Program Management

Success in managing complex systems design and integration efforts requires a multitude of disciplines that compliment the talents of each member of the program team. Through the use of a formal program management methodology and an organization that supports the work to be accomplished, Communications Design Associates is confident that the program being proposed will deliver the highest degree of satisfaction for schedule cost and performance.

CDA utilizes a formal methodology for managing its customers programs. This methodology is based on proven techniques in program management that are readily adaptable to conform to the clients and its principal architects internal program practices.

The construction of any facility, particularly the one being proposed, is a complex program that will require diverse experience and skills from numerous disciplines to be completed successfully. CDA believes that the most qualified team to develop the systems required would consist of a cross-functional staff consisting of a coalition of personnel. The organizational structure is developed with careful consideration for:

•	Supporting the schedule for design and implementation of the systems proposed.
•	Ensuring that program controls are adhered to by all functions of the CDA program team.
•	Leveraging the talents of the various functional organizations while ensuring proper integration of the overall program effort.

Accordingly CDA will assume the role of Project Manager for all media and communications systems, under the clients direction for the design, development and implementation of the systems proposed. The CDA relationship is a very powerful combination to offer, given the collective talents of CDA and its partners in broadcast systems. In the Project Management capacity, CDA will provide:

•	A single point of contact (the Program Manager) representing all the Systems Consultants.
•	Status for all contractor activities.
•	Program business management activities including:
•	Single focal point for subcontractor business inquiries and ongoing negotiations
•	Responsibility for all financial and business reporting requirements
•	Coordinated budgeting and procurement direction.
•	Program planning and control for coordination of all program administrative responsibilities.
•	Quality assurance/configuration

Essential to any systems design effort is a clear set of processes and techniques by which a project manager can plan, initiate, and track activities toward achieving a set of milestones. These project management practices provide the foundation for projects to be successful.

The CDA Team is committed to the success of this program and will provide the tools and resources to ensure that the project is successfully delivered. A key to that success is a set of critical business processes:

•	Project Controls
•	Configuration Management
•	Issue resolution
•	Review and approval
•	Quality assurance
•	Subcontractor management plan

The processes that CDA will provide have been developed and refined through experience in large systems integration efforts and are proven techniques for managing these efforts successfully.
Each process is described in the following sections:

1. PROJECT CONTROLS:
The project controls process is initiated through a planned effort to create a project plan and a project schedule baseline against which all project performance is measured. The project plan contains a hierarchical Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that clearly identifies describes all activities and tasks required to perform necessary work.

The WBS hierarchy supports the development of the project schedule baseline. The project schedule baseline is developed and maintained in a project management tool. The tool is used to manage the relationships between key activities, tasks, deliverables, and milestones of the WBS and to produce a schedule that contains at least one logic path flowing from the start through the end of the project. Once established, reviewed, and approved, the master project schedule cannot be altered without approval by all facets of Program Management.

Using the WBS as the base of information, the organizations performing the project work create internal plans and schedules to clearly identify detailed tasks that must be accomplished to complete key project activities, tasks and milestones. These internal schedules are discussed at regular internal schedule status meetings to review current status on progress and any related problems or risks. The internal schedules are under control of the organizations performing the work, but the information gathered at these meetings is used to make recommended changes to the project baseline schedule.

Project controls include the development and ongoing monitoring and reporting of critical project metrics. For this program, these metrics could include schedule performance analysis (tool, activity start, completion versus the baseline), completion of deliverables, and project progress trend analysis. Metrics from supporting processes, including outstanding issues, and change proposals, will also be used. The metrics and conclusions and/or trends they indicate will be reviewed at the scheduled project reviews. At Program Manager's discretion, a special project review meeting can be called to review critical project trends.

2. CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT PLAN:
CDA considers the configuration management process to be an integral part of the project management practices; this is reflected in the project tracking methods. Configuration management is a business function that is provided to effectively control and manage the functional specifications and contractual terms and conditions. Configuration management processes manage requests in a consistent and disciplined manner. This effective configuration management process ensures:

•	Visibility and control of scope, schedule and cost changes.
•	Consistent decision-making regarding the implementation of change throughout the project organization.
•	Consistent quality of deliverables that meets the project's needs.
•	Clear roles and responsibilities with regard to managing changes.
•	Effective team communication.
•	Effective interface to other processes, such as configuration control and integration
•	Efficient interface with the change control processes

After the baseline scope has been determined and approved, a Change Request Form is used to initiate changes to modify, delete, or add to the baseline. A request may be initiated due to the a change in business environment, needs, or goals, since the beginning of the project development effort. The project team may also identify changes during development.

3. ISSUE RESOLUTION PROCESS:
Issue resolution is a formal process that quickly results in a documented decision. Issue resolution is a step-by-step process that moves through the organizational chain in a predetermined process at a rapid pace until the common management element resolves the issue. Issue resolution is functioning at its optimum when differences are resolved at the lowest possible level. This resolution provides for the rapid decisions necessary in the system design environment.

4. REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS:
All deliverable documents are reviewed and approved by the client per the Statement of Work. Reviews are designed to provide checkpoints during the delivery cycle and to ensure that current and planned tasks comply with the organization's policies, procedures, requirements, and obligations as stated in the contract. The cost and time associated with the review and approval of project documents will be reduced by performing frequent, informal reviews whenever possible. This process provides for early detection and correction of errors, minimizing the possibility of substantial rework.

To ensure formal review take place, they will be included in the detailed project plan. A definitive process specifying distribution lists of reviewers and duration of the review and approval process will be agreed upon prior to the start of the program.

5. QUALITY ASSURANCE PLAN:
CDA is committed to supporting and facilitating a quality assurance process that ensures a high-quality delivery of the related systems from both an end-user and a maintenance perspective. The quality assurance function addresses three aspects of systems delivery:

Product Quality:
Quality assurance assess the quality of the project's products through document reviews, process audits, design walk-through and inspections, development of a through testing strategy and test monitoring. Established project standards, document review standards, and generally accepted industry standards are used as criteria for product reviews and walk-through, audits and testing approaches.

Process Quality:
Through process audits, the quality assurance function assesses how well the system development, delivery, and support processes satisfy their intended functions. Quality assurance also evaluates whether established processes are capable of delivering a quality result and of providing an appropriate level of visibility to project management and quality assurance.

Management Quality:
Quality assurance assesses the quality of the existing project management processes and results (for example, project plan development and engineering change control). Quality assurance, along with project management, identifies the processes and products deemed to be of high risk to project success. The quality assurance function applies an appropriate level of attention to monitoring these high risk areas. Each team member in the program will have responsibility for ensuring the quality of other team member's work as well as for his or her own. Quality assurance processes address: Defect prevention, especially training and methods that reduce the likelihood of a defect being introduced into the product. Appraisal, including:

•	Design and code walk-through and inspections
•	Review at key project milestones
•	Audits of key management, process, and product efforts
•	Supplier audits
•	Document reviews
•	Process audits and process improvement for the development and delivery processes.
•	Error tracking and problem reporting
•	Technical and user requirements/test results, tracking throughout the delivery cycle
•	Acceptance.

6. SUBCONTRACTOR MANAGEMENT PLAN:
The success of this project depends heavily upon the ability of its subcontractors to meet rigorous standards of quality and schedule performance. Each of the subcontractors involved with this program has been carefully chosen based on the quality of their services that fit into the overall solution, as well as their reputation for delivering to schedule and budgetary expectations. CDA employs a variety of methods in order to successfully manage the effort of its subcontractors, such as:

•	Independent constituent contracts (statements of work) with each major subcontractor
•	Developed and integrated program schedule inclusive of the deliverables and supporting activities from each major subcontractor
•	Regular schedule reviews to track variances in the schedule and surface any other issues or concerns
•	Application of a "hands-on" approach to relationships with subcontractor by fully integrating them within the project organization.
•	Assignment of a dedicated program business manager to manage the business relationships with each

Given the size and complexity involved in successfully delivering the systems proposed herein, it is essential that the product delivery schedules are managed closely and in a controlled fashion. To this end, CDA will manage its major subcontractors through the use of formal subcontract that directly support the program plan.

return to top