Project Management Techniques for
Cross-Campus Collaboration
(Or: Just how do you work with a cast
of thousands?)
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
Who am I?
• 19 years at UNC Chapel Hill
• Blackboard 5.5.1 implementation project manager
• Campus-wide events calendar project manager
• Etc...
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
Who are y’all?
• Faculty? Staff? Administrators? Other?
• Been/are project managers? (One-time or more)
• Experience with “successful” projects?
• Experience with “unsuccessful” projects?
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
Project Management
Techniques . . .
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
What is a project? Some examples:
Might depend on you and only you:
• Write a conference paper
• Have a party
• Plan a trip
Might depend on others:
• Large-scale software implementation
• Grant proposal
• Hire someone
• Develop a policy
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
What is a project manager?
• An assigned role
• Ultimate responsibility for project
• Enough authority to manage project
• Communicator
• Negotiator
• Meeting facilitator
• A leader
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
. . . For Cross-Campus . . .
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
Who should be considered?
•Faculty?
• Staff?
• Students?
• IT center(s)?
• Registrar?
• Departments?
• Public relations office ?
• Committees, task forces, working groups?
• ad infinitum (or nauseam)
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
“Leadership should be born out
of the understanding
of the needs of those who would
be affected by it.”
-- Marian Anderson
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
. . . Collaboration
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
“If faculty feel something
is imposed on them,
you’ll have a problem.”
-- Dr. Paul M. Hagner,
Thursday keynote
Does that matter?
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
“If [staff] feel something is
imposed on them, you’ll
have a problem.”
-- apologies to Dr. Paul M.
Hagner, Thursday keynote
Does that matter?
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
“If [students] feel something is imposed on
them, you’ll have a problem.”
apologies to Dr. Paul M. Hagner, Thursday ke
Does that matter?
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
not lead by hitting people over the head. T
assault, not leadership.”
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower
That’s assault, not collaboration…
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
Events Calendar: Quick Summary
• Problem identification: report, committee
• Proposed solution: events calendar
• Project manager identification: sort of
• Project team identification: event
publishers, student representative, technical
staff, personal calendar liaison, news
services, etc (N=about 20-35, over time)
• Who might not want it?
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
Events Calendar
•Project process
• Communication: meetings, mail, summaries
• Open process: anyone could join
• The art of compromise
• Requirements: technical, administrative
• Priorities: features
• First “product:” a wish list
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
Events Calendar
• Project Process, cont’d
• Evaluation: explore peer institution sites;
identify potential vendors, discuss issues of local
development
• Narrow options (ultimately to one)
• Negotiate with vendor
• Test installation
• Pilot test: Arts and Sciences (big), Bull’s
Head (small), a few others
• Buy license
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
Events Calendar
• Project Maintenance/Support
• Required listserver for event publishers
• Publisher documentation
• Publisher meetings
• Ongoing negotiation with vendor and publishers
(feature requests, bug reports, etc)
• Training, user support, marketing, etc.
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
Blackboard 5.5.1 Implementation
• Problem identification: Internal, external
• Proposed solution: Blackboard
• Timing issues: product availability
• Local project manager identification
• Project team identification: faculty, systems staff,
departmental support staff, student representative,
registrar, SIS staff, libraries, CIT (N=30ish) (ad
hoc: purchasing and legal staff)
• Process defined by Blackboard
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
“If your project doesn’t work, loo
part you didn’t think was importan
-- Arthur Bloch
Ya gots to work with what you gots to
-- Stevie Wonder
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
Three crucial elements for systemi
1. Leadership
2. Inclusion
3. Communication
-- Dr. Paul M. Hagner, Thursda
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
Discussion
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
Issues and Ideas
• Responsibility/project manager
• Involvement: Who? When? How much?
• Communication: How much, to whom,
when and how?
• Who owns resources? (People, $, power)
• What will define success or failure?
• What happens when project goes into maintenance?
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
How do we continue
to improve our collaborative
project management skills?
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services
Promoting Intra-Campus Collaboration
“The best way to escape from a proble
-- Alan Saporta
“Don’t be afraid to ask dumb questi
They’re more easily handled than du
-- William Wister Haines
“Progress begins with the belief t
necessary is possible.”
-- Norman Cousins
Elizabeth A. Evans
UNC Chapel Hill
Administrative Information Services