ITS Projects

Information Technology Services

ITS Projects Procedure

Purpose:

These procedures define protocols required to request, evaluate, prioritize, and implement information technology projects. The goal of East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Information Technology Services (ITS) is to prioritize projects and ensure alignment with the University’s strategic goals and initiatives. Therefore, ITS has established these procedures to route projects through the appropriate governance process.

Statement:

The ETSU ITS project manager is responsible for the organization of all IT project requests, including gathering the necessary information to appropriately evaluate and size project proposals, as well as determining project timelines. These procedures outline the manner in which project requests will be received, sized, evaluated and prioritized, with the decisions being made by the appropriate governance process. Each project will be scored using a scorecard that aligns with the University’s strategic goals. Some projects are routine and need no clarification or input from departments or the university as a whole, while others are complex and require more planning and attention to detail. ITS leadership will review new projects each Friday morning to determine the approval path for each project. These will be routed to project management for implementation. Tier 1 projects may need clarification or discussion with the requesting department or unit, Tier 2 will need consideration by the appropriate ITC subcommittee, and Tier 3 will need to be reviewed by ITC prior to implementation. The Chief Information Officer will take Tier 4 projects to the President’s Cabinet meeting for discussion if needed.

Terms:

ITS Project Request Project requests must be submitted via the ITS Project Request form.
Project Once a Request is evaluated, sized, prioritized, and approved, a project is created in the ITS PPM system to track and manage through to project completion. Within a defined time period, this endeavor creates a tangible product, service, or result.
Request Once a project request is submitted, a Request is created in the ITS Project Portfolio Management (PPM) system indicating a potential upcoming project.

Procedure

  1. ITS Project Request

    1. To initiate a formal ITS Project Request, submit the request via the ITS Project Request form. Service - Standard Project Request (teamdynamix.com)
    2. Project requests must include a detailed justification and be in alignment with the University’s strategic goals as referenced at this link: Strategic Plan (雷火体育.edu)
    3. Project requests must have the support of the functional area’s leadership.
    4. Project requests which require procurement of additional hardware, software, and other materials should have funding allocated prior to submitting the request.
    5. The project request form has the capability to attach any relevant documentation when submitting the form.
    6. Submission of the project request form automatically creates a “Request” in the ITS PPM system.

  2. Request Evaluation

    1. ITS Information Security is required by Tennessee State Audit to complete a security review on all software purchased and implemented by ETSU. Security review and approval is required for the “Request” to be moved to the next step.
    2. ITS project manager will review and evaluate project requests, ITS staff may discuss the request with the requestor to gather any necessary details in order to provide a preliminary, high-level estimate in terms of effort (hours) and duration, as well as any estimated costs.
    3. The ITS Senior Staff and PMO review will not occur until the initial high-level estimate is completed by ITS staff and included with the details of the “Request.”
    4. Any project request with required estimates and details will be marked as “Qualified” and await the next steps in the approval process.

  3. ITS Project Request

    1. During the Request Evaluation, if the request fits within the below exceptions, the project is marked Approved and a Project is created in the ITS PPM system for project management and tracking purposes.
    2. If the request is not within the list of approved exceptions, the Request remains as Qualified and will await the next ITS meeting for discussion, evaluation, and approval/rejection.
    3. If approved by the ITS, a project will be created and ITS staff will initiate discussions with the requestor regarding the pending project. This will include a mutually agreed-upon project plan with necessary task details and commitments from both ITS and the requestor/functional team(s). Failure to complete agreed-upon tasks on time could affect the deliverables and the subsequent planned end date of the project.
    4. Some projects will require review from the units or schools and will be sent to the appropriate chair or dean for review.
    5. Some projects will require review from an ITC subcommittee and will be sent to the chairs of the appropriate subcommittee for review. Other projects may require review by ITC and will be taken under consideration at the monthly ITC meeting.
    6. Projects may be rejected by the ITC In this case, the ITS PMO will communicate the decision back to the requestor with any detail provided by the ITC regarding the decision.
    7. If a high-priority and/or urgent request is approved by ITS, it might lead to certain ongoing projects being put on hold or canceled. In this case, the CIO will take the project request to the President’s Cabinet for review.

  4. Exceptions

These procedures apply to all project requests submitted to ITS. All projects will be evaluated and prioritized by the escalation flow described in these procedures with consideration for current project workload, urgency of project requests, ITS resource capacity, and alignment of the project request(s) with University goals and initiatives. As detailed in this document, there are certain project requests that will be exempt from the full evaluation process (standard exceptions or emergency requests).

    1. Standard Exceptions
      1. Projects based on university-level RFP/Solicitation (e.g. Learning Management System (LMS), Request for Proposal (RFP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), etc.)
      2. Construction/Renovation projects with ITS components
      3. ITS Hardware life-cycle replacement including servers, desktop (PODS) equipment, network equipment, telecommunications equipment, security infrastructure
      4. Online marketing campaigns
    2. Emergency Requests
      1. Security threats
      2. Federal requirements
      3. State requirements

Effective Date: 1/20/2023