Project Roles and Responsibilities


Advanced Application Development Management Team (AAD) – This Team is made up of the MIS Director, Practice Managers, Program Managers and the Technical Architect. Their responsibilities include:
· Provide the strategic direction for the MIS department
· Manage MIS resources and assignments
· Establish and evaluate MIS development policies, methodologies, and procedures
· Review Project Workbooks.

Customer – The Customer is the person or department requesting work from MIS. The Customer’s responsibilities will vary throughout the project phases. Their primary responsibilities will include:
· Partner with the MIS Practice Manager to create the Project Workbook
· Partner with the MIS Practice Manager to manage the project including the timeline, work plan, testing, resources, training and documentation of procedures
· Work with the Practice and Program Manager to identify the technical approach to be used and the deliverables to be furnished at the completion of the project
· Provide a clear definition of the business need
· Sign-off on project deliverables
· Take ownership of the developed process and software.

Customer Feedback Evaluation Team – The Customer Feedback Evaluation Team consists of various members of the MIS department. Their responsibilities include:
· Review the completed Project Performance Evaluation Forms
· Highlight ratings below “satisfied” so the MIS Practice Manager can contact the customer for additional details
· Forward copies of all forms to the MIS Director and the MIS Practice Manager for review and/or follow-up
· Follow-up with MIS Practice Manager on resolution of those being reviewed with the customers
· Track the results of the forms for general trends and areas to improve.

Design Review Team – The Design Review Team will consist of the Technical Architect, the Program Manager for Infrastructure and the Program Manager for Development. Their responsibilities include:
· Review and approve all Design Overview Documents
· Review, prior to the meeting, design packages to be presented and be prepared with questions and comments
· Perform audit reviews on tested packages.
· Be available to provide consultative support to any developer or development team on questions of standards, procedures, techniques, etc.

Executive Sponsor – The Executive Sponsor is typically a high-level executive who acts as the project advocate from University Administration. Their primary responsibilities include:
· Champion the project, project manager and project team
· Manage the project scope and change requests
· Approve the Project schedule
· Communicate project goals to all management levels
· Provide appropriate and timely resources for efficient and effective project completion
· Ensure sustained adherence to schedule commitments
· Provide on-going guidance and direction to the project team
· Provide regular feedback to the project team on performance vs. expectations
· Follow up to ensure project benefits defined in the Project Workbook are realized
· Escalate issues and project scope changes
· Act as the final decision maker on unresolved project issues.

Functional Resources – The Functional Resources represent the business areas for which work is being performed and are usually members of that business area. The primary project activities of the Functional Resources include:
· Share their in-depth understanding of the business and system processes and their knowledge of federal regulations
· Provide business expertise on the system functionality related to their job functions
· Participate actively in all phases of the project including planning and analysis, design, development, testing and implementation, related to their area of expertise
· Be available for the indicated percentage of their time allotted for the project.

Functional Lead – The Functional Lead represents the customer’s business area for which work is being preformed. The Functional Leads responsibilities include:
· Provide expertise on the overall business processes around which the project is focused and provide needed business expertise in those areas
· Provide direction to the functional resources on managing day-to-day activities and adhering to project deliverable due dates
· Participate actively in the development of the Project Workbook (in conjunction with the Program Manager and Practice Manager) including why the project was requested, as well as the project requirements and scope including the risk, time, and cost
· Participate actively in all phases of the project including planning and analysis, design, development, testing and implementation, related to their area of expertise
· Help identify change barriers within the business areas
· Provide two way communication between the affected business area and the Project Team
· Be available for the indicated percentage of their time allotted for the project.

Help Desk & End User Computing Group – The Help Desk and End User Computing Group provide training and support during the implementation and production support phases of the project. This team is led and managed by the Systems Manager responsible for End User Computing Activities. The Help Desk and End User Computing Group responsibilities include:
· Provide team and end user training during implementation
· Provide help desk support after implementation
· Assist in the distribution and configuration of workstations for the Vanderbilt community
· Provide support for network problems, firewall problems, security problems, and access issues.

Maintenance and Enhancement Group – The Maintenance and Enhancement Group provides on-going support for systems after implementation occurs. There are two M & E Groups currently defined: Business Operations and Student Systems. The M & E Groups are led and managed by the Systems Manager responsible for either Business Operation activities or Student System activities. Primarily, the M & E Groups responsibilities include:
· Provide day-to-day technical support in maintaining the information system, including responsibility for ensuring processes and outputs are complete and error-free
· Develop an in-depth understanding of the business processes supported by the system
· Consult with customers (independently or in partnership with other members of MIS) to evaluate, design, test and install requested enhancements to the new system
· Run production-level programs to obtain output when necessary
· Identify, analyze, and resolve problems with production applications independently or in partnership with other MIS teams and/or functional resources
· Develop and maintain technical documentation and operational procedures on the new information system
· Provide support for the legacy systems
· Manage the System Enhancement Request Form process.

MIS Functional Consultant – The MIS Functional Consultant is a support role to the MIS Practice Managers and Project Implementation Team during a project implementation. Their responsibilities include:
· Make written and oral presentations to project teams and groups outside the department
· Evaluate, establish and maintain MIS development policies, methodologies, and procedures
· Plan, schedule, and coordinate activities related to system development projects
· Contact department heads and various levels of staff in user departments to provide functional support in documenting, designing, and implementing project(s)
· Assist with customer service and communication
· Perform some planning/scheduling/prioritizing/coordination of project-related activities for project team members.

Operations Group – The Operations Group monitors the operations of all administrative information systems. The Operations Group is led and managed by the Systems Manager responsible for Operations. Their responsibilities include:
· Monitor and oversee the daily, weekly and monthly operations of all administrative information systems
· Ensure deadlines are met
· Endure the processing and printing of forms, reports and checks and the processing of other interfaces, during and after business hours.
· Perform daily scheduled tasks, such as EDI and other batch processing


Practice Manager – The Practice Manager is a liaison between MIS and the customer. The Practice Manager performs a variety of functions that include:
· Provide leadership and management to MIS development teams and projects
· Consult with customers (independently or in partnership with MIS Consultant, MIS Senior Consultant and/or Program Manager) to understand and analyze operational procedures and information generation or utilization needs, including why the project was requested, as well as the project requirements and scope including the risk, time, and cost
· Oversee and actively participate in the development of the Project Workbook (in conjunction with the Program Manager and Customer)
· Develop the project plan including the resource, skill and skill level requirements
· Develop procedures for changing scope and project acceptance procedures
· Develop review schedules and acceptance criteria at each phase of the project
· Work with the Program Manager and Customer to identify the technical approach to be used and the deliverables to be furnished at the completion of the project, including the development of a strategic plan, systems analysis, technical design, coding, testing, and turnover to production of the application
· Oversee and direct, in conjunction with a Program Manager, the strategic IS plan, development of business requirements, development of functional and program specifications, relational database design, programming, testing, implementation and documentation for applications
· Develop the project management approach including training needed for the project team, reporting structure of the project, frequency of interaction between managers and resources, the number and frequency of team meetings, and the need for and the extent of involvement of external project stakeholders
· Outline the responsibilities of different parties including customers, management, project team, vendors, and other stakeholders
· Work with customers and project teams to integrate new systems into the end-user environment.

Program Manager – The Program Manager provides leadership and management of MIS development teams and projects. Program Managers perform a variety of functions that include:
· Oversee and direct, in conjunction with a Practice Manager, the strategic IS plan, development of business requirements, development of functional and program specifications, relational database design, programming, testing, implementation and documentation for applications
· Oversee and actively develop the Project Workbook (in conjunction with the Practice Manager and Customer) including why the project was requested, as well as the project requirements and scope including the risk, time, and cost
· Work with Practice Manager and Customer to identify the technical approach to be used and the deliverables to be furnished at the completion of the project
· Schedule and assign resources to ensure that applications satisfy users’ needs and are completed within agreed upon time parameters
· Monitor the status of the technical resources and tasks using tools such as the MIS Work Database
· Work with the Practice Manager to manage and oversee the system development process including systems analysis, technical design, coding, testing, and turnover to production of the application
· Develop and maintain technical documentation on computer-based information systems; compile documentation for design changes or creation criteria.

Technical Architect – The Technical Architect is a member of the MIS department who manages the overall technical architecture of the department. Their responsibilities include:
· Continually research the information technology marketplace for new and innovative technologies and application development practices. Proactively propose these new technologies as solutions to business problems.
· Review proposed projects to ensure that they adhere to MIS strategic technology vision
· Review on-going and proposed projects to identify opportunities for reuse, process improvement
· Serve as a resource to all teams in evaluating and proposing technical alternatives for resolving project issues.
· Serve as technical lead for pilot projects in areas of strategic significance in which MIS does not yet have established skills and methodologies.
Technical Lead – The Technical Lead provides leadership to the technical resources and works in conjunction with the Program Manager and Practice Manager to ensure that project milestones are met. The Technical Lead performs a variety of functions that include:

· Provide technical leadership to technical resources and customers to meet project deadlines and ensure project objective are met
· Plan, schedule, and coordinate activities related to system development projects
· Consult and mentor technical resources concerning methods, procedures, and standards to be used during design, development, and unit testing phases of system development projects
· Provide system or technical development expertise to the technical resource team
· Communicate issues and status information to the Program Manager and Practice Manager concerning system development activities.

Technical Resources – Technical Resources may be either Vanderbilt employees or external consultants specifically hired to do development work. The Technical Resources responsibilities include:

· Consult with members of the project team to analyze operational procedures and information generation or utilization needs, which may include analyze, design, test, and implement enhancements to complex production information systems
· Provide consultation on business process design, database administration functions for project implementation teams, maintenance and enhancement teams, and training teams
· Design computer programs, forms, reports, and interfaces
· Create innovative software applications from scratch using state-of-the-art languages, protocols, and software methodologies
· Perform unit testing on computer programs, forms, reports, and interfaces
· Create and maintain technical documentation on computer-based information systems; compiling documentation for design changes or creation criteria
· Update systems data and prepare conversion requirements
· Provide assistance to users with software-related issues or problems.

Technical Infrastructure Team – The Technical Infrastructure Team is the group responsible for supporting the hardware and software components required by a system implementation. This includes the servers, network printers, operating system, databases, user security, and network connectivity. The primary responsibilities of this team include:
· Ensure the application software/hardware is consistent with the technical environment and standards
· Provide technical system and database support for:
o Capacity and planning
o Space management
o Backup and recovery
o Performance tuning and monitoring
· Provide application software change control across the different environments
· Install and upgrade server and application software
· Assist technical resources with database design
· Provide database administration support for systems development and upgrades.