Project Approach

Outline
SOCIAL SERVICES HOUSING DIVISION MERGER
Project Strategy Overview
 Phased approach: Initiating, Planning, Execution, Monitoring/Controlling, Closing
1. Initiation/Planning: Project Charter, drafting of management plans, gather and analyze
stakeholder input and requirements to clarify and define the detailed scope, prior to
execution
• Documented requirements > tasks required to merge the processes and workforce within divisions

2. Execution/Monitoring & Controlling: Team performs tasks to complete project

deliverables; PM monitors and controls project to ensure proactive issue resolution, risk
mitigation, removes roadblocks, and reports project progress to management and
stakeholders
3. Closing: Final verification of all deliverables, closeout procurement contracts, release
project team, perform lessons learned to review project challenges, best practices,
performance, and formalize recommendations for future projects
Project Purpose
Purpose
 Division merger – merge Housing with Social
Services, including a Homelessness Team
program area in Social Services
 Various overlapping titles among the two
divisions - potential for overlapping
responsibilities – require analysis
 Different structures for supervision, reporting
and financial approvals across each division –
require alignment
Project Scope
1. Process Evaluation

 Evaluate homelessness team and housing

division processes/tools to determine best
process/tools for merged division

 Implement best processes/tools across merged

division to remove duplication of work

 Phase out replaced processes/tools, around

client intake, supervision, reporting and
financial approvals
Project Scope (cont.)
2. Information Technology
 Integrate across divisions standard I.T.
systems and processes used to administer
housing and homelessness programs, to
remove duplication
 Amalgamate electronic client databases,
tools, and software; ensuring data privacy
 Revise electronic supervision, reporting,
client service, and financial approval I.T.
workflows
Project Scope (cont.)
3. Human Resources
 Create HR plan to address work duplication across roles and
divisions (revising/establishing roles, re-assignment to other
divisions, attrition)
 Review/revise job descriptions/titles in each division to locate
duplication of responsibilities and roles, then standardize
 Review and revise financial, reporting, and approval relationship
workflows
 Revise HR documentation, including organization chart, job
descriptions, and approval/workflow documents that reflect
changes
 Create training plan to identify training gaps and produce/deliver
training on revised process/I.T. tools/forms
Project Scope (cont.)
4. Communications/Documentation
 Revise client forms, and marketing and informational
materials to reflect merger-related changes
 Inform clients of changes to contact persons, case workers,
client facing websites/application interfaces, processes, as
applicable
 Communicate merger-related changes to other City of
Peterborough departments and community partners
*Additional Scope
If determined the staff to be co-located, further scope would
be required, as follows:
5. Facilities Management
 Evaluate existing office space
 Draft office space and renovation plan, consulting
w/Facilities Management
 Procure vendors to perform architectural planning,
renovation, and disposals
 Conduct office space renovations and
computer/equipment moves to new office space
 De-commission vacated office space
Duration
High-Level Estimate (OOM)
 Estimated 6 months timeframe - limited to revision of processes, role descriptions, etc.
 Exclusion: Physical office space merger
 Upon gathering detailed requirements, decomposing into associated tasks, and considering
resource availability, assumptions, constraints, and other factors; a definitive schedule is
created

 Presentation takeaway: task list and gantt chart (printed)

Inputs
1. Org Structure/Job Role-Related 3. Process-Related
 Organization Charts  Data Integration Maps
 Flowcharts documenting decision making authority,  Process Workflow Documentation
supervisory responsibilities and financial accountability  Existing Client Databases
relationships
 Policies, Forms, Templates
 Job Titles/Descriptions
4. Project-Related
 HR policies/procedures re: office transfers, handling role
duplication (options for re-assignment, attrition, layoffs)  Division Budgets
2. Stakeholder-Related  I.T. Division Policies and Procedures

 Peterborough Homelessness Studies  Privacy Legislation/Policies, incl. Data Privacy

 Partner Contact Lists  Purchasing Guidelines, Policies, and Forms

 Client and Staff Survey Data  City Division Contact Lists

Outputs
1. Org Structure/Job Role-Related
 Human Resources/Training Plan
 Revised Organization Chart (including
decision making authority, supervisory
responsibilities and financial accountability
relationships)
 Revised Position Descriptions (and
associated employment documents)
 Revised decision making authority,
supervisory responsibilities and financial
accountability relationship flowcharts &
associated I.T. workflows
 Process and Tool Training Documents
(eLearning modules)
2. Stakeholder-Related
 Merger Press Release/Announcement
 Revised Process Workflows
 Revised Marketing Materials
 Revised Client & Partner information &
communications materials (letters to
clients, information brochures, etc.)
3. Process-Related
 Revised Client Forms
 Amalgamated I.T. and client data workflows
 Amalgamated Client & Office Databases,
Forms, Processes, and Tools
Project Team Chart
Resources
1. Expertise/Personnel
 Project Team (secondments, release time)
 Department Consultants
 Client focus groups
 Previous merger project lessons learned
2. Project Management Tools
 Funding (budget & contingency)
 Meeting Rooms & Dedicated conference line
 PM and collaboration tools (MS Project & SaaS -
Slack/MS Teams/Trello/Basecamp)
 Team Building Opportunities
 Training Resources (LMS, Design Software, etc.)apping workflows (MS Visio)
Tools
3. Process/Data Mapping Tools
 Existing databases, templates, forms, policies,
workflow diagrams
 Mapping tools – fishbone diagrams, mapping
software
 Sandbox environments for client databases (for
solution testing)
4. Data Collection/Documentation Tools
 Employee/client surveys and data collection tools
(Survey Monkey/paper – based surveys)
 Word processing/graphic design software (MS Word,
Adobe)
 Software to document existing/new processes and
Project Methods - Planning
1. Gather Input/Expertise
 Client focus groups, staff, sponsors, partners and SMEs from city divisions: HR, I.T., Social
Services, Housing, Purchasing, etc.
 Informs project management plans, schedule and refined scope, including: specific inclusions,
exclusions, assumptions, and constraints
2. Analyze Scope
 Using input/expertise, analyze high-level scope (from charter) to:
 Create detailed list of tasks required to produce each deliverable
 Determine definitive cost, risks, duration
Project Methods – Planning (cont.)
2. Develop Plans and Schedule
 Apply knowledge of resource availability, risks, assumptions, budget, other influences on
project to produce a time-phased project schedule (MS Project)
 Create comprehensive project plan to direct management across lifecycle: scope, time, cost,
quality, human resources, risk, procurement, and stakeholder management

 Presentation takeaway: project plan components (printed)

Project Methods – Monitor Actions
 Real-time project monitoring using SaaS-based
progress tracking tools (Basecamp, Trello, etc.)
 Project team updates SaaS system with
progress status (not started, in-progress,
completed) as they complete assigned tasks
 Biweekly in-person project update meetings to
review progress with project team, discuss and
resolve challenges, and review key project
performance indicators as a team
 Ongoing issue log maintained by PM to
document issues hindering progress and their
resolutions
Project Methods – Monitor Actions (cont.)
 Project manager will monitor the progress of each task to:
 Prevent scope creep (unauthorized changes)
 Perform change management, when required
 Evaluate quality of project process and deliverables
 Continuously monitor the project for new risks, the presence of indicators of imminent
risk, and make assessments on whether to engage mitigation plans

 MS Project baseline schedule provides benchmark against which to assess progress at intervals
 Use of Earned Value Management metrics to track/compare variations from plan
 If variations detected, the PM will use techniques to control cost/time - assessing areas where
tasks can be completed in parallel, addition of resources, or use of budget contingency
Project Methods – Report Progress
 Status Update Meetings
 Project Status Report
 Task/Milestone Status
 Risk Register/Issue Log Status
 Earned Value Management calculations that
report project health:
 CPI/SPI => 1
 CPI/CPI < 1
 Calculated variances

 Presentation takeaway: status report template

Project Methods – Report Progress (cont.)
 Online
Project
Dashboard
Example
Project Success Measures
1. Project Management
 EVM - on schedule, on budget (SPI, CPI, etc.)
 Efficiency of project execution:
 # of tasks completed on-time vs. overdue
 # of tasks completed underbudget
 % of realized risks mitigated
 Degree of deliverable conformity to
documented requirement
 % of scope successfully completed
Project Success Measures (cont.)
2. Project Satisfaction
 Employee surveys that rate various project components (communication, disruption to work,
satisfaction with final processes/outcomes of merger)
 Client surveys that assess impacts of service disruptions, improvements to services as a result of
merger
 Project team satisfaction survey (were you supported as needed, did your experience on the
project contribute to your professional growth, do you consider your experience on the project as
positive or negative, why or why not?)
3. Merger Satisfaction (post-merger)
 Quantitative data demonstrating increased client satisfaction with homelessness services,
decreased wait time, increased access, increased # of clients serviced, decreased service costs
(extracted from survey data collected pre vs. post merger)
Risk Mitigation & Success Strategies
1. Proactive Risk Assessment
 Running through the potential risks that may arise at every step of the project and have a plan already set to
handle the risk should it arise (risk register and mitigation plans)

2. Regular Project Progress Assessment (EVM)

 Biweekly project health check, using established EVM metrics
 The CPI/SPI metrics can be used to track periodic results (monthly, weekly, daily), or the cumulative position to see
long-term performance trends, in order to take corrective actions
 Performing these calculations frequently will ensure that any performance issues are dealt in a timely manner
3. Contingency Plans
 Should time and cost exceed what was budgeted or planned, have included in the project plans the actions that
will be taken
 Build time buffers into the schedule that can lessen impacts of late tasks, have standby resources available if need
to crash or fast-track the schedule
Risk Mitigation & Success Strategies (cont.)
4. Open, Frequent, and Clear Communication
 Provide information regularly to stakeholders affected and ask for feedback on challenges the project team is
encountering, to facilitate movement of the project through these challenges and advocate for the project team
 Have an accessible project reporting interface clients and department staff can access for available updates on progress
5. Stakeholder Engagement
 Those affected by the end result of the project are consulted - share valuable lived experiences interacting with systems
 Ensure front line worker and client perspectives are prioritized where possible, when building the requirements,
designing outcomes and considering impacts
 With their input, the outcome of the project is more likely to be accepted and seen as positive by those affected
6. Building Organic Support for Change
 People can be resistant to change
 By focusing on positive outcomes, mitigating negatives, and identifying the value in the project for each stakeholder, a
wider range of support and promotion for the project, promotes long term success