The successful development, implementation, and operation of systems require close coordination and partnership between all the project team members. Teamwork is essential for delivery of a quality system on time and within budget. While the actual structure of project teams will vary from one project to another (larger projects will necessitate more complex project team structures), all projects require, at a minimum, an Executive Sponsor. The Executive Sponsor identifies the priorities and the business needs that define the project. It is up to the project team members themselves to determine how best to organize the team for any particular project. Typical project team roles and responsibilities are described in more detail below.
Note that not every project will require a team with all these positions filled and in some instances, one person may fill more than one role on a project team. In practice, the structure of the project team generally changes over the course of a project as the needs of the project evolve and become more clearly defined.
OIT Project Review Team
The OIT Project Review Team is a group of senior IT staff that reviews each project request submitted to OIT. Normally the Project Review Team is made up of members of the /wiki/spaces/OIT/pages/13763164 but the actual composition of the team may change depending on the number and complexity of incoming projects. The Project Review Team also provides high-level oversight of all OIT projects; determines and regularly reviews the priority of all projects managed by OIT; assigns Project Managers to projects; and prepares regular high-level project summaries for executives and others outside OIT.
Executive Sponsor
The Executive Sponsor is a senior business manager who is responsible for providing the overall business direction for the project. The Executive Sponsor defines and validates functional requirements, makes resources available to support information technology program initiatives, and reviews the progress of IT projects to assure that the functional requirements are being satisfied in a timely and cost-effective manner. The Executive Sponsor must be someone with budget authority over expenditures related to the project. The Executive Sponsor is typically a high-level manager in the department for which the project is being managed.
Project Manager
The Project Manager is responsible for project oversight and guidance and ensures that the project is managed in accordance with sound project life cycle management principles and practices, appropriate PM documents are in place, and appropriate resources to support the project have been allocated. The Project Manager ensures that periodic project assessments are performed at major milestones. The Project Manager meets with the other project team members to discuss project status and leads project meetings. The Project Manager is someone who has experience running projects and managing resources and any qualified person may fill the role.
Functional Manager
The Functional Manager is responsible for coordination of activities within the business unit for which the project is being managed. The Functional Manager meets with the business unit project team regularly and ensures that project timelines and assignments are being completed. The Functional Manager also meets frequently with the Project Manager to discuss project status and also participates in project meetings.
Technical Manager
The Technical Manager is the principal advisor on the effective application of information technology to business needs and will ensure that all information technology projects are developed using adequate staff while applying appropriate methods. It is the Technical Manager’s responsibility to make sure that all technology used in the implementation of the project is approved by OIT and that the resulting systems are secure, sustainable, and maintainable.
Security Manager
The Security Manager is responsible for reviewing all designs and specifications for a project to ensure that the resulting systems meet OIT, UCI, and UC security guidelines. The Security Manager will also contribute to the development of appropriate test and disposition plans.
Quality Assurance Manager
The Quality Assurance (QA) Manager oversees the development of a test plan and for the use of that plan to certify that systems produced over the course of the project meet the design criteria. The QA Manager supervises all component, system, and user acceptance testing and makes sure that the finished product conforms to OIT standards for equipment, development methods, and user interface. The QA Manager also reviews any user documentation to ensure that it is appropriate for the audience and matches the finished product.
Support & Training Manager
The Training Manager is responsible for user guides and other technical and operations documentation developed in support of the project. (The Support & Training Manager is not responsible for documentation relating to the management of the project itself. That is the job of the Project Manager.) The Support & Training Manager develops both a Documentation Plan and a Training Plan and oversees the implementation of those plans. The Support & Training Manager also arranges for any necessary training for users of the systems developed under the project. This can include everything from orientation on new modules for developers to end user training on new features. A final responsibility of the Support & Training Manager is to notify the OIT Help Desk of any changes to documentation, SOP’s, etc. and to make sure Help Desk staff are notified of user training as it is scheduled.
Production Control Manager
The Production Control Manager makes sure all aspects of the project that impact operations are considered. This may include overseeing changes in SOP’s, user documentation, etc. It also includes reviewing all implementation plans to ensure that disruption of normal production schedules is kept to a minimum. Where the impact of a project spans departments, it is the Production Control Manager’s responsibility to contact his or her counterpart in the impacted departments to make sure the production schedules in those departments are considered as well.
Business Analyst/Subject Matter Expert
A Business Analyst or Subject Matter Expert (SME) is anyone who has specialized knowledge that is specific to the project and critical to the successful completion of the project. (An SME is sometimes referred to as a "domain expert.") Depending on the complexity of a project, several Business Analysts and SMEs may be active on, or advising the project team.