GDI helped a government agency found a program management office that led to improved process integration, better project efficiency, early defect identification and a well-managed IT operation.
The Challenge
Client Background
The client was a government agency that provided services for drivers licensing, vehicle registration and plating, elections and organ donor coordination. The hardware, software and support services were provided by another agency.
Project Objective:
The engagement entailed defining a model and framework for the operations of a program management office (PMO) within the agency that provided the technology and support services.
The Solution
Technology Employed:
Serena PVCS, Nant, ITIL Processes and documentation, Visual Studio.
Project Details:
One of the key components of a PMO is configuration management as per ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) processes. GDI was selected by the client for our extensive experience in streamlining and instituting processes using configuration management tools for a PMO. Our background in establishing well-defined and highly evolved processes, along with our ability to respond quickly to changes, were critical factors in the success of this project. A major challenge for GDI was that the client used a large number of diverse systems, hardware and utilities. The conflicting priorities of the customer and support teams were leading to inefficient use of resources and duplication of effort. These also had an unforeseen impact on other systems.
The PMO was expected to provide the information officer and the client services director with comprehensive and consistent information pertaining to:
- Project management and resource utilization
- Program management and operational control practices
- Reliable, metrics-based status reporting
- Timely communication to and from other program, project and enterprise management offices
- Preparation of documentation for all processes
- Recommendations for automated tools to facilitate all the above
Key Responsibilities:
The GDI team used industry best practices and closely collaborated with the client leadership team members in establishing a PMO within the organization. The PMO facilitated stable IT operations and predictable project results by providing comprehensive and consistent tools and processes to support integrated project and program management.
The GDI team played a pivotal role in setting up configuration management processes. Our team defined the key concepts of configuration management, which included version control, separation of duties, least privilege, auditing and automation. We also provided a detailed roadmap to implement configuration management practices. We performed an in-depth evaluation of existing tools and processes and created new and revised processes to support verifiable, repeatable and efficient change and release management activities.
The GDI team consistently monitored the progress of the project and defined checkpoints and milestones for all important steps, providing feedback to the client and building confidence across the organization.
The Results
- The project led to improved efficiency in project implementation and a unified version control approach.
- The audit process caught defects before production, reducing downtime and the cost of re-work.
- GDI helped the client to establish a professional management approach to support projects, which directly translated to well-managed IT operations.