT. Better communication with the Carleton community and our colleagues in higher education rounds out the main areas that I’d like us to improve upon.
To start, we’ve updated our website with a few new features. Firstly, we’ve listed the Active Projects that we are currently working on with you so that you can get a sense of the type of initiatives that are currently being executed. Secondly, we’ve simplified the information on our website so that you can more easily find what you are looking for (e.g. Project Proposal template, IT Governance at Carleton, other tools and templates). Lastly, we’ve updated all of the templates in the Project Management Methodology to provide clarity and simplicity. Each document has a cover sheet explaining what the template is used for, as well as providing relevant examples to demonstrate how the template should be completed. Descriptions for all sections are clear and concise. Whether you are completing it or your Project Manager, we all benefit from understanding what the document is conveying.
Although I may be an ‘old-timer’ at Carleton (13 years and counting), I am certainly not set in my ways! I am looking for fresh perspectives on how to accomplish the improvement goals listed above, in a quest to provide value to you, however you define it. I very much look forward to serving you as the Manager of the Project Management Office and I invite you to reach out to us to discuss your current or potential project or your ideas on how to best meet your needs.
Scott Gonsalves
Manager (Project Management Office), ITS