it governance guide v1.2

7/31/2019 It Governance Guide v1.2

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IT PROJECT GOVERNANCEGUIDE

P1133-ITGG-NNA

V1.2 04/24/06

UCLA Office of Information Technology


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 IT GOVERNANCE OVERVIEW...............................................................................................1

1.1 STEP 1-PROJECT IDENTIFICATION..........................................................................................1 1.2 STEP 2-PROJECT CLASSIFICATION........................................................................................2 1.3 STEP 3ITPROJECT PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT .....................................................................3 1.4 STEPS 4-5ITPROJECT GOVERNANCE CONFIGURATION ........................................................ 3

2 PROJECT CLASSIFICATION WORKSHEET ....................................................................... 4

3

GOVERNANCE PROCESS TRIGGERS .................................................................................. 7

4 IT GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS MATRIX.................................................................. 8

5 IT GOVERNANCE PROCESS FRAMEWORK ...................................................................... 9

6 IT GOVERNANCE PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM............................................................... 10


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REVISION HISTORY

03/09/2006 Version 1.0 First Draft03/23/2006 Version 1.1 Second Draft

04/24/2006 Version 1.2 Third Draft


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1 IT GOVERNANCE OVERVIEWThis document provides an overview of the IT Project Governance process at UCLA. IT Governancecomprises of the leadership, organizational structures, and processes to ensure that UCLAs IT

capabilities continue to sustain and extend its strategies and objectives.

The UCLA IT Governance structure specifies the decision rights and accountability framework to

encourage desirable behavior in using IT to further the Universitys mission. This desirable behavior is

characterized by:

Integration of IT strategic planning with campus strategic planning Appropriate accountability for IT initiatives Transparency - IT plans and investments are made visible beyond their origination point

(subject to the application of some defined thresholds).

Adoption of a broad campus-wide view A willingness to share and use IT best practices across the UCLA community Entrepreneurial spirit and creativity in applying IT Participants understanding the value of the governance process and actively participating in it

The overall IT Project governance process flow is shown in Figure 1. A larger version of this diagram

may be found on page 10 of this guide. The overall process is broken down in six major steps and

these are described in broad terms in this section. The remaining sections of this document provide

more specific guidance on certain key aspects of the governance process.


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A major source of information for this step is the identification of such projects through the annual

campus strategic planning process. In addition, some projects may arise on an ad hoc basis in response

to emergent needs. It is neither necessary nor practical for all IT Projects to pass through the entire ITGovernance Process described in this guide. The intent of the governance process is to apply good

judgment and to focus attention and resources only on those projects that truly require it and that have

the greatest impact on the campus.

The primary means of making this judgment is human interaction. Thus this process step requires

dialog and discussion between OIT, ITMG and other stakeholders to make an initial assessment on

what projects to pass through the process and what projects to filter out.

Key questions asked at this stage are:

Does project need outside funding? How is project aligned with strategic direction? What is the project motivation (is there a legal mandate?) What is the end user impact of the project? Is there a reason to fast track the project? Will the project be controversial?

Based on this initial assessment some projects will move on through the process to Step 2 for further

governance consideration, some will be deemed to not require any further IT Governance, and some

will be fast tracked through the process.

It is important to note that this step does notconstitute the official approval of a project, it simply

decides if a project should move through a more rigorous governance process. Project approvals

remain with the Executive Sponsors of an IT project.

1.2 Step 2 - Project ClassificationA one to two page Project Bio is created by OIT for every project that enters this process step. The

Project Bio is compiled through discussions with the Project Sponsor and the Project Manager. The

Project Bio is a brief synopsis of the purpose and scope of the intended project. It captures the basic

data that is required to classify the project for governance purposes.

Project classification is an integral part of the governance process. The purpose of project

classification is threefold:

1. Clearly and objectively identify projects that are likely to have a major impact on the campus.2. Enable the IT Governance process to be scaled appropriately to the magnitude and impact of a

particular IT project.

3. Aid in IT risk management.By dividing IT projects in this way the 80/20 principle can be employed to apply a more flexible


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Project Management Complexity IT Solution Complexity Deployment Complexity

These questions should be answered in a project classification meeting between the Project Manager,

the Project Sponsor and an OIT director (with other participants as required). As a guideline this

meeting should require no more than one hour. Although the worksheet uses a simple scoring

mechanism to encourage discussion, the classification process should not be an empirical exercise.

The worksheet is intended as an aid and guide for the project classification discussion. Ultimately the

combined knowledge and experience of the participants should determine the appropriate Project

Class that makes sense. The resultant project classification is then used to steer the project through thegovernance process.

Class 1 Projects are considered to be low risk and do not need to continue any further in the

governance process. They can therefore proceed normally.

Class 2-5 Projects move on to Step 3.

1.3 Step 3 IT Project Portfolio ManagementProject Classes 2-5 are added to the Campus IT Portfolio. The Campus IT Portfolio is a strategicinventory of IT project information maintained by OIT for planning and IT Governance purposes.

Although individual projects in the IT Portfolio may be managed by specific divisions, the IT Portfolio

provides overall visibility to Executive leadership of the key IT investments the campus isundertaking.

Class 2 projects are simply recorded in the IT Portfolio for general information and monitoring

purposes. No further IT Governance is required for this class of project beyond the normal

accountability and responsibility of the unit or division that is sponsoring the project. Status

information on Class 3-5 projects is updated by OIT as the projects progress through their life cycle.

1.4 Steps 4-5 IT Project Governance ConfigurationAs mentioned earlier, project classification is used to scale the governance process appropriately for

the project at hand. In steps 4-5 a specific governance path is determined for the project. This

governance configuration is determined by key triggers or characteristics of each project (Page 7).

For example, if in the classification process the IT solution complexity of a project is considered to be

high (H) or Very High (V) this will trigger the need for a Technical Assessment by OIT/CSG. If the

end user scope of impact is deemed to be High (H) then the project should be reviewed by OIT/ITPBfor alignment with campus direction & policy.

OIT will then use this governance configuration to steer the process through the appropriate IT

governance path in terms of committees, review, endorsement and executive approvals.


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2 PROJECT CLASSIFICATION WORKSHEET

The Project Classification Worksheet is designed to be used within the UCLA IT Governance process.It is a tool to encourage a frank and open discussion of the potential impact of a planned IT project on

the campus and how that project might be properly routed through the IT Governance process.

Risk Factor Descriptions/Questions

PROJECT MANAGEMENT COMPLEXITY

1. Team Size (# of people)

Total number of project team members who will be developing the solution, excluding the

Project Manager.

2. # of Units Involved

Total number of distinct organizational units within or outside UCLA that must be managed


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IT SOLUTION COMPLEXITY

5. Technology/Technique/Process

What is the knowledge, skills and expertise of the project team in employing the chosen

technologies, techniques, methods and processes to be used on the project?

6. Product Maturity (If purchased)

If software packages or commercial software products are to be included the solution, what is

the general maturity of these products and their usage within other institutions of higher

education?

7. Solution Complexity

What is the level of technical complexity of the solution?

8. System Interface Profile

What is the complexity of the required system interfaces for the solution in terms of the

number software interfaces that need to be developed?

9. IT Architectural Impact

What is the architectural impact of the solution in terms of how it will fit with IT Architectural

standards (data, applications and technology), and coexist and integrate with other

applications?

10. Maintainability

What is the degree of complexity of maintaining the application in terms of the level of

technical skills required and the specific availability of those skills to UCLA?

DEPLOYMENT COMPLEXITY

11. Process ImpactWhat is the implementation scope, boundaries and expected degree of change on academic or

administrative processes?

12. End User scope of impact

What is the implementation impact in terms of the range and types of campus personnel

affected?

13. Project Profile

What is the degree of acceptance and readiness level of the affected user constituency for the

solution?

14. Project Motivation

To what degree is the project being driven by an external mandate from the Federal, State or

UCOP level?


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Project Class

The assigned project class (High 5 to Low 1) based on overall scoring and the group

discussion.


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3 GOVERNANCE PROCESS TRIGGERSThe Governance Process Triggers worksheet below maps the results of project classification (Risk

Factor ratings) against the recommended Governance Actions that need to be taken. The entries in theProcess Steps column are cross references to the IT Process Governance Framework Diagram on

page 9.


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4 IT GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS MATRIXThe IT Governance Arrangements Matrix below describes who is empowered to make decisions about

specific aspects of IT Projects.

The matrix maps the decision rights of the various Governance Entities (Committees, Stakeholders

and IT groups) against a set of mutually exclusive IT Governance Decision Domains1. The IT

Governance Decision Domains serve to separate project IT decisions into categories for Strategic

Direction and Policy, Application Needs, common IT Infrastructure needs and IT Investments.

Figure 2 IT Governance Arrangements Matrix

Descriptions of the Governance Entities may be found on the OIT website

(http://www.oit.ucla.edu/it_governance.htm).


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5 IT GOVERNANCE PROCESS FRAMEWORKThe IT Governance Process framework graphically illustrates the reviews, approvals and

endorsements that may be applied to projects. Not all projects go through all steps; the specific pathtaken will be determined by the Governance Triggers analysis (Page 7).


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6 IT GOVERNANCE PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM


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it governance guide v1.2

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