Closure Report
Summary
This project saw the agreement of support processes, a RACI matrix and a Service Definition Document with a purpose to outline the work involved in the creation of a central support service for the University’s industry relationship management platform.
In future, users of this service from across different schools will adopt common processes for recording and reporting on industry engagement, all using the same technology platform. This will enable common reporting, along with sharing of information as appropriate (subject to appropriate governance). The service will provide central management for the vendor relationship, with the possibility of longer term negotiating reduced licence costs.
The Project Manager would like to acknowledge the role of others for their contribution to the successful delivery:
| Name | Business Area | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Dave Berry | Enterprise Architecture | Project Sponsor |
| Jason Murphy | Enterprise Architecture | CRM Architect |
| David Braid | Project Services | Business Analyst |
| Brendan McGuckin | Edinburgh Innovations Limited | Business Lead |
| David Montreuil | Edinburgh Innovations Limited | IT Services Manager |
| Alex Carter | Service Management | Head of Service Management |
| Dawn Dodd | Service Management | Collaborations Services Team Manager |
| Catherine Hetherington | Service Management | Collaborations Services Team Manager |
| Veronica O'Malley | Operations Services | Computing Officer |
| Alison Johnson | Procurement Office | Category Team Manager |
| Alan Hughes | Business School | CRM Manager |
Objectives and Deliverables
| Ref. | Objectives and Deliverables | Achieved ? |
| O1 | Determine the scope of the IRM service | Yes |
| D1 | Work with the Business and IS / Service Management to determine and document support requirements | Yes |
| D2 | Work with the Business and IS / Service Management to determine / document the Business / Service Strategy and Requirements, in order to establish the required SLAs/OLAs | Yes |
| D3 | Identify and document the Business Service Owner | Yes |
| D4 | Establish and document support processes and reporting need for the IRM Partner Groups | Yes |
| D5 | Analyse EI's CRM's integration with EASE / IDM and determine any authorisation / User account support requirements moving forwards | Yes |
| D6 | Complete a Service Design Document for the IRM System Services - this document, along with other supporting documentation will be the chief deliverable of the Project | Yes |
| O2 | Determine the Procurement / Licensing Requirements | |
| D7 | Produce a paper on CRM technology utilised, what is to / not be consolidated and associated questions / decisions required, please note that not all of the questions / decisions might be answered at this stage, but they will be documented ready for a suitable Project to pick them up / action them at a later stage, if required | Yes |
| D8 | Work with Procurement to complete a procurement options appraisal for the technology platform underpinning the IRM | Yes |
| D9 | Work with Procurement and Production to see if licensing can be consolidated with the Supplier | No |
| O3 | Deliver Training Strategy | |
| D10 | Agree a strategy and document, by which the service will provide training when required to do so | Yes |
| O4 | Deliver / Deploy | |
| D11 | Agree and document the strategy for / handover of the Service to IS Service Management / Production | Yes |
| D12 | Agree and document / put in place any required processes / contact point(s) in support of the new Centralised Service | Yes |
| D13 | Agree and document the job description for the Service Manager post | No |
Scope
| 1 | Determine and document the service strategy and support requirements for the IRM service | Yes |
| 2 | Establish supporting SLA/OLAs | Yes |
| 3 | Complete a procurement options appraisal, the precursor to a procurement strategy and understand if licensing can be consolidated | Yes |
| 4 | Establish and document any training requirements | Yes |
| 5 | Agree the required processes / contact point(s) in support of the new Centralised Service | Yes |
Success Criteria
| 1 | The ability to be able to establish a new central IRM Support Service within Service Management with a clear engagement process | Yes |
| 2 | Delivery of SLAs/OLAs | Yes |
| 3 |
A plan / strategy for the consolidation of licensing for CRM across the UoE for IRM (where possible) |
No |
Benefits
The benefits listed below would not be derived from this project which is seen as an enabler to take work forward under a future project:
- Project based approach for future on-boarding
- Change Management
- Relationship with the IRM Business Owner
- The service will provide central management for the vendor relationship, with the possibility of negotiating reduced licence costs
- The provision of a centralised Support Service for the various IRM User Groups within the University
- Consolidation of technical knowledge and support.
All relevant material has been saved in the SharePoint site
Analysis of Resource Usage:
Staff Usage Estimate: 50 days
Staff Usage Actual: 88 days
Staff Usage Variance: 57%
Explanation for variance
The project budget at initiation was 25 days. This was subsequently increased to 50 days after completing the three point estimate associated with planning.
Analysis led to a further request which saw a revision to 74 days. Delivery and project closure resulted in a final figure of 88 days.
Although the project was well supported by all stakeholders, it wasn't always possible to come together for regular meetings. Non-availability meant that business analysis and delivery of finalised artefacts took more time than had been anticipated. This in part was due to the need to gather consensus and thereafter reach agreement with all interested parties.
Key Learning Points
| Description | Recommendations | Impact |
| The use of a Project Management framework was recognised by EI | To be undertaken in a similar engagement | Positive |
| The turnover in personnel saw lack of stability with numerous changes to PM and Business Analysts roles | Resource stability whenever possible across the duration of the project | Negative |
Outstanding Issues
| Issue | Update |
| Agree and document the job description for the Service Manager post |
The job description for the CRM Service Manager has been drafted and is currently with HR to be graded. Once feedback is received from HR, there will be a move forward with the staffing authorisation process and arrangement of recruitment. |
| Work with Procurement and Production to see if licensing can be consolidated with the Supplier | To be taken forward under a future project. NCA-2 was covered off under this project with answers shared with the Category Team Manager within the Procurement Office. |
| A plan / strategy for the consolidation of licensing for CRM across the UoE for IRM (where possible) | The matter has been escalated to CIO and Director of Corporate Services to resolve with a time-line linked to the next planning round. |
| An EqIA will need to be considered with any future transition to the new support model that is triggered with a school wishing to make use of IRM |
The Disability Information Officer who is responsible for the EqIA process had a prolonged period of absence and has been faced with a backlog of work since her return. The Business Lead and Project Manager agreed that this would be carried over to a future project. The good news is that the Disability Information Officer has just recruited an assistant from the end of February so there will be more capacity to take on work in the future. |