Sample Project Report Using Hobson

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STRATEGIC PLANNING AND CHANGE PROJECT INITIATION DOCUMENT Project Title: Student Enquiry and Application Project

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Sample Project Report Using Hobson

Transcript of Sample Project Report Using Hobson

Page 1: Sample Project Report Using Hobson

STRATEGIC PLANNING AND CHANGE

PROJECT INITIATION DOCUMENT

Project Title: Student Enquiry and Application Project

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Change Record

Date Author Version Change Reference

25-Aug-2010 Gill Preston 0.1 Initial draft09-Dec-2010 Katherine Charman 0.2 Second draft for discussion with Project Team and Project Board24-Dec-2010 Katherine Charman 1.0 Final agreed version reflecting the comments of the Project Board

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Contents

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................................................................12. PROJECT OVERVIEW................................................................................................................................................................3

a) Business need.............................................................................................................................................................3b)............................................................................................................................................................................................5c) Benefits..........................................................................................................................................................................5

3. SCOPE...................................................................................................................................................................................6a) In scope......................................................................................................................................................................6b) Out of scope...............................................................................................................................................................6

4. OBJECTIVES & CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS.................................................................................................................................8a) Objectives...................................................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

5. PLAN....................................................................................................................................................................................9a) Approach....................................................................................................................................................................9b) Project phases............................................................................................................................................................9

6. RISK MANAGEMENT..............................................................................................................................................................14a) Risks.........................................................................................................................................................................14b) Issues.......................................................................................................................................................................14c) Assumptions.................................................................................................................................................................14d) That Dependencies..................................................................................................................................................15e) Constraints...................................................................................................................................................................15

7. PROJECT RESOURCES.............................................................................................................................................................16a) Financial...................................................................................................................................................................16b) Human.....................................................................................................................................................................16

8. MANAGING THE PROJECT.......................................................................................................................................................18a) Change Control........................................................................................................................................................18b) Project logs..............................................................................................................................................................18c) Communications..........................................................................................................................................................18

9. PROJECT CLOSURE................................................................................................................................................................19a) Procedure.................................................................................................................................................................19b) Acceptance into Operational Service (AiOS)............................................................................................................19

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1. Executive Summary

In order to attract good quality applicants to its postgraduate programmes from the UK, EU and internationally, the University of Exeter must make sure that conditions exist which optimise the chances of enquiries being converted into high quality applications, and then into acceptances and enrolments.

A student’s first contact with and ongoing experience of communicating with the University is critical in creating a good impression. Prospective students need high quality information, delivered at the right time and in the most effective and easy to understand way.

It is essential that the decision making process and supporting systems are as efficient and effective as possible, with information about the status of applications being easily available to both staff and applicants, especially given that the numbers of enquiries and applications received by the University continues to increase year on year.

The review of communications to pre-applicants and applicants for Postgraduate Taught (PGT) courses that was carried out in 2009 identified a number of shortcomings in existing communications and concluded that a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system would assist in resolving these.

A successful bid for funding from the Governments modernisation fund led to purchase of the Hobsons product (“EMT Connect”) and online application system “EMT Apply Yourself” in September 2010. The project to implement these products and related improvements to business processes and communication standards has now been formally initiated following appointment of a Project Manager.

The project has the following business objectives:

To improve the enquiry and application experience for those applying to the University for postgraduate places and thus improve the conversion rates for good quality applicants from enquiry to application.

To improve the communications that postgraduate pre-applicants and applicants receive from the University, making them more consistent and appropriate to the audience.

To increase the transparency and efficiency of the administrative process that supports postgraduate enquiry and application.

To enhance marketing tools and reporting to enable better targeting and evaluation of marketing activity, contributing to more effective marketing spend

To introduce a benefits measurement approach that will support continuous improvement in ways of working.

A detailed implementation plan will be developed in consultation with Hobsons and with the SEA Project Team and this will be agreed with the SEA Project Board in January 2011. The intention is that the following will be implemented in time for the 2012 application cycle:

new application form for PGT and PGR applications Hobsons EMT Connect for postgraduate taught pre-applicants and applicants and their

agents from enquiry through to enrolment Hobsons EMT Connect for postgraduate research pre-applicants and applicants and their

agents from enquiry to point of submission of application via the new online form.

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During Project Initiation the Admissions team requested that the scope for implementation of the system should be extended to cover postgraduate research applicants up to the point of enrolment. The Marketing department asked that the scope for implementation of the Apply Yourself online application form be extended to replace the current online funding application form. These have been logged as project change requests and the viability of including these additional areas without detriment to project timescales will be assessed during detailed implementation planning so that a decision can be made on the way forward during January 2011.

Successful delivery of this project will depend upon resource being available across the University, in particular from teams in Admissions and Marketing, to define the business rules and develop the content necessary for effective implementation of the Hobsons tools. Resource will also need to be available from Academic Systems in order to design and develop the interfaces that will be needed with the student records system, SITS.

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2. Project OverviewThe University of Exeter aims to boost postgraduate and international recruitment as part of its strategy to maintain its position as a top 10 institution. In order to do so it must not only attract higher numbers of good quality applicants to its postgraduate programmes but must also make sure the conditions exist which optimise the chances of enquiries being converted into applications, acceptances and enrolments.

The way in which the University communicates with prospective students from the initial contact to enrolment is crucial. Prospective students need good quality information, delivered at the right time and in the most effective and easy to understand way. A student’s first contact and on-going experience of communicating with the University is critical in creating a good impression which affects their readiness to apply for and accept a place.

In 2009, a review of the communications to pre-applicants and applicants for Postgraduate Taught (PGT) courses was undertaken by the Projects Office (referred to as “the PGT communications review” in this document). It identified a number of shortcomings, and concluded that some of these required the implementation of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to resolve them.

In 2010, the University successfully bid for funding from the Government’s Modernisation Fund. The fund provided for initiatives to improve efficiencies within Universities to enable them to increase administrative capacity in order to handle higher student numbers. Some of the funds allocated to Exeter were offered for a project to implement an enquiries and application management system to address the issues outlined in the Postgraduate Taught Customer Relationship Management Review.

In Autumn 2010 the University purchased Hobsons’ product “EMT Connect” and Hobsons’ online application system “EMT ApplyYourself”. This document defines the project to implement this software and the related improvements to business processes and communication standards.

a) Business need

The PGT enquiry and application process is a large and complex operation:

Research undertaken as part of the PGT communications review identified that for the 2009/10 academic year, 12,789 PGT applications were received, resulting in 1,758 enrolments.

Depending on their programme, fee status and other variables, students may receive between around 20 to 60 communications from across the University during their journey from enquiry stage to enrolment.

Moreover there are around 17 variables determining the information needs for specific student groups including nationality, fee status, campus, disability, and existing relationship with the University (e.g. alumnus or deferred applicant).

Managing this process is a considerable overhead for the University. The way that it is managed can have significant impact on the quality and quantity of postgraduate applicants that successfully convert. The PGT communications review identified a number of areas for improvement within the PGT enquiry and application process.

The issues identified included:

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i. There is no single “owner” of the student journey between enquiry and enrolment and the prospective student will receive communications from several different central teams as well as from the College they are applying to. This leads to a service-based rather than student-centred approach to communications, with opportunities for overlaps and gaps throughout the process.

ii. There is a lack of transparency in the applications process. Both applicants and staff can spend considerable time trying to confirm the status of an application, diverting staff from other tasks and heightening the potential stress for anxious applicants.

iii. The current administrative process can lead to:

inconsistencies in approach, such as reminders not being sent out or being sent out too late to be effective.

Inefficiencies, such as monthly reports to international agents being compiled manually because there is no simple way of automating them and loss of paperwork as it transits across the University.

decline in responsiveness to applicants during peak periods of manual activity.

iv. There is a lack of good quality management information that would enable departments to evaluate their performance and be more effective in focusing their efforts. This is particularly felt in the Marketing department where the limited information on the success of campaigns and conversion rates makes assessing the return on marketing investment difficult to ascertain.

v. The quality of information provided to applicants is variable. The review identified concerns about the content, style and appropriateness of communications. This was felt to be a particular issue for international students with varying degrees of English language ability.

Discussions with the team involved in the original review and teams delivering the existing process during Summer 2010 confirmed that these issues still persist and need to be addressed.

A further issue surfaced during these conversations regarding the on line application system. There was strong criticism of the current system which was felt to be out of date in look and feel and not user friendly for applicants and staff. It was felt it would be a significant weakness in the new system if the on line application system was left in its current state whilst the systems and processes around it were improved. For these reasons, it was decided to bring the replacement of the on line application system into the scope of this project.

The original focus of the project was PGT students because it was felt that this area required most improvement. During Summer 2010, it was suggested that the scope of the project should be extended to cover Postgraduate Research (PGR) students for the enquiry process up to the point of submitting their application because the PGT and PGR processes are similar up to that point and therefore extending the scope would involve little additional work for considerable gain. In addition, marketing campaigns are sometimes targeted at postgraduates as a group including both PGT and PGR students.

Based on the issues identified by the review and subsequent conversations, two overall objectives have been agreed for the SEA project, to improve the applicant experience and to increase the efficiency of the administrative process.

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b) Benefits

As part of the conditions of the Modernisation Fund, this project must deliver efficiency savings. A full benefits realisation plan will be developed and this will include specific targets for efficiency savings, but at this stage it is anticipated that savings will be made in the following areas:

Reduction in time spent answering student and agent enquiries regarding application status through provision of better quality information to the student or enquirer at each point of contact, better access to online information for the enquirer and reduction in the duplication of information sent out.

Provision of a single view of an applicant’s status for staff in central teams and in Colleges, reducing the amount of time spent by staff in answering queries asked by other teams.

Removal of duplication of effort by administrative staff within the pre-application to enrolment processes through the creation of one common enquiry and applications process across the University with agreed roles and responsibilities.

Reduction in marketing effort and costs by providing tools to enable targeting of key postgraduate segments and management information on the enquiries and applications process which will enable evaluation of campaigns.

In addition the project will enhance the post graduate pre-applicant and applicant experience by making the process more responsive to their needs, more transparent and more efficient. The objectives in doing this will be to increase the conversion rate from enquiry to application, to boost the University’s reputation as a University of postgraduate choice, to enhance its ability to attract the best postgraduates and to deliver PGT target numbers.

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3. Scopea) In scope

Replacement of the current online application system for PGT and PGR applications

Implementation of Hobsons EMT Connect for postgraduate taught pre applicants and applicants and their agents from enquiry through to enrolment

Implementation of Hobsons EMT Connect for postgraduate research pre-applicants and applicants and their agents from enquiry to point of submission of application via the new online form

Marketing and recruitment activity involving International Office, Admissions, Student Finance, Student accommodation, Marketing and the Colleges

Home, EU and international postgraduate students

Data flows between Hobsons Apply Yourself and Connect and SITS, and any related links necessary to the accommodation system PAMS and the prospectus fulfillment system, Handle with Care.

Provision of a personalized enquirer or applicant “portal” through implementation of Hobsons “VIP page”.

b) Out of scope

PGT students post registration

PGR applicants post application

Undergraduate enquirers, applicants and students

Enhancement of existing SITS, ePay and ePAMs functionality (including development of single sign on technology where this does not already exist in these systems)

Replacement of the existing on line funding application system (although this may be within the scope of a future project to extend the application of the Hobsons Connect and Apply Yourself technology).

Applications and enquiries to Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry

Applications for MBA courses

c) At the end of this project the following will be in place:

A single business process used across the University (by Admissions, colleges, the International Office) for:

o managing the relationship with postgraduate taught pre applicants and applicants and their agents from initial enquiry through to enrolment.

o managing the relationship with postgraduate research pre applicants and applicants and their agents from initial enquiry through to the point that they submit an application.

An implemented enquiries and application management system (Hobson’s EMT Connect software) which supports the agreed business process.

A new online application system for PGT students and PGR students provided through Hobsons “Apply Yourself”.

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Communications plans for PGT applicants from enquiry up to the point of enrolment and PGR applicants from enquiry up to the point of application implemented through the Hobsons EMT Connect system.

An agreed set of measures for evaluating the benefits delivered through this project.

Efficiency savings delivered in central teams and in the Colleges as a result of standardizing business processes and communications.

Following successful delivery of this project, further phases are likely to be defined and initiated to deliver the same improvements for postgraduate research applicants from the point of application through to enrolment, and undergraduate pre applicants and applicants and their agents from initial enquiry through to enrolment.

At the time of writing Version 0.2 of this PID, there are two outstanding issues regarding scope:

i) The Admissions team have requested that the scope for implementation of the Hobsons EMT Connect software be extended to cover PGR students up to the point of registration as there is a feeling that different scope for PGT & PGR students could be confusing for the team. This could include replacement of the PGR Applicant Management system that has recently been developed and is being used in the postgraduate school of Education. As post application processes for PGR students vary across the Colleges, extending the scope for the initial implementation of the system may introduce a significant level of additional complexity which could present a risk to achievability of the project within required timescales – the extension of scope and possible risk to timescales will be fully assessed during the next stages of the project.

ii) There has been a request that the scope for implementation of the Apply Yourself online application form be extended to replace the current online funding application form. Early discussions with Hobsons suggest that this is likely to be complex to implement, as the Hobsons Apply Yourself product is based on submission of a single application per student. Replacing the funding application using ApplyYourself would effectively require additional development of the software (which may or may not be possible) in order that two subsequent applications could be received from a student, the first for funding and the second for a place.

Inclusion of the work to deliver these two additional areas of functionality will be considered in the light of analysis of implications for resource requirements and project timescales, based on further information from Hobsons and other Universities during the project planning stage. A final decision on scope will be made in consultation with the Project Team and Project Board in early 2011.

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4. Objectives The project has the following objectives:

To improve the enquiry and application experience for those applying to the University for postgraduate places and thus improve the conversion rates for good quality applicants from enquiry to application.

To improve the communications that postgraduate pre-applicants and applicants receive from the University, making them more consistent and appropriate to the audience.

To increase the transparency and efficiency of the administrative process that supports postgraduate enquiry and application.

To enhance marketing tools and reporting to enable better targeting and evaluation of marketing activity, contributing to more effective marketing spend

To introduce a benefits measurement approach to support continuous improvement in ways of working.

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5. Plan

a) Approach

Hobsons’ Connect and Apply Yourself software was purchased in September 2010. The scope of the plan laid out in this section includes all the phases from initiation of the formal project following the appointment of a project manager through to implementation of the software for PGT students up to the point of registration and PGR students up to the point of application.

This PID is being written during the first half of the project planning and initiation phase, before Hobsons have provided a suggested implementation timeline in response to the University’s requirements. The plan described in this section is a draft outline plan, based on the University’s aspirations and requirements as expressed at this stage of the project. The final project plan will be developed once further information has been received from Hobsons and will be agreed by the Project Board and Project Team in January 2011.

There is a risk that the project will not succeed if overly ambitious targets are set for changes to be implemented by September 2011. This risk can be mitigated by ensuring that the project implementation plan is realistic, based on the resources available, and reflects the need for a phased approach to be taken to implementation if necessary.

b) Project phases

The project will be divided into 8 phases (some of which will overlap rather than running sequentially).

The overall timelines for the project are shown on the next page.

Each phase within the project is described in more detail on the following pages.

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Project

Closu

Nov

Phased training and implementation

Welcome Week

“Discovery” Phase

Apply Yourself – Design, build Test

Oct

Implementation complete

Implement ongoing benefits measurement Benefits realisation planning

CRM for Enquirers - Design, Build, Test

CRM for Applicants – Design, Build, Test

2010 2011 SepJulMar AugJunMayAprFebJanDecNov

Project initiation and planning

SEA Project Outline DatesApply Yourself and Connect Implementation

Cleari

ng

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Phase 1 PHASE TITLE: PROJECT INITIATION & PLANNING

Scope: Confirmation of project organisation and approach , agreement of Project Initiation Document and Plan (including agreement of planned timescales with Hobson’s software suppliers), and approval for the next stages of the Project

Dates/Duration: 15th November 2010 – 14th January 2011 (7 weeks plus 1 week holiday closure)

Deliverables: Approved PID

High level implementation plan agreed with Hobsons

Project logs

Project stakeholder analysis and communications plan

Provided by: Project Manager, Project Sponsor, Project Team, Project Board

Phase 2 PHASE TITLE: CURRENT STATE REVIEW & TO BE PROCESS PLANNING (INCLUDING HOBSON’S “DISCOVERY” PHASE)

Scope: i) Confirmation of current admissions and enquiry processes

ii) Business process review with Project Team and Hobsons team, in order to confirm scope and high level business process to be implemented.

Dates/Duration: 23rd November 2010 – 28th January 2011 (8 weeks plus 1 week holiday closure)

Deliverables: As is process map

Hobsons Business Process and Data Catalog deliverables completed

Detailed implementation plan agreed with Hobsons

Project work packages developed and agreed

Roles and responsibilities & resource estimates defined and work packages assigned

Provided by: Project Team & Project Manager, Hobsons team

Phase 3 PHASE TITLE: APPLY YOURSELF - DESIGN AND BUILD

Scope: Design, development and testing of Apply Yourself for applicants for PGT and PGR courses.

Dates/Duration: Feb – April 2011 (3 months)

Deliverables: Online application form for PGT

Online application form for PGR

Business rules for applications agreed and implemented

Provided by: Project Team & Project Manager, Hobsons team

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Phase 4 PHASE TITLE: HOBSONS CONNECT FOR ENQUIRERS – DESIGN AND BUILD

Scope: Design, development and testing of EMT Connect for enquirers for PGT and PGR courses.

Dates/Duration: Feb – May 2011 (4 months)

Deliverables: Agreed communications plan for PGT enquirers

Agreed communications plan for PGR enquirers

Data integration with SITS and other supporting systems

Online enquiry form

VIP pages for enquirers

Communication pieces for PGT enquirers

Communication pieces for PGR enquirers

Provided by: Project Team & Project Manager, Hobsons team

Phase 3 PHASE TITLE: HOBSONS CONNECT FOR APPLICANTS - DESIGN AND BUILD

Scope: Design, development and testing of EMT Connect for applicants for PGT and PGR courses.

Dates/Duration: May – August 2011 (4 months)

Deliverables: Agreed communications plan for PGT applicants

Agreed communications plan for PGR applicants

Data integration with SITS

VIP pages for applicants

Communication pieces for PGT applicants

Communication pieces for PGR applicants

Provided by: Project Team & Project Manager, Hobsons team

Phase 6 PHASE TITLE: FINAL TRAINING AND IMPLEMENTATION

Scope: Final training of “expert users” and end users, launch of new application forms and Hobsons EMT Connect system, implementation handover report.

Dates/Duration: Phased from July through to November (detailed plan to be agreed)

Deliverables: Agreed training plan for Hobsons Connect for applicants, Apply Yourself, Hobsons Connect for enquirers

Training delivered by Hobsons team initially and then by “expert users”

Post implementation report

Provided by: Project Team & Project Manager, Hobsons team

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Phase 7 PHASE TITLE: PROJECT CLOSURE

Scope: Final report identifying lessons learned, roles and responsibilities handed over to operational teams, recommended next steps.

Dates/Duration: November 2011 (1 week)

Deliverables: Project closure report

Provided by: Project Sponsor, Project Board, Project Manager

Phase 8 PHASE TITLE: BENEFITS REALIZATION

Scope: The Benefits realization plan and benefits measures will be developed at an early stage of the project. Benefits realization will continue into operational practice after the project closes. This strand will include planning for future phases of the project in the light of benefits delivered and planned (e.g., initiate second project to implement Hobsons products for undergraduate applications and enquiries)

Dates/Duration: January 2011 – November 2011 and ongoing into operational business as usual

Deliverables: Benefits realization plan

Benefit measures

Regular reports on benefits delivered against plan

Provided by: Project Sponsor, Project Team, Project Manager, Operational Managers

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6. Risk ManagementThis is a large and complex project with a wide range of stakeholders across the University and very ambitious timescales for work to be delivered before October 2011.

Risks and issues which arise during the project will be logged and managed by the Project Manager.

a) Risks

The following key risks have been identified during project initiation:

The project can only succeed if sufficient expertise is provided from the BISS teams to advise on the requirements for interfaces to SITS and other supporting business systems and to design and build the interfaces required. There is a risk that it will not be possible to deliver the project to required timescales if the necessary resource is not available. This risk will be mitigated by detailed resource estimating as the project progresses, with any identified issues being escalated to the Project Board together with recommendations for resolving them.

Delivering the project to required deadlines for the next application cycle will require substantial resource from Marketing (to design communications plans, communication pieces and the content of applicant and enquirer VIP pages) and Admissions (to design business processes and business rules). There is a risk that it will not be possible to deliver the project to required timescales if the necessary resource is not available. This risk will be mitigated by detailed resource estimating as the project progresses, with any identified issues being escalated to the Project Board together with recommendations for resolving them.

There is a risk that the project will not succeed if overly ambitious targets are set for changes to be implemented by September 2011. This risk can be mitigated by ensuring that the project implementation plan is realistic, based on the resources available, and reflects the need for a phased approach to be taken to implementation if necessary.

There is a risk that it will not be possible to create a single, unified University process for managing enquiries and applications.

A complete log of all Project Risks identified during Project Initiation is kept with the Project Filing and will be reviewed with the Project Board on a regular basis.

b) Issues

No issues are affecting the project currently.

c) Assumptions

The following assumptions have been made in developing this Project Initiation document and the project plan that it includes:

The members of the Project Team and the Project Board will be able to commit the time required for successful completion of the project.

The Admissions team will make available resource with the appropriate knowledge, time and authority to design the business rules and processes required for successful implementation of the system.

The Marketing team will make available resource to design the communications plans and communication pieces and develop the content of applicant and enquirer VIP pages.

The Academic Systems development team will make available technical support and advice to the project and the resource for development of interfaces to systems including SITS.

The scope questions raised during project initiation can be satisfactorily resolved in order that the final plan for work to be delivered can be agreed in January 2011.

The Hobsons implementation team are able to provide the resource required to ensure that the project can be delivered to required timescales

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Changes to the enquiries process can be implemented at any point during the academic year, but changes to the applications process must be implemented in October 2011, after the 2011/12 intake of students and before applications for the 2012/13 intake start to be received.

d) Dependencies

The system implementation will involve interfacing with SITS. SITS is an operational system which is continually undergoing development. There is a need to ensure that the development is prioritized appropriately to enable it to completed within project timescales.

e) Constraints

The new applications forms and Hobsons Connect for applicants need to be in place by October 2011 in order to manage applications for the 2012-13 in take.

For the Admissions team, August and September are particularly busy months and it will not be possible for them to be involved in systems development, testing or training during those months.

All areas of the University are busy during Welcome Week (last week in September) and no testing or training can be planned to take place during that week or the week leading up to it.

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7. Project Resources

a) Financial

The budget for this project is as shown below:

Item Y/E 31 July 2011 2012 2013 Total£k £k £k £k

Income 1 Modernisation Fund 80.00 80.002 TESS 39.85 39.853 Academic Services IT Maintenance 9.99 9.99 19.98

Expenditure 1 Software licences, installation and hosting 102.00 8.50 8.50 119.002 VAT at 17.5% 17.85 1.49 1.49 20.803 Additional development work by Web Team?4 Sundry expenses (meetings, visits etc)

Cumulative 119.85 9.99 9.99 139.80

Financial assumptions:

The initial contract price for 2011-13 has been agreed at a VAT rate of 17.5%

Legal advice was provided in house and so there were no legal charges

All incidental costs will be absorbed within Academic Services Student Services budget. E.g. travel to reference sites, refreshments for working groups and other meetings.

Project management cost has been covered by the Modernisation Fund, Sharepoint project.

Technical support will be provided by the BIS team at no cost to the project.

If Web Team resource is required this will be provided at no cost to the project.

In 2013, the maintenance charge will adjust to £40k p.a.

b) Human

i. Project Board

It expected that there will be a maximum of six Project Board meetings over the life of the project including the final post implementation review meeting. The time commitment is estimated at half a day per meeting, allowing for review of papers.

ii. Project Team

The Project Team will be involved throughout project planning, delivery and implementation.

They will:16

Position Name Service/CollegeChair Simon Wright Head of Student ServicesInternational Office Robin Rhodes International OfficerPost graduate Studies Dr Jonathan Barry Dean of Taught ProgrammesColleges Roz Pardee Assistant College Manager, College of

HumanitiesMarketing Stuart Franklin Director of Communication & MarketingAdmissions Ian Blenkharn Head of AdmissionsProject Manager Katherine Charman Senior Project Manager

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Represent the interests of their Service or College

Act as the point of contact between the Project and their Service or College and disseminate information on project plans and progress as appropriate.

Be responsible for delivery of work packages within the project as appropriate (work packages, and detailed role descriptions and resource estimates to be defined during phase 2 current state review).

Additional staff are likely to be seconded to the project as required at appropriate stages.

The table below provided initial, order of magnitude estimates for the resource required. Resource requirements will vary during each phase of the project. Work packages and detailed resource estimates will be developed as each stage of the project progresses.

Additional resource, over and above that identified below, will be needed from the Admissions and Marketing teams.

Project Role Name Days required or % of time

Duration (wks)

Commitment agreed?

Project Manager Katherine Charman 80% 50 Y

Admissions

International Office

MarketingPost Graduate GuildStudent FinanceColleges Business School

CEMPS Humanities

Life and environmental sciences

SSISTremoughBISS – SITS expert

AccommodationWeb Team

Sally Rutterford

Robin Rhodes

Nicola SinclairGary McLachlanTracy Banks

Helen Freeman & Jane KnoxLiz RobertsMorwenna Hussey &, Gemma WigginsFiona Neligan

Emma ReeveJo ThackerIan Lee / Bernice James

Helen WhyteRob Mitchell

10%

5%

10%5%5%

5%

5%

5%5%

5%5%

25%

5%5%

50

40

504040

40

40

4040

404040

4040

YYYYYYYYY

YY

YYYYYY

YY

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8. Managing the projectThe project will be managed according to the University of Exeter’s agreed project management standards.

Modernization fund reporting focused on spend and the delivery of outputs, a crucial one being efficiency savings achieved or to be achieved.

All project-related documentation will be held on the project website at ?link to be added here?.

a) Change Control

The standard University change controls will be exercised, with change requests presented to the Project Board for consideration and decision. Given the time constraint and the danger of scope creep, care will be taken to minimize the number of change requests that are accepted.

All change requests that are presented to the Board will be published on the project website.

b) Project logs

Project logs containing risks, issues and actions have been created and will be maintained throughout the project – the emphasis will be on ensuring that none of the risks that are recognized become issues that need to be overcome. The latest copy will be held on the project website.

c) Communications

Given the wide impact of the project, it is imperative that active communications are maintained both during and after the implementation.

i. Stakeholder Analysis

A stakeholder analysis will be created which will inform the communications plan and actions. A copy will be held on the project website.

ii. Communications Plan

A communications plan will be developed and actioned throughout the implementation and beyond. A copy will be held on the project website.

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9. Project ClosureThe project will be closed when all phases of the project have been delivered.

a) Procedure

At the end of the project the Project Manager will survey stakeholders to determine their views on the way the project was conducted and use the results to inform the “lessons learned” section in the Project Closure report. The Closure report will be presented to the Project Board together with the request to close the project.

b) Acceptance into Operational Service (AiOS)

The AiOS template will be completed and signed off as part of the project closure phase. This document will be presented to the Project Board as evidence that the implementation is complete.

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