Stage 3: Implementation readiness and delivery
This stage is focused on the preparation and delivery of the project objectives. It is crucial that the project manager puts in place controls to ensure the effective day-to-day management of the project. This includes regularly updating the project risk register and issue log, project schedule, action log and lessons learned log.
Project progress reports
All strategically important projects subject to PCG oversight are required to submit project progress reports to every meeting of their respective Systems and Academic Projects Board (SAPB) and Capital Projects Board (CPB) sub-groups.
Once the Project Manager has completed the project progress report and the project sponsor has signed it off, the report should be submitted to the Strategic Planning and Change Section (SPCS) electronically via pgo@essex.ac.uk.
SPCS are responsible for reviewing the submission to ensure adherence to the project management framework standards and principles, and ensuring that reports are considered at the relevant sub-group of PCG.
The role of PCG’s sub groups is to receive regular project progress reports to monitor individual project performance, identify any areas of concern that need to be highlighted to PCG for noting and decision making and report to PCG on the overall portfolio health.
The role of PCG is to consider the issues raised by its sub-groups and agree on an appropriate course of action. PCG, in the discharge of its duty, has authority to delay projects and cancel previously approved projects.
It is the responsibility of the secretary to PCG to inform the project managers of any actions as a result of the project progress reports.
Change control report
A change control report (.docm) must be completed if there is slippage to the following elements of the project:
- slippage to project timescales
- project go-live
- building occupation date
- project end date
- forecasted increase in project budget or a forecast underspend
- includes situations where money needs to be re-profiled, eg. where money profiled for academic year 2017-18 is brought forward to academic year 2016-17
- includes occurrences of moving funds between projects
- additional resources
- a significant change to the resource requirement outlined in the business case
- changes to scope
- any significant deviation from the agreed project scope
The change control report should be signed off by the project sponsor and then submitted to the Strategic Planning and Change Section (SPCS) electronically via pgo@essex.ac.uk.
The role of the sub-group committees is to review the change control report, assess the impact of the change and make any recommendations to the respective committee.
The committee will discuss the impact of the change and decide to approve, reject or defer the request.
It is the responsibility of the committee’s secretary to inform Project Managers and Project Sponsors in writing of the decision made by committee members in relation to change control reports
Project lifecycle stages
View a diagram illustrating the governance process for strategic projects (.pdf).
