From network improvements to new buildings, launching new services like Canvas and retiring old systems like MESA, the ITS Enterprise Strategic Governance (ESG) team manages significant technology initiatives at George Mason and oversees the governance of the Technology Project Portfolio.
To address the university’s increasing demand for technology projects, the ESG team developed the Project Management Lifecycle process. This process facilitates the intake, review, approval, and execution of technology projects. As George Mason evolved, it became essential for the PM Lifecycle to reflect this growth. To do this, the PM Lifecycle went through a facelift in 2024 with a strategic focus of supporting the establishment of the Domain Councils—a new oversight body designed to engage senior leadership in prioritizing, monitoring performance, and governing technology investments for each area.
Five Domain Councils have been established and are operational, including Enterprise, Executive Administration, Finance and Administration, Information Technology, Provost Administration, with a Schools and Colleges Domain Council to be established shortly. This comprehensive structure identifies and recommends funding sources, approves project scopes, and oversees the enforcement of university project methodology governance throughout the lifecycle of projects within their technology portfolio.
The modernized PM Lifecycle supports Domain Councils in providing clear priorities and sponsorship for projects. This clarity aids ITS leadership in allocating resources to projects deemed high priority by the business areas and aligned with overall university goals.
In conjunction with the redesign of the PM Lifecycle to support the Domain Councils, ESG also introduced the Technical Business Solution Intake Request. Process, which provides a single point of entry and Business Analysis support for technology requests. Submitted requests are routed to the appropriate pathways, and their status can be easily tracked via the Intake Request Dashboard and Projects Dashboard.
A great philosopher once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” This sentiment resonates with the exciting changes and growth at George Mason. However, during such busy times, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. To assist users amidst these updates, the ESG team kept their needs in mind while modernizing the PM Lifecycle. In addition to establishing Domain Councils, ESG updated the PM templates, which are available online for use throughout the university, and published a PM Lifecycle training module in MasonLEAPs to promote university-wide adoption:
- PM Framework Templates
- PM Framework Training (log onto MasonLEAPS with SSO, then go to the Learning Tab and search for Project Manager Training)
Unsure where to start or want to engage with ESG to learn more?
Contact the team at [email protected] or visit the website.