Overview
Background
The Development and Alumni and Careers business areas jointly decided that a Student Alumni Platform is needed to connect students, alumni and others within an exclusive online community, providing a secure space for careers advice, mentoring, networking and communication.
This project is the follow-on to USG005, which evaluated and procured a solution for the Student Alumni Community Networking Platform. With the selection/procurement complete, and the purchase and proposed adoption of a networking platform finalised, this project will oversee all the elements of the deployment of the chosen product into Live and cover the variety of management perspectives that are interested in the deployment of the platform and its gradual adoption by the variety of audiences that it is designed for.
Scope
There are two main elements to the scope of this project – the implementation of the product that was procured under USG005 and the work to roll out the new platform and engage with its intended audiences.
The first part will include establishing our site requirements with the vendor; finalising the initial configuration for the UoE site; agreeing our site design specifications with the vendor; reaching an agreement on data feeds (source, content and mechanism); setting up a beta/test site and reviewing and testing this initial build of the UoE site, and refining the configuration of our beta site after testing.
Next, work will include testing of the data transfer and import procedures; finalisation of the Live site and any associated documentation; final pre-launch checking of the Live site, and then the deployment/launch of the Live site to selected audiences.
Work on the preparations for the required launch messages and lists will be carried out alongside the preparatory tasks listed above; the project team (particularly in Careers and Development & Alumni) will also continue their groundwork on getting promotional/introductory material ready and identifying the various audiences for the platform and a schedule of communications for the timeline along which the different groups will gradually join the online community that the new platform will cultivate.
Once the platform has been launched, the project team will be involved in the monitoring of the launch and managing feedback from audiences/users. It is also planned that the benefits expected will be measured as part of the ongoing management of the platform, and while this will be beyond the time limits of this project, planning for the identification and management of benefits will be included in the current scope.
Objectives & Deliverables
| ID | Description | Priority (MoSCoW) | Owner |
| O1 |
Establish deployment requirements & site customisation requests |
Must Have | Project team |
| D1 | Documentation covering site requirements and design | Must Have | Project team |
| O2 |
Implement and make available Beta site for testing |
Must have | Vendor |
| D2 | Beta site based on UoE design and requirements | Must have | Vendor |
| D3 | Testing results and feedback from Beta site | Must have | Project team |
| O3 | Implement and make available (for checking/testing) Live site ahead of Go Live | Must have | Project team/Vendor |
| D4 | Confirmation that Single Sign-On (SSO) functionality is working as expected | Must have | Project team |
| D5 | Feed of relevant and approved user data from UoE to vendor | Must have | Project team |
| D6 | Live site based on UoE design and requirements | Must have | Project team/Vendor |
| O4 |
Deploy UoE site to Live |
Must have | Project team/Vendor |
| D7 | Live site available to selected UoE audience | Must have | Project team/Vendor |
| D8 | Communications to invited audience of users | Must have | Project team |
| O5 |
Monitor deployment and initial usage of platform |
Should have | Project team |
| D9 | Report covering deployment of platform and recommendations for future management | Should have | Project team |
| O6 | Plan the identification of likely benefits and map how these will be managed | Should have | Project team |
| D10 | Documentation covering the benefits to be identified and tracked | Should have | Project team |
Benefits
The principal benefit to be gained through the launch of the new platform is that students and alumni will be able to connect through an online community. In turn, this is expected to engender the following:
- Enable students to be connected with alumni who have undertaken a similar course, to be able to ask them questions and understand the opportunities available to them, thus increasing the employability of students and increasing student satisfaction
- Enable alumni to give a valued contribution of supporting students through discussion and advice
- Support the strategic plan target of increasing income through better engagement with alumni
The measurable benefits are to be identified and recorded by the project team ahead of the platform launch as part of this project, and more detail on this will be made available shortly.
Success Criteria
The achievement of the main objectives will determine the success, or otherwise, of the technical element of this project. Success, in the longer term, will be ascertained by the realisation of the benefits that are identified, and the achievement of any targets that are established by our business partners.
Project Milestones
Target Date |
Title | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| 23-Feb-2018 | TEST site ready | Build |
| 16-Mar-2018 | Planning Sign-Off | Plan |
| 30-Mar-2018 | Acceptance sign-off | Accept |
| 11-Apr-2018 | Push to Live [Vendor] | Deliver |
| 16-Apr-2018 | Launch of website (Provisional) | Deliver |
| 17-May-2018 | Delivery sign-off (Provisional) | Close |
| 25-May-2018 | Deliver |