1SLDS Webinar 3/24/14

The webinar will begin at approximately 3:00 PM EST.

Information on how to join the teleconference can be found on the “Info” tab in the upper left of this screen. Please be sure to use the “Attendee ID” when dialing in to associate your name with your phone.

In order to cut down on background noise, please mute your phone by dialing *6 upon entry into the meeting.

For the Question and Answer portion at the end of the presentation:• You can re-dial *6 to unmute your phone and ask a question; or• Type your question into the Q&A panel below the participant list

and click “Send.”

A copy of this presentation and a link to the recording will be available at http://nces/programs/slds/webinars.asp

Contingency Planning

2

Panelists• Christina McDougall, P-20W Program Manager, State of

Washington Office of Financial Management’s Education Research and Data Center

• Kim Nesmith, Data Quality and Management Director, Louisiana Department of Education

Facilitator• Jeff Sellers, State Support Team

Webinar Overview

SLDS Webinar 3/24/14

SLDS Webinar 3/24/14 3

Washington

Contingency Planning

Risk Management

Contingency Planning is a function of Risk Management on a project

Say you’re piloting a plane… you need to be on the lookout for birds.

4SLDS Webinar 3/24/14

Risks and Issues

Some birds are smaller and not so close…

…but some can be large and quite close.

Each bird in the sky represents a risk to the plane to watch and plan for.

But once one of those birds hits the plane…it’s no longer a risk, it’s an issue!

And you better put that contingency plan in motion!

5SLDS Webinar 3/24/14

Washington’s “Big Bird”

Our P-20W program contracted with a data warehouse vendor who was a known organization to the state, but who we also judged to present a significant level of risk.

While we worked hard with the vendor to mitigate risk and be successful…• Spent a lot of additional time explaining and re-explaining concepts to the vendor • Took on additional activities to assist the vendor

…at the same time we began heavy contingency planning• Ensured vendor contract was deliverables-based and placed “gates” after

deliverables—where continuing to go forward was entirely at the discretion of the state

• Identified specific milestones/events that if not met by the vendor, would “trigger” specific contingency plans to be set in motion

• Discussed these risks and contingency plans with project sponsors; alerted the vendor that we had major concerns

6SLDS Webinar 3/24/14

When the vendor did not meet the milestones, the issue materialized and the trigger was pulled.

• Moved swiftly to sever ties o Two months from missed milestone to final vendor payment

• Pivoted to the new plano Began a new RFPo Kept staff productive and moving forward with “solution

neutral” activitieso Had ensured much hardware/software already purchased

could be reused under new solution

Washington’s “Big Bird” (cont.)

7SLDS Webinar 3/24/14

Risk Management Methodology

Disciplined approach to reviewing risks regularly (at a minimum, monthly)

• Identifying risks, regularly reviewing them for changes (“What if…”)

• Logging them, describing them• Determine how “likely” something is to happen (is

subjective/can change)• Determine what level of impact it has (is subjective/can

change)• Identify mitigation activities—what can be done to avoid the

risk turning into an issue?

8SLDS Webinar 3/24/14

Risk Management Methodology (cont.)

• Identify contingency plans should a risk become an issueo Amount of effort to put into contingency planning is based on

the likelihood and level of impact to the project identified• Identify the “trigger”

o What event/action turns the risk into an issue and starts the contingency plan activities in motion

• Communication is keyo Letting project sponsors or key stakeholders know and ensure

they understand the risks, understand and approve of mitigation and contingency plans, and the “trigger” for the contingency;

o Keep them apprised as the risk “gets bigger in the windshield”o If you plan and communicate, then once the “trigger” occurs

and you need to pivot to the new path, none of this should be a “nasty surprise” to anyone

9SLDS Webinar 3/24/14

SLDS Webinar 3/24/14 10

What does contingency planning look like?

Depends on the type of “bird” (risk)—how impactful, how likely• Small bird, hundreds of miles off (small impact/not very likely)

o Not so much• Small bird, up close (small impact/very likely)

o Use risk mitigation activities and minor amount of contingency planning• Big bird, up close (big impact/very likely)

o Use lots of risk mitigation activities, lots of contingency planningo Full-blown contingency plan (or plans) should the risk be big enough

Communication can make or break a contingency plan• Ensures the contingency plan can be launched quickly and effectively and not

launch another issueContingency planning is not personal, it’s business

• Just because you are planning for it doesn’t mean you caused it• It’s not about targeting people or organizations, but recognizing a defined risk to

a successful project where it lies• Good business practice includes planning for when things go wrong

11SLDS Webinar 3/24/14

Another of Washington’s “Birds”

Sudden Loss of P-20W Project Manager• Performed an RFP and selected a P-20W Data Warehouse project manager• Within a day after coming on board he began to push a different software

solution than what had been purchased• The state soon learned that this contractor had a major conflict of interest

that he had not disclosed—he sold competing software and services that he was now pushing

• He was told to stop, but didn’t, causing a toxic atmosphere on the project• He was let go after six weeks

Contingency Plan• The project had three other people on staff identified as possible

back-up/interim project managers• One was asked to run the project and did so for the next 15 months

12

Contingency Plans for Staff Loss• Knowing the skill sets of your staff

o Planning for/thinking through who can immediately replace whom if required

o Maintaining flexibility in roles and staffing where possible– Broader staff job descriptions– Identifying additional skill sets in vendor contracts, in case the

project may need to leverage them

• Identifying other means to quickly obtain needed resources

o Existing contractso Borrowing from other agencies

SLDS Webinar 3/24/14

Another of Washington’s “Birds” (cont.)

SLDS Webinar 3/24/14 13

Louisiana

Contingency Planning

SLDS Webinar 3/24/14 14

Contingency Planning

Contract Management• Conflicting documentation• Lengthy implementation of a project phase

Solutions• Establish detailed costing• Have staff on site• Retain a percentage until completion

SLDS Webinar 3/24/14 15

Contingency Planning

Human Resource Changes• New administration• Loss of staff

Solutions• Have the buy-in of a large group of stakeholders• Tie the SLDS to the priorities of the new

administration

16SLDS Webinar 3/24/14

Contingency Planning

Underestimating Complexity• Historical assessments• Accountability system• Algorithm behind historical reports

Solutions• Run parallel work streams• Know when the costs outweigh the benefits

17

Questions?

SLDS Webinar 3/24/14

Contingency Planning

18

Panelists • Christina McDougall, Christina.McDougall@ofm.wa.gov• Kim Nesmith, Kim.Nesmith@la.gov

SST• Jeff Sellers, Jeff.Sellers@sst-slds.org

SLDS Program • Lauren Wise, Lauren.Wise@ed.gov

SLDS Webinar 3/24/14

Contact Information