System Operation

5: System Operation

In Step 5, the predominate IPMC process group is Closing. (See Appendix B for a detailed discussion of the Closing process group.) Generally a project does not include the repetitive and on-going nature of system operations. But it is also clear that many project management processes should carry on through the life cycle of the system. For this reason, especially on large, multi-year, high dollar projects, project offices will continue to operate during the operational phase. Also, these offices manage small projects that are used to implement improvements to the major systems. This process is described as ‘management by projects’ which is a method to apply project management techniques to an on-going process.

It is good to understand that various life cycles and processes call this period of time by different names. The IPMC Integrated Management process calls Step 5 ‘System Operation’ or the operational phase; the milestone review process conducts a ‘Post Implementation Review’. Other terms include the production phase or as with the OMB Exhibit 300 process ‘Steady State’. Processes that remain active during the operational phase are primarily related to the fiscal year funding cycle. They may include performance measurement, life cycle cost formulation, monthly status reviews, staffing planning, communication planning, and scheduling and scope management. There is also the project closeout report that should be accomplished after the initial deployment regardless of on-going operations. Organizations depend on the ‘lessons learned’ to identify training requirements, identify and mitigate risks and improve project management.

The Post Implementation Review evaluates the project history and “lessons learned” to identify training requirements and knowledge to be used by future project teams to identify and mitigate risks, refine estimating parameters, and improve project management. Milestone IV, Post Implementation Review, is intended to assess the in-service effectiveness and suitability of an IT system as a continuation of the effectiveness and suitability assessment undertaken in Milestone III. This includes assessment of the success in meeting the fielding plans, meeting performance metrics, cost, schedule, security and projected return on investment. It also includes an assessment of the adequacy of training, documentation and maintenance support for the IT system, as well as whether any changes are required to the IT system. The Milestone IV briefing needs to be scheduled after the system has been in operation long enough to provide a good basis for analysis, usually 6 to 18 months after becoming operational. After the initial Milestone IV review, subsequent Milestone IV reviews are conducted every three years. OI&T is also scheduling Milestone IV reviews for legacy systems as a means of evaluating their current status.