Degree Works Project Final as of Nov 16 2016-Final

Final Report: Degree Works Implementation


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Contents

Page 3 The Degree Works Implementation Team

Page 4 SIU-PMO Introduction

Page 5 Enrollment Management Paradigm

Page 6 Project Description

Page 7 Lessons Learned Report

Page 14 Project Efforts Analysis

Page 15 Project Closeout Document


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The Degree Works Implementation Team

Excellence can be obtained if you:

“Care more than others think is wise.

Risk more than others think is safe.

Dream more than others think is practical.

Expect more than others think is possible.”

--Claude Thomas Bissell

Tamara Workman

Kim Little

Rachel Frazier

Derek Wright

Treina Bashem

Jeff Johnson

Rickey Kondoudis

Amy Eaton

John Ahrens

Heath Wininger


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SIU Project Management Office

at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

Coming together is a beginning.

Keeping together is progress.

Working together is success.

--Henry Ford

WE ARE the Project Management Office of Southern Illinois University:

We facilitate the Initiation, Prioritization, Management, and Implementation

of organizational and Information Technology projects in support of the

University’s academic mission.

We partner with our Faculty, Students, Administrators, and Staff to benefit

our direct and indirect Stakeholders.

As Project Managers, we leverage our educational, administrative,

professional, technological, and creative skills gained in the academe, as

well as in corporations, small businesses, and not-for-profit organizations.

We utilize wise and adaptable processes to effectively collaborate across the

campus and around the world as SIU delivers quality Education solutions.

Kris Guye

Arden Lockwood

Lisa Threlkeld

Casey Rolape


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Enrollment Management Paradigm

Enrollment Management is a systematic, holistic, and integrated approach to achieving

enrollment goals by exerting more control over those institutional factors that shape the

size and characteristic of the student body. It includes activities associated with attracting

and retaining students including marketing, recruitment, financial aid, orientation, advising

and instruction. It also involves examining institution mission, program and service

offerings, organizational structure, and resource allocation. The process relies heavily on the

use of pertinent data and information for informed decision making.

-Noel Levitz Enrollment Management Consultants


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SIS-001-Degree Works Implementation Project Description

Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Registrar provides service regarding the

University Catalog to current and potential students, academic adviser’s and

administrators. This project is related to enhancing those service via the

implementation of Ellucian’s Degree Works software platform.

Degree Works is a student retention completion platform that consists of several

different tools, of which Scribing degree audit and Student Education Planner were

employed in this project.

Through “scribing” the first outcome of the project was a refined Undergraduate

Catalog, using a completed Catalog Audit system as the foundation of other activities

related to the Degree Works functionality.

Then, by utilizing the Student Education Planner (SEP) functionality, the project team

created the curricular guides and prerequisite roles for each academic

program/specialization that students and advisers began to utilize in order to

produce individual student audit reports. SIU academic advisers and faculty were

heavily involved in providing the required information for Ellucian to deliver the

automated solution. During these activities, SIU team members engaged in

reviewing academic policy, curricular mapping, and the required protocol and

manual development.

The final functionality of this project was the audit and reporting interface tool for

prospective students. This tool is similar to the Illinois Transferology system.

Students who begin their academic careers at the community college will be able to

access this new SIU audit system before the matriculate, which will allow SIU to

influence their academic progress even before they transfer.

This project eventually added sub-projects to include further interests or processes

that required a deeper concentration from the various areas of operation. These sub-projects are listed to the

right and can be found in the SIU-D2L folder for the Degree Works Implementation Team along with all other

project documents including meeting agendas and minutes. Also included in D2L is the vendor’s

documentation for this project. This site has been shared with all stakeholders, implementation team

members and function team members.

Communication

and Training

SHATATR

Advisor

Assignment

College-Campus

DW Protocols

Reporting

DW Single Sign-on

DW Testing


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A Project Lessons Learned document contains a summary of the stakeholders’ perspective of the Project’s management, communication, and delivery. It is often created as a result of a work session of the key stakeholders, so that consensus is reached and documented to improve future projects, by visualizing how to repeat desirable outcomes and reduce undesirable outcomes. Section 1. Project Description

Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Registrar provides services regarding the University Catalog to current and potential students, academic advisers, and administrators. This project is related to enhancing those services via the implementation of Ellucian's Degree Works software platform. Degree Works is a student retention completion platform that consists of several different tools, three of which will be employed in this project: scribing degree audit, Student Education Plan (SEP), and Transfer Equivalency. Through "scribing" a refined Undergraduate Catalog, the first outcome of the project will build the Catalog Audit system as the foundation of other activities related to the Degree Works functionality. To utilize the Student Education Planner (SEP) functionality, the project team will create the curricular guides and prerequisite roles for each academic program/specialization that students and advisers will utilize to produce individual student audit reports. SIU academic advisers and faculty will be heavily involved to provide the required information for Ellucian to deliver the automated solution. During these activities, SIU team members will engage in reviewing academic policy, curricular mapping, and the required protocol and manual development. The final functionality of this project is an audit and reporting interface tool for prospective students; this tool is similar to the Illinois Transferology system. Students who begin their academic careers at the community college will be able to access this new SIU audit system before they matriculate, allowing SIU to influence their academic progress even before they transfer. NOTE: The Transfer Equivalency functionality was managed out of the scope of this implementation because of defects with the vendor’s software.

Section 2. Lessons Learned Checklist The following questions may guide the group discussion and/or individual preparation regarding the factors that helped or hindered this project. (Note: the Totals are manually calculated here and on the Summary Section that follows.)

1. Project Planning Yes No N/A Comments

Place your cursor in the appropriate boxes and type an X. (Insert additional rows as needed.)

Yes = the project team agrees with the statement No = the project team does not agree with the statement N/A = this statement does not apply to the project

Add a comment to any question where supporting detail would be helpful

1.1 Project Plan and Schedule were well-documented, with appropriate structure and detail

X Every project needs to be flexible for changes as they are realized. Change Management worked well in this project.

Lessons Learned Report


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1.2.1 Tasks were defined adequately – SIU

X Our Action Items process allowed for flexible improvement and clarification of Tasks as they became better understood.

1.2.2 Tasks were defined adequately – Vendor

X The vendor didn't clearly communicate the impact of the complexity of the tasks as early in the project as the Project Team would have preferred. As a result, we experienced additional change management. We perceived that the vendor’s expertise was fragmented. We would have preferred more of an "Advanced Organizer" within the project.

1.3 Stakeholders (Sponsor, Customer) had appropriate input into the project planning process

X SIU's stakeholders were very engaged in the entire Project from beginning to end. We provided adequate opportunity for engagement. While we would have appreciated more Sponsor involvement, but we generally had overall good communication with Stakeholders: deans, directors, advisors, end users, and students. The limited feedback from University Administration seems “unusual” for such a complex project.

1.4.1 SIU Project Requirements were documented clearly

X Project requirements were documented clearly using Action Items spreadsheets and resource assignments.

1.4 Vendor Project Requirements were documented clearly

X Vendor requirements were not documented clearly. If the team's expertise would not have been available the project would not have executed as well as it did.

1. PROJECT PLANNING TOTALS

4 2 0


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2. Project Execution and Delivery

Yes No N/A Comments

2.1 Project Plan had buy-in from the stakeholders

X

2.2 Stakeholders had easy access to Project Plan and Schedule

X The Core Team Desire to Learn (D2L) communication site was used to keep all documents available to the entire team.

2.3 Project stuck to its original goals

X The Overall Original Goals were met, even though we had to modify these Goals via Change Management because of the vendor’s technical defects related to the Transfer Equivalency functionality.

2.4 Stakeholders were satisfied with the information they received

X The monthly Core Team Meetings demonstrated stakeholder satisfaction with the information they received. Individual discussions with colleges and deans occurred throughout the project. If Stakeholders perceived that the communicated information was unsatisfactory, these discussions would have highlighted those weaknesses. No communication concerns were ever voiced.

2.5 Risks were manageable X At times there were significant project challenges, but the Project Leadership Team managed the identification of a Risk, to an Issue, and then to appropriate Action Items during the life cycle of the analysis and decision-making. The Leadership team “isolated the risks and reduced the static."

2. PROJECT EXECUTION AND

DELIVERY TOTALS

5 0 0


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3. Human Factors Yes No N/A Comments

3.1 Project Manager was effective

X YES!!!!!!!

3.2 Project Team was properly organized and staffed

X The vendor and other institutions praised us for keeping on track, on time and on budget. This team had a great balance of technical and functional skill sets. Empowered decision-makers made effective decisions on-the-spot without calling the whole team in to make a decision.

3.3 Project Team’s talent and experience were adequate

X Excellent! Team member skill sets played a major role in making this project a success. Each member of the Leadership Team was committed to process improvements with a focus on institutional goals and mission. If the team's expertise had not been as mature and available, the project would not have went as well as it did.

3.4 Project Team worked effectively on project goals

X Yes!!! The entire Leadership team attended weekly meetings to work through Action Items and attend to outstanding Risks until they were completed.

3.5 Project Team worked effectively with outside entities

X Through the project we learned which individual’s skills were necessary to be most effective with our outside entities. The project Leadership Team benefitted considerably from the vendor online forum and conference. We learned to build relationships with other campuses and organizations that used the same software solution.


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3. Human Factors (continued)

Yes No N/A Comments

3.6 There was good communication within the Project Team

X Absolutely. We participated in weekly Leadership meetings and monthly Core Team meetings. D2L was used as a reference area, with separate repositories for both the Leadership and Core Teams, so that the appropriate documentation was available for the audience. We consistently demonstrated good communication across the project team, typically including the PMO in all work-session communications to keep track of updates to Action Items. We recognize, in retrospect, that we could have improved the communications planning within IT, especially by clarifying the specific role and responsibility of each IT staff member involved with the project. Specifically, IT Systems should have probably been involved in more of the communications when they were needed the most for configuring the servers and opening the networks. An improved "Advanced Organizer" meeting may have improved this situation. A more formal Project Kick-off meeting should include personnel that may be needed during any part of the project. By keeping those supporting teams informed of the overall project, we suspect that we would have had more timely delivery of their services.

3. HUMAN FACTORS TOTALS

6 0 0


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4. Overall Project Yes No N/A Comments

4.1 Product was delivered within amended schedule

X It is considered a successful delivery, if we agree to the exclusion of Transfer Equivalency.

4.2 Technology chosen was appropriate

X The team is satisfied with the delivered solution, though we already recognize that technical or business process “tweaks” will continue to evolve as we use the solution.

4.3 Project Team’s needs/requirements were met

X While the Team’s expectations were met, we did not adequately recognize and celebrate the resounding successes of this project. Was it because of University budgets, too-busy team members at Go-Live in the summer, and/or unclear acceptance of who should have facilitated the celebration? As noted elsewhere, the Team would have appreciated more affirmation or communication from the University Administration.

4.4 Project Team is satisfied with the product

X

4.5 Project Objectives were met

X

4. OVERALL PROJECT TOTALS

5 0 0

5. Other Project Considerations

5.1 As determined by the Project Stakeholders 1. Local PMO is an absolute must for a successful vendor product implementation. 2. A well-communicated project plan (roadmap) is necessary for team success. 3. Engaged, wise, functional leadership is a must. 4. Each leader / team member must be a change agent to develop expertise, and be willing to

change often to benefit the larger organization. 5. More affirming engagements with sponsors would facilitate future project successes. 6. Leaders and team members need to understand the institutional impacts of a project and its

related decisions. 7. Leaders need to focus on demonstrating to the stakeholders / sponsors how the campus

benefits from the financial return on investment (ROI). 8. Leaders need to be willing to make difficult choices regarding the human resources involved

in the project. Not only in understanding who should/not be involved at a particular project phase, but to clearly delineate that individual’s priorities for both project and operational responsibilities.

5. OTHER PROJECT CONSIDERATIONS

TOTALS

0 0 0


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Section 3. Lessons Learned Summary This section summarizes the Totals from the previous Checklist, then converts the Totals into Percentages, based on a total of 20 questions. If additional questions are added, then adjust the Percentages calculation. (Note: the Totals and Percentages are manually calculated here.)

No. Project Summary Yes No N/A Comments 1. Project Planning 4 2 0 Added 2 Vendor questions

2. Project Execution and Delivery 5 0 0

3. Human Factors 6 0 0

4. Overall Project 5 0 0

5. Other Project Considerations 0 0 0

8 observations captured, but not rated

PROJECT SUMMARY TOTALS 20 2 0 PROJECT SUMMARY

PERCENTAGES 91% 9% 0% PASS


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28.45

75.90

49.00

103.00

34.00

81.00

38.00

72.50

38.00

91.50

39.75

140.50

101.15

91.55

51.05

36.30

11.25

0.00

20.00

40.00

60.00

80.00

100.00

120.00

140.00

160.00

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SIU PMO Effort in Support of SIS-001 DegreeWorks Implementation Project

Jun-15 Jul-15 Aug-15 Sep-15 Oct-15 Nov-15 Dec-15 Jan-16 Feb-16

Mar-16 Apr-16 May-16 Jun-16 Jul-16 Aug-16 Sep-16 Oct-16

Total PMO Effort = 1,083 Hours

Ave Monthly PMO Effort = 64 Hours

through 10/21/2016as of 11/09/2016

Project Efforts Report

Project Efforts are specific and quantifiable counts, or measures of time and labor units, that

are deemed necessary in the attempts to arrive at completion of a phase, or the entirety of a

particular project as a whole.


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Project Closeout

A Project Closeout Report contains a summary of the closing process activities and

tasks. Tasks include documenting the final schedule and budget and explaining

variances, closing project logs.


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Degree Works Project Final as of Nov 16 2016-Final

Documents

Transcript of Degree Works Project Final as of Nov 16 2016-Final