Completion Report
Project Summary:
Overview
This has been a very successful project which has delivered valuable training to 42 senior project sponsors and project managers at the University. The project globally recognised Project Sponsor training expert Ron Rosenhead of the Project Agency. This work would not have been possible without support from the Project Sponsor, Jo Blackmore in Applications Division and the commitment of project sponsors and project managers from across the University.
The following sections summarise the project outcomes again the aims stated in the original brief:
Scope
| Scope | Achieved? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot Project Sponsor Training with selected Project Sponsors and Project Managers | Yes | 42 staff trained over three courses in March 2016 |
| Use adapted version of the Project Sponsor training offered by Project Agency | Yes | Piloted both 0.5 Day and 1 Day options |
| Follow up sessiosn to review success of training | Yes | These have been scheduled for October 2016 |
| Final assessment report recommending future direction for Project Sponsor training at the University | Yes | Report produced and circulated to CIO, Deputy CIO and senior staff in Project Services |
Objectives
| Objective | Achieved? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Deliver useful training for Project Sponsors and Project Managers | Yes | Report produced of course feedback was overwhelmingly positive |
| Provide Project Sponsor training for a minimum of 20 staff | Yes | 42 staff trained |
| Follow up on training to get feedback on what has been valuable and what has been less so | Yes | Report produced and circulated to all attendees and IS senior management |
| Recommend future direction for Project Sponsor training at the University | Yes | Report produced and circulated to CIO, Deputy CIO and senior staff in Project Services |
Deliverables
| Deliverable | Achieved? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Clarified requirements for Project Sponsor training for Project Sponsors and Project Managers at the University | Partial | Very good feedback from this training but not yet a definitive set of requirements for both groups |
| Project Sponsor training for a minimum of 20 University staff | Yes | 42 staff trained |
| Report recommending future direction for Project Sponsor training at the University | Yes | Report produced and circulated to CIO, Deputy CIO and senior staff in Project Services |
Benefits
| Benefit | Responsible Owner | Current Status | Realisation Timescale | How Measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarifying requirements for Project Sponsor training for Project Sponsors and Project Managers at the University | Head of Project Services | Ongoing with significant progress made | July 2017 | Assessment based on maintaining an ongoung dialogue with Project Sponsor and Project Management communities |
| Addressing the current skills gap for Project Sponsors by providing them training based on external best practice | Head of Project Services | Ongoing with significant progress made | July 2017 | Must have established internal support and resources including training for Project Sponsors. These resources must be considered valuable by both Project Sponsors and Project Managers |
| Providing training for Project Managers so that they are more aware of the vital role of project sponsors and can work more effectively with their Project Sponsors | Head of Project Services | Many senior staff in Project Services trained during Pilot | December 2016 | Aim is to have all senior Project Managers in IS Apps trained by end of December 2016 - a further round of training has been arranged for September 2016 |
| Promoting greater understanding and partnership between Project Sponsors and Project Managers | Head of Project Services | Good partnership evidenced by staff attending the course e.g, in SE Student Admin and HR strands | July 2017 | Assessment based on maintaining an ongoung dialogue with Project Sponsor and Project Management communities |
| Clarifying the future direction of Project Sponsor training at the University | CIO Deputy CIO Head of Project Services | Report has been produced and circulated but needs to be foolowed up and actions agreed | July 2017 | Action plan to be agreed and implemented |
Success Criteria
| Success Criteria | Achieved? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Short term success criteria were agreed for training participants. These took the form of the following statements:
| Yes - feedback from attendees against these success criteria was overwhelmingly positive | Follow up scheduled for October 2016 |
Two medium tem success criterion were identified:
| No | This will be followed up with participants in October 2016 |
Analysis of Resource Usage:
Staff Usage Estimate: 10 days
Staff Usage Actual: 11 days
Staff Usage Variance: 10%
Other Resource Estimate: 10000 days
Other Resource Actual: 12000 days
Other Resource Variance: 20%
Explanation for variance:
Note that the overall finacial cost of the project includes internal staff costs plus the costs of the external training programme. We spend £12K against an agreed budget on £10K.
The main variance was in internal staff time. It was more time consuming to organise and coordinate the training that I had originally anticipated.
Overall I was comfortable with the project costs in relation to the original budget and the increase in costs was agreed with the Project Sponsor.
Key Learning Points:
Key Learning Points
- There is a significant and ongoing demand to provide support and resources for Project Sponsors at the University
- Current approached to project sponsorship is patchy and short of best practice
- Senior staff are a particularly important group but difficult to target due io their other priorities - even for 1/2 day training
- More senior level championing is needed to get senior managers on the same page
- Project Agency provide a very useful training option that can for the basis for development over next 18 months as we embed effective project sponsirship at the University
- Significant work is needed, led by Project Services, to embed what has been learned from this valuable training
Report - Feedback from Project Sponsor Training (UoE Login Required) Report - Developing Project Sponsorship and Project Management at the University (UoE Login Required)
Outstanding issues:
There are no outstanding issues as such but the following work must be done post project:
- Continued work by Project Services to embed best practice support and resources for Project Sponsors (Ongoing Head of Project Services)
- Follow up with the 42 staff trained to ensure the course has delivered longer term benefits as defioned in the original sucess criteria (Scheduled October 2016)
It should be noted that based on the success of the training to date a further two days of training with Project Agency has been agreed for September 2016.