Project Sizing

What type of Project are you undertaking?

Refer to the table below to determine which category best describes your project. Use the “Method Recommended to manage your work” as a guide to the appropriate level of Project Management rigor to apply. The project management templates can be accessed from the resources section.

	Work Request*	Project**	Large Project***
Effort	Low Effort: Less than 100 hours	Medium Effort: Between 100-2000 hours	High Effort: Greater than 200 hours
IT Coordination	Little or no IT coordination: Work may not involve IT services OR all work can be accomplished within one IT services group	Requires coordination among 2-4 groups within IT services	Requires coordination among >4 groups within IT services
Duration	Short timeframe, 0-3 months	Medium timeframe, 3-6 months	Long timeframe, >6 months
Campus Impact	Low Campus impact: Single functional area	Medium Campus Impact: Impacts two functional areas	Campus wide impact: Project impacts multiple departments or groups on campus (extensive campus readiness and communication will be required)
Complexity	Low complexity, Easily understood problem & solution, solution easily achievable	Moderate business/technical complexity; Problem is difficult to understand OR Solution is unclear or difficult to achieve	Very High business/technical complexity; Problem & solution are undefined AND difficult to achieve
Vendor Involvement	No vendor involvement	Some vendor involvement: Project assessment may involve contracting with an outside vendor	High vendor involvement: Project implementation involves contracting with a new vendor
Dependencies/Risks	No major dependencies or inter-related projects Risks are low impact, low likelihood with no required identification of mitigations	Some major dependencies or inter-related projects Risks are low-medium impact with low-medium likelihood. Some mitigation may have to be identified in advance and risks may have to be monitored for changes	Major high-risk dependencies or inter-related projects These projects are typically cross functional with high impact. There are high impact risks, with high probability. Mitigations will have to be identified in advance and risks will have to be continuously monitored and re-assessed throughout the project
Timeframe	Schedule is flexible	Schedule can undergo minor variations but deadlines are firm	Deadline is fixed and cannot be changed, schedule has no room for flexibility
Method Recommended to manage your work	Departmental project management Department Lead can approve the level of project management methodology to be applied	Basic Project Management by a Project Manager Use HR-PMO recommended artifacts. Project is governed & reportable through the HR-PMO. Artifacts & deliverables can be reviewed for quality and continued relevance through a “somewhat Informal” stage gate process	Full Project Management by a Project Manager Use HR-PMO recommended artifacts. Governed & reportable through the HR-PMO. Artifacts & deliverables must be reviewed for quality and continued relevance through a formal stage gate review process
Project Management Prerequisite	Light project coordination by a Project Manager (with 0-3 years of Project Management experience)	Proven project management by an experienced Project Manager (with 3-5 years of IT Project Management experience)	Extensive project management by a Project Manager with at least 5 years of IT Project Management experience managing multiple, complex projects across multiple functions