About the PMO
The Project Management Office (PMO) is the department within Rice TS&S that helps ensure projects and programs are delivered successfully—on time, on budget, and with defined quality targets. Our seasoned project managers collaborate closely with governance groups on project selection, prioritization, and performance. The PMO also defines and maintains the standards for project execution across the university.
Our role is to:
- Manage the project portfolio
- Collect project proposals and business cases
- Provide resources for managing projects
- Engage stakeholders and functional partners
- Support deployment of new functionality
- Manage methodology standards and flexibility
What is a Project?
A project is a temporary endeavor designed to produce a unique product, service, or result. All projects should go through an assessment and requirements analysis.
Typical characteristics of an implementation project:
- Includes an assessment
- Requires more than four months of effort
- Requires resources from more than one TSS department
- Requires engagement from departments outside of TSS
- Will likely result in process change and/or organizational change
- Involves external vendors
- Is strategic or critical for security/operations of the university
- Must be delivered within a specific timeframe
Depending on the nature of the project, the type of project manager assigned can vary. Below are some general guidelines:
| TS&S Lead | TS&S Manager | Project Manager | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Cost < $5k | Cost = $5–50k | Cost = $50k+ |
| Organizational Impact | Internal to TS&S May still require approval or validation by business stakeholders |
Impacts one external department in a major way Impacts multiple external departments in a minor way May include consulting services |
Impacts multiple external departments and/or significantly impacts TS&S infrastructure Longer duration or higher complexity May include partner implementation services May be Board-mandated |
| Stakeholder Impact | Low or no visible impact; may require configuration updates by campus partners | May result in process, technology, and/or organizational change | Process, technology, and/or organizational change required |
| Type | Operational | Operational / Strategic | Strategic / Critical or Mandated |