Affordable Academy
by Justine Brown
Does better project
management really increase the chances an IT project will succeed? The state of Virginia
U.S.A. intends to prove that, done right, it does.
In 2000, several U.S. jurisdictions, including Arizona, Kansas, and Michigan began rolling out their own project management training programs.
These efforts came partly in response to surveys showing that an average of six
out of 10 IT projects were over budget, behind schedule, or failed altogether.
In today's economy and treacherous technology arena, this is suicide.
Those jurisdictions soon found out project management programs weren't as simple as
they anticipated. Setup proved to be expensive and time-intensive, requiring
jurisdictions to impose a disciplined methodology on project preplanning,
planning, design and development. These programs also needed to be led by an
experienced -- and expensive -- project manager. As a result, some project
management initiatives ran over budget and failed to accomplish their
objectives.
Virginia officials were convinced better project management could increase IT
project success. But taking a lesson from the struggles of other jurisdictions,
the commonwealth decided to take a different approach.
A New Approach
In 2000, then-Secretary of Technology Donald Upson brought in a veteran
of several major IT projects for the federal government, Twyla Garrett, who had
launched her own project management consultancy earlier that year.
Garrett was placed in the Virginia Department of Public Safety, which had $800
million in IT initiatives in the works. She quickly discovered the agency had no
project management methodology.
"They didn't have any foundation in project management, and they hadn't
taken on anything large scale before," said Garrett. "Large scale to
them was $5 million, and they were about to embark on a $100 million project. I
wanted to develop a project-management framework and methodology they could
implement and a risk-management process they could utilize."
Garrett began by addressing the department's Chief Information Officers (CIOs).
The department consists of 11 agencies, each with its own CIO. Before Garrett
came aboard, these officials had never formally worked together; some had never
even met each other. Garrett immediately launched a CIO Steering Committee,
where she discovered the CIOs weren't speaking the same language when it came to
project management.
"The first thing we did was implement a glossary of common terms," she
said. "We then sat everyone down and told them that in the next year we'd
like to have everyone talking the same language."
Garrett recommended creating a project management academy to help begin the
process and to implement common project-management methodologies. "Up to
that point, we hadn't put forth a lot of standards. We had great goals, but
agencies didn't have a chance to meet those goals because they didn't have the
proper tools," she said. "They had nothing to say, 'I can obtain that
goal because I know what it takes to get there.' We needed to give people the
tools ? if they have the tools, then you can hold them accountable and judge
whether they have passed or failed."
Although the idea was appealing, Virginia was in the midst of a budget crisis,
and some of the first programs cut involved training and technology. But Garrett
was determined. "I asked them if I thought of something creative and cost
effective if they would let me do it. They agreed, so it was then up to me to
figure out how."
Most other jurisdictions relied on private companies to supply project
management training, often at a cost of $600 to $1,000 per student per course.
Garrett knew that simply wouldn't fly in Virginia, so her solution was to secure
discounted pricing for classes. Instead of negotiating on a per-student basis,
Garrett negotiated lump sums. "I'd say 'I need a favor -- I need you to
come in and train, but I only have $5,000. Can you do it?' The big companies all
turned me down -- it wasn't enough money for them."
However, Garrett found many of the smaller firms were willing to work with her.
Using small training companies like IT Solutions, Professional Services, and
Technically Speaking, Garrett was able to launch a Project Management Academy
last November.
First Steps
The first class offered at Virginia's Project Management Academy was
Negotiations. "Four of our major projects were in negotiations with vendors
and none of our people had the skill sets to negotiate," Garrett said.
"Therefore, I decided the first class we needed was a negotiations class.
We rearranged the schedule and the curriculum so we could start with
negotiations and come back to project management."
Project management classes are now held three days a week, with a total of 14
classes making up the academy. Once a student completes all 14 classes, he or
she receives a certificate from Virginia's secretary of public safety.
Anyone involved in managing one of nine IT projects over $1 million currently
under way in Virginia is required to attend the academy. In addition, all eleven
public safety CIOs must attend. As Garrett explained, the CIOs don't necessarily
need the training, but having them there gives their employees a sense of
support.
"A lot of employees are afraid to report anything because they aren't sure
how their CIO is going to take it," said Garrett. "When their CIO is
sitting next to them in class, they find out they don't know everything either.
People are now more open and there is a huge information exchange that has never
occurred before."
Most Effective Communication
Dee Pisciella, CIO for Virginia's Department of Corrections, is
currently enrolled in the Project Management Academy. "It brings the public
safety agencies under a similar system of handling IT projects. CIOs meet
frequently and share experiences and resources with each other. If you are all
working on the same, standardized process, it becomes a much more effective
communication and support effort," Pisciella said. "I think the end
result will be the commonwealth will save considerable money and produce more
and more successful technology projects."
According to Garrett, the commonwealth already has saved between $5 million and
$7 million by leveraging its purchasing, practicing knowledge management,
selecting and controlling investments, and implementing project management
techniques.
But Garrett sees the overall goal of the academy as more than saving money. She
wants to prove that a state can take control of its own project management
training and come out on top.
"We want to be more accountable and more sound in our judgment and
selection of projects," she said. "We want project managers and CIOs
to look at what they are taking on and make sure they weigh it against the
status quo. What are the benefits? What is the increased functionality? And
then, of course, we want them to make the right decision."
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