University of Wisconsin – Madison
APPO Phase I Project
project Charter

Version: 2.0

Date: 8/26/02

Approvals:

SFS SPC: Al Benzschawel

SFS Strategic Committee: Don Miner

APPO Phase I Project Charter Version 2.0

Revision Control

Version / Date / Section / Description / Author
1.0 / 08/21/02 / All / Initial Release / Hua Ramer
2.0 / 08/26/02 / Scope / Added TMNT and CARDS to the Legacy Programs In-Scope. / Hua Ramer

Table of Contents

Purpose of the document

Project Objectives and Goals

Project Scope

In-scope items

out-of-scope Items

Project Plan & estimates

Project Deliverables

Key Deliverables

Sign-off Policy

Project Organization

APPO Project Team Memebers

Roles and Responsibilities

project Risks......

project assumptions

project management approach

Training plan

communication plan

change control procedure

Issue resolution procedure

appendixes

Change Request Form

Issue Log

Status Report Template

August 26th, 2002

APPO Phase I Project Charter Version 2.0

Purpose of the document

This document is the project charter of the Accounts Payable & Purchasing Order (APPO) Phase I project. In order to launch the project in a rapid fashion and build the foundation for long-term project success, we will focus the Phase I project on solution definitions for migrating accounts payable processes off the legacy mainframe system.

The purpose of this charter is to establish a common understanding between the project sponsors and the project team regarding the goals and objectives of the project. The project charter provides the foundation for the project by documenting:

  • Project Goals and objectives
  • Project Scope
  • Project Work Plan
  • Project management approach
  • Project organization
  • Roles and responsibilities of the project participants
  • Risks and the strategies used to mitigate those risks
  • Assumptions concerning the project
  • The project team’s acceptance of the content described within the charter

The Project Charter is a statement of commitment from the Project Team and its completeness is extremely important. The Project Charter will evolve during the life of the project, but it is the basis for evaluating any changes to project’s scope and objectives and assessing the impact of proposed changes on schedules and budgets. The Project Charter is a “stake in the ground” for the project team and it gives the Project Sponsor a basis for evaluating project direction and results.

Project Objectives and Goals

The overall objectives of APPO Phase I project is to explore solution alternatives for migrating legacy accounts payable programs/processes off mainframe and to recommend a best accounts payable migration alternative that is technically attainable, financially cost-effective, and functionally feasible and practical.

The project goals are:

  • Train the project team of procurement and payable processes.
  • Identify legacy accounts payable processes improvement opportunities.
  • Identify potential technology and software for the transition of accounts payable off the mainframe.
  • Perform software gap analysis to assess fitness of identified technology and software for accounts payable processes on the legacy system.
  • Identify possible technical alternatives for legacy accounts payable processes.
  • Conduct technical, functional and financial analyses of alternatives.
  • Develop a solution recommendation to the management for legacy accounts payable system alternative.

Project Scope

In-scope items

The in-scope items will be included in APPO Phase I project scope to be analyzed in detail.

Major Processes In Scope

  • Encumbrance
  • Direct charge
  • Purchase order related invoice payment
  • Accounts Payable pre-audit
  • Accounts Payable post-audit
  • Check writing and payment distribution
  • Payment file maintenance and storage.

Legacy Programs In Scope

  • EPRQ
  • VPAM
  • INQV
  • INQC
  • INQR
  • GENR
  • QFO2
  • INQP
  • ADDI
  • 1099 payments
  • TMNT
  • CARDS.

out-of-scope Items

The out-of-scope items will not be analyzed in full detail by the APPO Project Team during Phase I of APPO Project. Rather, they will be either dealt with in separate projects or during Implementation Phase of the APPO Project.

Processes Out of Scope

  • Procard transactions
  • SWAP
  • Property control (fixed assets management)
  • Electronic internal billings within campus
  • Inter-campus billings
  • MDS.

Legacy Programs Out of Scope

  • File interface with Accrual Accounting Systems
  • Tax-related reporting.

Project Plan & estimates

Tasks / Estimated Completion Date
Project Kick Off / 7/24/02
Develop and Approve Project Charter / 8/30/02
Develop As-Is Business Model / 10/07/02
Define Critical-to-Quality / 10/18/02
Develop To-Be Business Model / 11/01/02
Software Gap Analysis / 12/13/02
Develop Solution Alternatives / 1/10/03
Develop Management Recommendations / 1/24/03
Management Approval / 1/31/03

Project Deliverables

Key Deliverables

Listed below are the key deliverables for the project. For a detailed work plan, refer to the project schedule.

Stage / Deliverable / Estimated Completion Date / Authorization
Define / Charter / 8/30/02 / SPC, Steering Committee
Measure / Current process model and baseline / 10/7/02 / None
Future process model and desired outcome / 11/1/02 / None
Analyze / Software gap analysis report / 12/13/02 / None
Final project report / 1/24/03 / SPC, Steering Committee

Sign-off Policy

As key deliverables are produced, they will be presented to the appropriate individuals for review. The Project Manager will then schedule a meeting to occur within a maximum of five business days to answer any questions and to discuss possible changes to the deliverable. If changes are not required, the Project Manager will obtain sign-off on the deliverable during this meeting. If changes are required, the Project Manager will make sure that the deliverable is appropriately updated and re-distributed for confirmation of the changes. The Project Manager will then schedule a second meeting to occur within a maximum of three business days after the distribution of the updated deliverable to obtain sign-off.

Because of the critical nature of these key deliverables, if for any reason sign-off cannot be obtained in the stated amount of time, progress on the project will stop until the issues surrounding the sign-off can be resolved.

Project Organization

The project organization is comprised of APPO Project Team, SFS Strategic Planning Committee and SFS Steering Committee.

APPO Project Team Members

Name / Department
Mike Hardiman / Purchasing, Business Service
Tom Fisher / Purchasing, Business Service
Vera Laufenberg / Purchasing, Business Service
Terri Mills / Accounting, Business Services
Janet Larson / Accounting, Business Services
Jeanne Schiro / Accounting, Business Services
Steve Carrola / Business Service Administration, IT
Charlie Simonson / Facilities Management
Dave L. Allen / Graduate School
Cathy Holmes / DoIT
Ruth Fruehling / SFS Team, Business Services
Jim Hellenbrand / SFS Team, Business Services
Gareth Green / SFS Team, Business Services
Hua Ramer / SFS Team, Business Services

Roles and Responsibilities

The following table lists the roles needed to successfully complete the project:

Role / Responsibilities / Contact Person / Time
Required
Steering Committee /
  • Authorize & approve project
  • Approve Charge, project budget and deliverables.
  • Resolve issues.
/ Don Miner
Strategic Planning Committee /
  • Authorize & approve project
  • Define project objectives and team charge.
  • Authorize project resources.
  • Approve deliverables.
  • Resolve issues.
/ Al Benzschawel
Project Team Members /
  • Serve as functional experts and share knowledge.
  • Participate in team meetings & discussions.
  • Learn from other functional experts on the team to gain an understanding of APPO processes.
  • Gather and share process related data for the project.
  • Apply functional expertise and judgment in the development of project deliverables.
  • Participate in the development of project deliverables.
/ TBD,
Hua Ramer (Interim)
Project Manager /
  • Coordinate team activities.
  • Project planning.
  • Monitor project progress.
  • Resolve issues.
  • Report project progress to the SPC and Steering Committee.
  • Communicate issues to the SPC and Steering Committee for resolutions.
/ Hua Ramer

project Risks

The following overall project risks have been identified. The risks are classified into four categories:

  • Business risks: Are those risks that exist as result of the nature and characteristics of business itself, or the risks that arise due to the limited resources of the organization.
  • Technical risks: Are created due to the complexity of technology being used, or due to the system operations.
  • Internal risks: Are risks that come from within the business organization. They are the result of structure or culture of the organization itself.
  • External risks: Are related to the factors outside of the business organization.

The impact of each risk on the project is analyzed and a mitigation strategy is developed to minimize the potential negative impact of risks on the successful completion of the project.

Risk Type / Risk / Impact on Project / Mitigation Strategy / Criticality
Business / Key team members not available for the meetings. /
  • Project may be delayed.
  • Decisions may not be based on expert knowledge.
/
  • Advanced scheduling of specific times for team meetings.
  • Identify team members on specific roles and responsibilities.
  • Advanced notice to the team of unavailability.
  • Multi-task project plan so minimal idle time is experienced if a delay is realized.
/ High
Uncontrolled increase in scope of project. /
  • Project could spiral out of control (unfocused / over-budget).
  • Project delayed.
  • Priorities set incorrectly.
/
  • Make project team aware of scope of project and change control procedure.
  • Tighten project control.
/ High
No one has complete knowledge of all processes. /
  • Decision may not be based on expert knowledge.
  • Analysis may be incomplete.
/
  • Team members share specific business knowledge with each other.
  • Team training of complete APPO cycle.
/ High
Technical / APPO processes run across multiple systems. /
  • People may regard some system operations as “normal” business processes.
  • People tend to see processes as “isolated”.
/
  • Bring DoIT and Business Service IT resources on board.
  • Team understanding of data flow across multiple systems.
/ Medium
Too many file interfaces among different systems. /
  • Team may get “side-tracked” to out-of-scope areas.
  • Potential scope creep.
/
  • Limit scope to focus on mainframe AP processes.
  • Define detailed requirements of other system file interfaces into separate projects.
/ High
Team members may not have software knowledge to perform gap analysis and software selection. /
  • Analysis and recommendations may lack technical feasibility.
/
  • Need to invite technical expert to help perform gap analysis.
  • Learn from other campuses.
  • Selected SFS team member(s) may be trained in the software.
/ High
Internal / Project team members come from different business areas. /
  • While interest of different groups is voiced, some team members may think that their opinion is not adequately heard.
/
  • Establish team meeting ground rules so that every team member gets a fair chance to voice his/her opinion/concerns.
/ Medium
External / None identified.

project assumptions

The following project assumptions are identified:

  • Project timeline: The project plan is based on the availability of project resources and their allocated time.
  • Management commitment: The project has management support and understanding.
  • Team member committment: The project team members will perform and complete assigned tasks on time.
  • Subject matter expertise: The team members have full knowledge in their relevant subject areas required for their roles and responsibilities.

project management approach

Training plan

Since the team members are from different areas of procurement, accounting and system management, team training of different process knowledge is crucial to the success of this project. A training plan will be in place so that all team members will receive training of APPO processes and gain a good understanding of current business model.

communication plan

There will be a status report to SPC at each milestone of the project and at other times as they are deemed necessary to keep the committee informed of project progress, issues and resolutions.

There will also be regular briefings with the accounting services management team, SPC contact person and Steering Committee contact person.

The project team members will have regular meetings to review issue log to ensure that issues are prioritized, assigned status and resolved.

A final summarize project report will be presented to the Steering Committee by the team.

Regular project status report will be prepared by the Project Manager and published on the SFS Project website.

change control procedure

Any scope change to the project should be recommended with appropriate justifications. The change request should be made to SPC for approval. If a change request results in significant change of the original project scope, the request should be made to the Steering Committee for approval. All change requests should be documented in Change Request Form.

Issue resolution procedure

Any problems that can have significant impact on the project, or that require further clarification or investigation, will be documented and tracked as issues in the Issues Log.

All issues should be prioritized, given a status (accepted, rejected or resolved) and assigned to related functional team members for investigation and resolution.

appendixes

Change Request Form

Issue Log

Status Report Template

Accounting Services

APPO Phase I Project

Change Request Form

Request No:

Request By: / Request Date:
Request Title: / Priority (High, Medium, Low):
Project Deliverable (If Known):

Request Description

Justification

Impact Assessment

Functional Scope
Schedule
Effort
Cost

Authorization

Action (Accept or Reject): / Authorized By: / Date:

Accounting Services

APPO Phase I Project

Issue Log

Issue No. / Description / Date Reported / Assigned To / Issue Resolution / Status / Date Resolved

Status: Accepted, rejected or resolved.

Accounting Services

APPO Phase I Project

Status Report Template

To:

From:

Reporting Period:

Accounting ServicesUniversity of Wisconsin - Madison

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