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Bridgewater State University

Information Technology

Project Management Office

Monthly Report

March 2018

PMO Monthly Report – March 2018

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 3

Purpose ..................................................................................................................................................... 3

Highlights ................................................................................................................................................... 3

Looking Ahead ........................................................................................................................................... 4

FY17 Project Portfolio ................................................................................................................................... 4

Health and Phase of Current Projects ........................................................................................................... 8

Total Time Investment by Project.................................................................................................................. 9

Time Distribution by Project ........................................................................................................................ 10

Time Distribution by Person ........................................................................................................................ 11

Run Grow Transform Report ....................................................................................................................... 12

Project Work by IT Department……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………… . 13

Monthly Project Works Totals……………………………………………………………………………………………….……..………….14

Project Volume and Status……………………………………………………………………………………………..…….…….…………..15

Annual Project Effort Totals……………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….………16


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Executive Summary

PURPOSE

The PMO Monthly Report contains a wealth information about the status of Information

Technology projects currently managed by the IT Project Management Office. The PMO Monthly

report is a collection of point in time reports designed to provide the reader with a clear overview

of the status of all Information Technology projects.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Information Technology Project Management Office manages the 40 projects that comprise

the 2017-2018 IT Projects Portfolio. Thirty three of these projects were new projects that were

approved in the FY18 Project Request Cycle. The other projects were holdovers from FY17. The

team has completed 14 of the FY18 projects through February with a few more projects scheduled

to close before the end of March.

During the month of March 2018, Information Technology staff invested over 1452 total hours on

project work. The March 2018 total of 1452 hours is slightly above our thirteen month rolling

average of 1445 hours of project work, however it well below of our March 2017 total of 1874

hours of project work.

Notable achievements in the IT Project Management Office for the month of March 2018 include:

The Student Education Planner (SEP) with Degree Works project went live on Friday

March 9th. The implementation of SEP will allow students more control over their pathway to

degree completion.

The Blackboard Transaction System Upgrade project went live on Friday March 9th. This

project includes provisioning new virtual application and database servers running Server

2012R2 and upgrading BBTS to the latest supported version.

The Applications Upgrade FY18/19 project kicked off on March 23rd. This is the annual

applications upgrade project to keep versions current on all enterprise applications

administered by Information Technology. This year this project is laying the groundwork for

an upgrade from Banner 8 to Banner 9.

The Police Communications Upgrade project closed on March 30th. This project updated

existing outdated communication equipment that ensures the safety of our officers and the

ability to communicate with various public safety agencies in the event of an on campus

emergency.


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The Security Camera Repurposing project closed on March 30th. This project replaced all

exterior and interior cameras with the police station using cameras that were previously

positioned at the closed Children’s Center.

LOOKING AHEAD

The month of April 2018 again promises to be a very busy month for the IT Project Management

Office and the Information Technology Division in general. During the month of April several

projects will be winding down and many other new projects for FY18 will begin to take shape.

Some significant milestones on the horizon for the month of April 2018 should include:

The Commencement Ticketing project will go live on April 2nd. The implementation of the

new ticketing system will provide an opportunity for students to receive their commencement

tickets at their convenience as well as reduce the administrative needs around distributing

tickets to 2,000 students.

The Registration Readiness project will go live on Friday April 13th. This project will improve

the reliability of the registration performance by using advanced analytics and reporting to

ensure that the registration system can handle target peak loads.

The Classroom Upgrade FY18 project will close by April 18th. This project will refresh audio

visual equipment that is five years and older and install new Extron switches and full size

teaching stations in selected classrooms.

The Web Search 2.0 project will kick off by April 27th. This project will replace the Google

Search Appliances which provide federated search capability to the main BSU website,

intranet, and other connected websites.

FY18 PROJECT PORTFOLIO

The graphic on the next page shows the status of the 43 FY18 portfolio projects that are currently

underway and managed by the IT Project Management Office (PMO) during the month of March

2018. Twelve of these projects are carry over projects from the FY17 project portfolio. Brief

descriptions of each project are contained on pages six and seven of the report.

In this graphic the color of the bar represents the project status. Blue projects are initiating (with

no charter yet), green projects are underway and progressing according to plan/schedule, and

yellow projects are underway but currently have some schedule, scope, or cost risk associated

with them. Red project status indicates a project that has violated constraints and requires

significant corrective action. The length of the bar depicts the planned duration of the project and

the shaded region within the bar represent the % complete as a factor of the project duration.

Project manager and percent complete are also listed.


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FY18 Project Portfolio Application Virtualization Pilot

Provide a new innovative way for

faculty, staff, and students to access

academic and business applications

used on campus. Application

Virtualization will allow any user to

“stream” the application through a

web browser at any time and on any

device.

Applications Upgrade FY17/FY18

Annual applications upgrade project

to keep versions current on all

enterprise applications administered

by IT. The goal of this project is to

keep applications current in order to

take advantage of the enhanced

functionality being released to assist

with business processing.

Banner 9 Student Profile and

Faculty Grading Modules

Begin the transition to some Banner

XE modules, specifically the Student

Profile and Faculty Grading

modules. The student profile

delivers photo rosters as well as

preferred name on class rosters.

Faculty grading delivers all rosters on

one page (midterm, final etc.) which

will be extremely beneficial to faculty.

Blackboard Transaction System

Upgrade

Upgrade Blackboard Transaction

System (BBTS) to the latest

supported version. The current BBTS

environment is a mix of physical and

virtual servers running Server 2008

R2 with the database server running

Oracle 11.2. This project includes

provisioning new virtual application

and database servers running Server

2012R2 and upgrading BBTS to the

latest supported version.

BSU Mobile 3.0

The 3.0 upgrade to the BSU Mobile

app will include adding some

exciting new features as well as

removing some little-used features

based on student focus group

findings, survey results, user analytics

and other student feedback.

Cameras for BSU Police Station

Replace all exterior and interior

cameras with the police station using

cameras that were previously

positioned at the closed Children’s

Center.

Classroom Upgrade FY18 Project

The Classroom Upgrade project will

refresh audio visual equipment that

is five years and older and install new

Extron switches and full size teaching

stations in selected classrooms.

Commencement Ticketing

Implement software that will provide

an opportunity for students to

receive their commencement tickets

on their time as well as reduce the

administrative needs around

distributing tickets to 2,000 students.

Common Application Projects –

Discovery and Implementation

Explore the viability of adding the

Common Application to the

Enrollment Management process,

including the overall costs and the

projected timeline for

implementation.

Contact Center Solution for Help

Desk

Implement a Contact Center Solution

for use at the IT Service Center to

allow for better metrics, routing of

calls, call monitoring/recording, etc.

eProcurement Solution

Procure, through an RFP process,

install and implement an electronic

procurement cloud based software

system.

Emergency Notification

Improvements

The Alertus Desktop emergency

notification system will add another

mode of emergency communication

to improve safety across the

Bridgewater State University

community

Employee Onboarding & Identity

Mgmt.

Implement a new employee

onboarding system that enhances

the onboarding experience of all new

employees to campus.

Guest Pass Tracker Upgrade

Enhance and modernize current

guest registration software and

process with upgraded software

available from Adirondack.

Hart 213 classroom Redesign

Redesign the Hart 213 classroom

space with cutting edge furniture

and technology that can help inform

future classroom design.

Improving Access 2.0

Continued updates to bridgew.edu

to include updated College and

Department page content, a hosted

Maxwell Library site and revised

home page content. Make

Arts.Bridgew and microsites mobile

responsive.

Improving IT Business Continuity

Phase II

Continue improving BSU’s posture by

leveraging cloud service offerings

and by refining and expanding our IT

Disaster Recovery and Business

Continuity Plan. Also includes

specific disaster recovery test to

ensure our processes and

technologies work as expected.

Improving Service Management

This project is aimed at developing a

service based organization within IT

will also Implementing the Team

Dynamix system to replace the

existing Footprints ticketing system.

Information Security

Improvements FY18

Continue improving the overall

security posture at BSU through

advances in technology, processes,

and training as required by

Massachusetts 201 CMR 17.00.


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Intranet Home Page Redesign

Include a review and redesign of the

BSUIntranet home page

my.bridgew.edu.

IT New Semester Initiation

Fall 2017 and Fall 2018

This project organizes the IT work

conducted over the summer months

prepping for this “grand opening”,

setting the stage for a successful

teaching, learning, and business experience possible for all campus constituents. Meeting Space Upgrades FY18

The BSU Information Technology

Division annually endeavors to

update the technology in a defined

set of meeting spaces that have been

identified to be in need of improved

technology.

Network Infrastructure Upgrade

Procure, configure, and install all new

network infrastructure hardware

within the administrative buildings

and residence halls on

campus. While some network

hardware has been replaced over the

years, the majority of the network

infrastructure is over twelve years old

and needs to be replaced.

Office 365 Phase II

Enable the University to leverage its

investment in O365 and to reap the

rewards of improved collaboration

and communication.

Online Transfer Transitions

Program

Bridgewater State University, in

partnership with Bristol, Cape Cod

and Massasoit Community College,

agreed to design a seamless pathway

for community college transfer

students to gain access to

Bridgewater.

Oracle 12c Upgrade

This project his project will keep

Bridgewater State University in line

with the latest release from Oracle,

prevent the need for additional

funding to extend support for the

existing database, 11Gr2, and

promote better performance,

increased scalability and easier data

management.

Police Communications System

Upgrade

BSUPD must replace its obsolete, 20-

year-old system in order to retain

communications capability with

neighboring police agencies. Update

existing outdated communication

equipment that ensures the safety of

our officers and the ability to

communicate with various public

safety agencies in the event of an on

campus emergency.

Raiser’s Edge NXT Implementation

Transition the University

Advancement fundraising and

relationship management database

from its current system, Blackbaud’s

Raiser’s Edge, to Blackbaud’s Raiser’s

Edge NXT, a comprehensive, cloud-

based solution.

Rec Center Web Integration

Integrate Rec Center Web with

TouchNet, Blackboard and Banner.

This integration will allow the

software to read connect card

information for valid BSU students

and staff.

Science on a Sphere

Science on a Sphere is a room sized,

global display system that uses

computers and video projectors to

display planetary data onto a four

foot diameter sphere, analogous to a

giant animated globe.

Self-service Enrollment

Verification

Provide students the ability to print

enrollment verifications “on-

demand” without having to come to

or contact the Registrar’s Office. By

streamlining this process, students

will benefit from instant access to

information they need 24/7/365.

Server 2003 Upgrade Project

This project is to provision new

virtual servers running Server 2012R2

and decommission all legacy 2003

servers.

Smart Parking

Design and implement an innovative

new parking availability solution for

commuter students through the BSU

Mobile App.

Strategic Goals Dashboard 2.0

Enhance the newly designed

Strategic Goals dashboard with

additional data elements.

Student Accounts Receivable

Reduction

Student billing system changes to be

implemented over the next five

semesters. Changes involve

modifications to InfoBear, email, Title

IV marketing, single login capability,

and reporting.

Student Education Planner (SEP)

with DegreeWorks

Implementation of the SEP to allow

students more control over their

pathway to degree completion.

TouchNet Marketplace Point of

Sale

Implement TouchNet Marketplace

POS with departments across

campus that take cash payments. By

reducing cash payments across

campus, the University is lowering its

overall risk.

Windows 10

This project is to prepare the

University for the adoption of the

Windows 10 operating system.

Xfinity of Campus

Implement Comcast Xfinity on

Campus (XOC), a digital content

streaming service, within the

residence halls. Includes network

configuration changes to enable the

XOC service


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Health and Phase of Current Projects

The pie charts below depict the health and project phase of the 29 projects currently underway

and being managed by the Information Technology Project Management Office.

The project health chart on the left shows:

6 blue projects (new – project discovery started or scheduled to start),

18 green projects (projects progressing according to plan),

1 yellow projects (projects underway with issues), and

4 grey projects (on hold).

The project phase chart on the right shows current project phase with:

3 red (Project Planning Phase),

9 yellow (Project Initiating Phase),

16 blue (Project Executing Phase), and

1 dark blue (Project Closing Phase)

These statuses and project phases change from time to time throughout the month as project

progress through their lifecycle. What we see in the charts is the state of project status and

project health at the end of the month on March 31, 2018.


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Total Time Investment by Project

This chart below shows the total time investment (since inception) in the top projects currently

underway during the month of March 2018. This is data taken directly from Team Dynamix time

reporting, so the time investment of other project team members from outside of the Information

Technology Division is not reflected in these totals.

We can see from this chart that the Employee Onboarding project is the most significant resource

draw as that project is now over 1440 hours as we wind down with post implementation support.

The Classroom Upgrades project is also winding down with 1319 hours. The Smart Parking project

continues to roll on past the 1184 hour mark. Many of the other projects listed here are still in

their early stages.


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Monthly Time Distribution Report by Project

This chart shows the total time investment for projects exclusively during the month of March

2018. Thirty-one separate projects recorded some amount of time during the month. However,

some of these projects are just getting off the ground in the initiation phase. The largest amount

of time spent last month was on the Network Infrastructure Upgrade project with 155 hours. The

Improving IT Business Continuity Phase II, Registration Readiness and Employee Onboarding

Projects added another couple hundred hours a piece.


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Monthly Time Distribution Report by Person

This chart shows the individual Information Technology staff members who contributed the most

significant amounts of time to project work during the month of March 2018. The March 2018

totals show significant effort spent on project work by all of the project managers in the PMO as

many projects are in the initiation phase where much of the work is accomplished by the PM.

Various members of the Systems and Administrative Systems were also busy during March, much

of which can be attributed to work on the Employee Onboarding and Identity Management,

Applications Upgrade FY18/19 and Registration Readiness Projects.


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Run Grow Transform Report for March 2018

The Run Grow Transform numbers for the month of March 2018 continues to show a strong

commitment to project work. The March totals were 21 percent for project work (Grow, Transform)

and 79 percent for operational support (Run). The 21 percent project work was divided between

12 percent Operational (Grow) and 9 percent Strategic (Transform). The overall annual totals for

calendar year 2018 of 81 percent Run, 9 percent Grow, and 10 percent Transform compares

favorably to the reported totals from our peer institutions.

Our peer institutions report an 18% annual output of project work. The BSU Information

Technology Division was able to increase the overall percentage of project work from 13% in 2015

to over 17% in 2016 and finally to 19% in 2017. The goal of the IT Project Management Office

was to reach the 20% threshold for the 2017 calendar year. However, we fell slightly short of the

20 percent mark due to weaker than expected output the final two months of the year for 2017.

The first quarter of 2018 is showing a strong positive indicator to the overall percentage of project

work.


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Project Work by IT Department

This chart shows how the various departments within the Information Technology Division

contributed time toward project work during the month of March 2018. The Project Management

Office led the way with over 370 hours of project work much of which was devoted to initiating a

wide range of new projects. The Systems and Administrative Systems departments each had

strong showings, each spending over 200 hours on project work during the month of March.


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Monthly Project Work Totals

This chart shows the total hours invested in project work by Information Technology staff over the

past thirteen months. This chart allows us to see the variation in the volume of project work over

the entire year and allows us to compare similar times from year to year.

The March 2018 total of 1452 hours is just above our thirteen-month rolling average of 1445

hours of project work. However, the total is well below the March 2017 total of 1874 hours of

project work.


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Project Volume and Status

This chart shows the amount of projects and their status for the past eleven months. This chart

shows a steady volume of eighteen to twenty projects thru the first half of the year and then a

significant spike in project volume beginning in August 2017. That August spike reflects the point

in time when the PMO began tracking the new projects that were approved in the FY18 project

request process. We can see from the chart we had many project carry over from FY17 and many

more projects that have not yet started for FY18.


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Annual Project Effort Totals

This chart shows the total hours invested in project work by Information Technology staff over the

past six years. This chart allows us to see the total volume of project work for an entire year and

allows us to compare totals year to year.

The chart shows a fairly consistent upward trajectory in total project work from year to year. The

2017 total of 16,936 total hours easily eclipsed our 14,501 total volume for the entire 2016

calendar year. This represents an impressive 16% annual increase in project work, however we

did fall slightly short of our goal of exceeding the 17,000 hour threshold.

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