ITI Project Brief - RSS202 New Network Architecture Impacts

Document Sign-off

The University has a two Projects currently running outside the direct involvement of Research Services:

1. CIS014 - Network Infrastructure Development; University Core Network Upgrade which has procured hardware, software and services to replace the majority of its data network infrastructure, including the current ResNet network which services the University's residential estate operated by Accommodation, Catering and Events (ACE)

2. CIS015 - Data Centre Networking; Data Centre Upgrade aims to upgrade the network infrastructure in the University's data centres at JCMB and Appleton Tower. The scope covers the replacement of EOL 1GigE switches and consolidation of others in the data halls. The scope covers all switches, apart from the Brocade 10GigE switches, recently installed at the data centres. The switches in comms/server rooms in secure corridors at AT/JCMB are to be assessed to ascertain if they are in scope. The replacement of switches will potentially be a mix of new and existing, recycled (HP 5130-48) switches to meet budget limitations

 This Project is to conduct a review and provide recommendations and solutions to the impact of these Projects to Research Service Services and Systems to ensure minimum disruption or impact to the Researchers and Users.

Background

Research Service systems are critically dependent on university network architecture and its implementation, for instance using a number of specific VLANs.

This means that potentially any changes to the university network could impact on the RSS services, possibly in unpredictable ways.

Therefore RSS needs to be able to respond to the changes which will result from the immanent refresh of the University network.

As the majority of the hardware that is used to provide Research Service's Services is located in Data Centres, any upgrades to Data Centres may critically impact these Services provided.

RSS therefore needs to be able to react to changes brought about by the planned Data Centre Upgrades.

This Project will:

• Provide a Full Impact Report on RSS Operations for the proposed implementation of the new Network Infrastructure Development
• Provide Recommendation and Future Actions that can be implemented to reduce or mitigate the impact to Users during the new Network Infrastructure Development implementation
• Provide a Plan, in conjunction with the new Network Infrastructure Development Project and implementation plan that could be implemented to mitigate  any circumstances required
• Provide Reassurance for the User that demonstrates disruption to Users will be nil or minimal during the new Network Infrastructure Development
• Provide another Full Impact Report on RSS Operations by the proposed Data Centre Networking Project
• Provide Recommendation and Future Actions that can be implemented to reduce or mitigate the impact to Users during the upgrade of the Data Centre Networking
• Provide a Plan, in conjunction with the Data Centre Networking Project and implementation plan that could be implemented to mitigate  any circumstances required
• Provide Reassurance for the User that demonstrates disruption to Users will be nil or minimal during the upgrade of the Data Centre Networking

Scope

The following are in scope of this project:

• All Research Services
• All Research Services Hardware and Hardware Locations (Data Centres)

Any changes to Scope documented in this Project Brief will be via a Change Request, recorded on the Issue, Change and Decision Logs in the Projects RAIDD xls.

Out of Scope

The following Services are out of scope of this project:

• N/A

Objectives and Deliverables and Success Criteria

The overarching objectives of this project are to (via the help of various internal 3^rd parties):

1. Provide a Full Impact Report on RSS Operations for the proposed implementation of the CIS014 - Network Upgrade
2. Provide any Recommendations and Future Actions that can be implemented to reduce or mitigate the impact to Users during the CIS014 - Network Upgrade implementation
3. Provide a Plan if required, in conjunction with the CIS014 - Network Upgrade project and implementation plan that could be implemented to mitigate any circumstances required
4. Provide reassurance for the User that demonstrates disruption to Users will be nil or minimal during the CIS014 - Network Upgrade implementation
5. Provide a Full Impact Report on RSS Operations for the proposed implementation of the CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade
6. Provide any Recommendations and Future Actions that can be implemented to reduce or mitigate the impact to Users during the CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade implementation
7. Provide a Plan if required, in conjunction with the CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade project and implementation plan that could be implemented to mitigate any circumstances required
8. Provide Reassurance for the User that demonstrates disruption to Users will be nil or minimal during the CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade implementation

All whilst providing the correct levels of support, training and technical documentation.

This will improve deploy-ability, maintenance, functionality, manageability and performance for the users.

The duration of the project is expected to be 6 month from the start of the Project, not the Financial Year or from the Approval and Sign Off of the Project Brief.  This may increase if the other Project Team and information are unavailable.

Unless otherwise indicated, the objectives and deliverables are a success when accepted by the Project Sponsor and the Service Owner as listed in the Requirements Success Criteria.

Requirements

Requirements are what is required and aligned to deliver the project objectives and deliverables to ensure the benefits recorded are realised.  These are documented in the RAIDD Log on the RTC TAB.

Requirements are set as MoSCoW:

MUST - we would see the project as failing totally or partially if these are not achieved

SHOULD - we have a high expectation that these will be doable with planned work and budget - but if necessary these can be de-scoped

COULD - if all goes very well, these might be possible

WON'T - we want to be explicit about certain things that people might expect us to deliver but we want to be clear we won't deliver

Benefits

The benefits to this project delivery are:

1. Investigation into the New Network Architecture and Data Centre Upgrades will provide Research Services with a clear idea of what the new upgrades/changes are and how they will impact RSS operation
2. Investigation into the New Network Architecture and Data Centre Upgrades will provide Research Services with recommendations and future actions required to reduce or mitigate any impact from the implementation of new upgrades/changes to the Network and Data Centres
3. Investigation into the New Network Architecture and Data Centre Upgrades will provide Research Services with a clear idea of the New Network Architecture and Data Centre Upgrades implementation plans and project timescales and how and when they will impact RSS operation
4. Provide reassurance to Researchers that any impact will reduce disruption to Researchers during the new upgrades/changes to the Network and Data Centres

Governance

Portfolio Governance  

Project Board

Tolerances

The following are the tolerances for this project at which point the Project Manager must request approval of the change from the Sponsor and / or the Board via the Change Request process.

Escalating to programme/portfolio manager will be under direction from the Project Sponsor.

Resources Skills and Cost

Initial Resources are were based on a project start up estimate provided and approved at the start of the project:

• RSS Resource                                 38 Days
• IT PM                                                 12 Days
• College/Schools                              0 Days
• External Development                  0 Days (TBC)

(Subject to change with further analysis and Planning)

• RSS Resources                               19 Days
• IT PMs                                                19 Days
• College/Schools                              0 Days
• External Development                  0 Days (TBC)

Budget

The total budget calculated for the Project is calculated in the table below with £0k Capital + £0k Revenue.

Budget may need to be sourced further into the Project, subject to analysis findings.

Spending:

Priority and Funding

Priority                                                          - 3 

UoE Funding      Approved                         - £0,000            - (0k Capital + £0k Revenue)

UoE Funding      Required                          - £0,000               - (0k Capital + £0k Revenue)

Project Team

Business Stakeholders

The Project Team consists of the following to be informed at key points (if required):

Preferred Supplier

The Preferred Suppliers are listed below:

Quality of Project and Deliverables / Key Project Milestones

The milestones are a key tool in ensuring that the project process itself is followed as set out by ITI, and that the product deliverables are to the required Quality; the quality for the deliverables are to be confirmed by the respective Service Owner / SME as per the Requirements/Success Criteria table above.

Any changes to major milestones achievements and changes (Initiation, Planning, Delivery, and Closure) will be discussed with the Project Sponsor and Project Team and must be approved by Change Request by the Project Board and WIS as necessary.

The approach for this project outlined by the key milestones below.  A more detailed plan will/has been produced, with the latest on the project SharePoint site:

RSS202 Project Plan_New Network Architecture Impacts

Assumptions

The Assumptions for this project are that:

1. CIS014 - Network Upgraded Project will add RSS Dependency to the Project RAIDD and add it to the Requirements of the Project
2. The RSS Dependency and Requirement will be/have been included in the CIS014 - Network Upgraded Project
3. CIS014 - Network Upgraded Project Information will made available to the RSS202 Project Manager/RSS Teams
4. CIS014 - Network Upgraded Project Architecture will made available to the RSS202 Project Manager/RSS Teams
5. CIS014 - Network Upgraded Project plan and timescales will made available to the RSS202 Project Manager/RSS Teams
6. CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade Project will add RSS Dependency to the Project RAIDD and add it to the Requirements of the Project
7. The RSS Dependency and Requirement will be/have been included in the CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade Project
8. CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade Project Information will made available to the RSS202 Project Manager/RSS Teams
9. CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade Project Architecture will made available to the RSS202 Project Manager/RSS Teams
10. CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade Project plan and timescales will made available to the RSS202 Project Manager/RSS Teams

Dependencies

The Dependencies for this project are:

1. The availability of the CIS014 - Network Upgraded Project PM
2. The availability of the CIS014 - Network Upgraded Project Information
3. The availability of the CIS014 - Network Upgraded Architecture
4. The availability of the CIS014 - Network Upgraded Project implementation Plan
5. For the CIS014 - Network Upgraded Project, the RSS Requirements
6. The availability of the CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade Project PM
7. The availability of the CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade Project Information
8. The availability of the CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade Architecture
9. The availability of the CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade Project implementation Plan
10. For the CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade Project, the RSS Requirements

Constraints

The Constraints on this project are:

1. The availability of the CIS014 - Network Upgrade PM
2. The availability of the CIS014 - Network Upgrade Information
3. The availability of the CIS014 - Network Upgrade Architecture
4. The availability of the CIS014 - Network Upgrade implementation Plan
5. The availability of the CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade PM
6. The availability of the CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade Information
7. The availability of the CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade Architecture
8. The availability of the CIS015 - Data Centre Upgrade implementation Plan

Previous Lessons Learned

The project manager will ensure that a Lessons Leaned Log is created, maintained and reviewed by the project team at every team meeting.  The following are Lessons Learned from the ITI Projects SharePoint and team’s previous experience:

1.  N/A

Risks

The project manager will ensure that a Risk Log is created, maintained and reviewed by the project team at every team meeting; ensuring project owners update their risks at least once a month or more as appropriate to the project.

The initial Risks highlighted are:

1. Project Delay - Due to Strike Action, there may be a lack of resources
2. Project Delay - Due to BAU or other project work, there may be a lack of resources
3. Project Delay - Due to not being able to secure the Network Infrastructure Development Project Team Time/Resource
4. Project Delivery - Due to Network Infrastructure Development Information, Architecture and Implementation Plan not being available
5. Project Product - Due to BAU or other project work, the Resources have not been available to Complete or Approved the Project Brief
6. Project Delay - Due to Data Centre Networking Project Team Resources not being available
7. Project Delay - Due to Data Centre Networking Upgrade Information, Architecture and Implementation Plan not being available

Issues

The project manager will ensure that an Issue Log is created, maintained and reviewed by the project team at every team meeting.  The following are Lessons Learned from the ITI Projects SharePoint and team’s previous experience:

1.  N/A

Communication

The project manager will also ensure all changes to cost/timeline/scope are recorded in the issue log, and reflected in milestones log, budget and estimations, and the project Scope Change log.

Project Sites - There are two Project Management Sites for the project:

1. Project Web Page: Project information for all to see, with the Logs being restricted by the project manager to the required project members:

                                New Network Architecture Impacts Website

2. Project SharePoint Site: Project information repository for project members only, mainly used for storing documents to enable a single source for updating and completing:

                                New Network Architecture Impacts SharePoint

Stakeholders - The project manager will produce a Stakeholder Map and complete a Stakeholder Engagement Grid; which will be agreed at the Kick-off meeting and reviewed and maintained during the project life cycle.

Communication Plan - The project manager will produce a Communications Plan for the project and ensure all parties understand the communications routes and timescales. This will also be agreed at the Kick-off meeting and cover the headings in this section.

Meetings - The Project Team Meeting Agenda template will be used to record all meetings and saved to the Project SharePoint Site:

1. Project Board Update Meeting                                      On request or issue
2. Project Sponsor and Project Manager Meeting      Weekly
3. Project Team Meeting                                                        Weekly

Reporting -

1. ITI Project Monthly Report                                             Monthly
2. Project Sites                                                                          Weekly
3. Project Logs                                                                          Weekly

Escalations - Project Escalations will be directed to the Project Manager, who will document the escalation as a Risk/Issue then escalate via the appropriate Governance level:

1. Escalate area SME
2. Project Team
3. Project Board – Project Sponsor
4. Programme Board – Programme Manager
5. University

Run / Grow / Transform

This project is to help Transform and improve the Services and Support for RSS Systems Team and all Users.

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Alignment with Strategic Vision  

IS Strategic Vision the main elements of the vision that this projects contibutes to are highlighted in bold.

University's Strategic Vision for 2025 the main elements of the vision that this projects contributes to are highlighted in bold.

IS Change Programme - How will this project's Deliverables and Benefits promote the Themes  

Service Excellence - Information and Security

Service Excellence - Process Improvement, efficiency, quality and best practice (Social Responsibility and and Sustainability)

Digital Transformation

IS Change Programme - How will the execution of this project promote the Themes

Some expectations and suggestions from ISG Directors - what to think about for each them when planning the project   some_expectations_and_suggestions_from_isg_directors.pdf

Project Sponsor – Project Responsibilities

The sign-off milestones are associated with specific responsibilities of the Sponsor role .

Start of project – Explicitly Included in the Initiation Milestones Sign-Off

1. Negotiates and confirms funding for the project
2. Ensures the project is in line with organisational strategy and priorities
3. Chairs the project board, appoints its members and ensures they are effective
4. Advises the project manager of protocols, political risks, issues and sensitivities
5. Makes the project visible within the organisation  

End of Planning – Explicitly Included in the Planning Milestone Sign-Off

1. Works with the project manager to develop the Project Brief
2. Ensures a realistic project plan is produced
3. Sets tolerance levels for escalation to themselves and to the project board
4. Ensures that project team have representation and engagement from users and suppliers
5. Helps identify Stakeholders
6. Approves Communication Plan
7. Agrees on frequency of meetings with Project Manager
8. Agrees of frequency of meetings with Project Team
9. Agrees on milestones and who signs-off

Execution – ongoing

1. Provides strategic direction and guidance to the project manager as directed by the Board
2. Approves changes to plans, priorities, deliverables, schedule
3. Encourages stakeholder involvement and maintains their ongoing commitment
4. Chief risk taker
5. Makes go/no-go decisions
6. Communicates change in organisational structure, priorities, business benefits or funding
7. Helps the project manager in conflict resolution
8. Helps resolve inter project boundary issues
9. Gains agreement among stakeholders when differences of opinion occur
10. Assists the project by exerting organisational authority and the ability to influence  

Delivery – Explicitly Included in the Delivery Sign-Off

1. Ensures that Service is ready for change

Closure - Explicitly Included in the Closure Milestone Sign-Off

1. Helps with publicity for the change delivered
2. Ensure that benefits will be managed, measured and realised post-project
3. Evaluates the project’s success upon completion

Attachment	Size
some_expectations_and_suggestions_from_isg_directors.pdf	341.89 KB
project_planning_-_project_brief_template.docx	35.44 KB