UD's IT Project Request Process

UD’s IT Project Request process, implemented in October 2019, provides a central system for requesting and tracking projects. The process consists of up to three phases.  

• Phase 1: Project Approval & Requirement Definition (6-10 weeks)
• Phase 2: System Procurement (8-10 weeks)
• Phase 3: Project Implementation (TBD - resource and priority dependent)
   

IT System Procurement - Standard and Expedited Timing

Some IT Project Requests require the purchase of a new IT system (i.e., hardware, software, or both). Steps 4.0 - 16.0 outlined below were developed by UD’s Procurement Office and the UDit Project Management Office (PMO) and are required for University authorization of these purchases. In cases where a project requires IT procurement, expect 14-20 weeks from placing your project request to the start of implementation planning.

In rare cases to meet critical campus needs, the division VP may approve Expedited (Fast Track) IT System Procurement. 

UD's IT Project Request Process

PHASE 1: Project Approval and Requirement Definition (6-10 weeks)

Owners: Department / IT Project Manager

• 1.0 – Identify Need or Opportunity: When a need or opportunity is identified (e.g., a new application, a major upgrade to an existing system, a new service), the requester will submit a request via the UDit Project Request form to initiate the process. This request will be automatically routed for initial approval to appointed designee(s) in the requesting department.
   
• 2.0 – Complete Initial Vetting: The Project Intake Request Team reviews requests each Monday at 11:00. Project Requests are routed for approval by either the submitting Department Director or the Division VP. 

Procurement and IT Operations and Engagement will also be consulted to determine if UD already has a solution or system that might satisfy the request. If so, the requestor will be notified; if the existing solution or system is sufficient, the ticket will be closed. If a solution or system exists, but needs modifications, additions, or other significant changes, the request will proceed as usual.

• 3.0 – Approve or Cancel: The Department Director or Division VP will review the request and either approve moving forward with project planning or deny the request. Approval to proceed with planning does not provide purchase approval for a particular application, system or solution; budget approval occurs under “Funding Approval” below. If the department director or division VP denies the request, the requestor is notified and the ticket is closed.
   
• 4.0 – Determine Requirements: Business and functional requirements are outlined and documented to ensure the requestor’s needs are fully identified and that there is full understanding of requirements. This step also results in a comprehensive feature set to present to potential vendors or providers and, ultimately, to assist in determining the best solution. This section will result in a Business Requirements Document (BRD) that will incorporate agreed-upon requirements and be signed by the requestor or other authorized staff member, e.g., department Director.
   

PHASE 2: System Procurement (8-10 weeks)

Phase 2A - Funding Approval (1 week)

Owners:  Department Leadership / IT Project Manager / Purchasing

• 5.0 – Identify Long List: A broad selection of potential vendors are identified that, at a cursory level, appear to provide solutions or systems that meet the critical business requirements identified in the BRD. This can be a concerted effort by the requestor/requesting department, the project manager, and Procurement. Procurement may have insight on state or industry vendor lists and can also utilize Runway’s Procurement IQ to identify potential vendor solutions. This section will result in a long list of vendors for further consideration. 

• 6.0 – Determine Costs: The list of vendors identified in Section 5.0 are examined, high-level demonstrations can be requested, and general costs for each vendor or provider solution will be compiled to yield a cost range. 
   
• 7.0 – Business Justification Case: The team generates a Business Justification document detailing the costs and benefits of implementing the solution for review by Senior Leadership.
   
• 8.0 – Budget Approval: Senior Leadership (and potentially ITEC) reviews the Business Justification and makes a decision whether or not to move forward with this project. If approved, the project moves forward; if rejected, the project will be cancelled without further action.

Phase 2B - Sourcing (5-7 weeks)

Owners:  Buyer / IT Purchasing Manager / IT Project Manager

• 9.0 – Request for Proposal (RFP): If the estimated cost of the solution exceeds $10,000, Procurement will generate and distribute an RFP and response timeline to the long list of qualified vendors. Security related documents (e.g., HECVAT Lite) will be requested in the RFP to ensure that vendors meet UD’s security requirements.
   
• 10.0 – Review Short List Alternatives: RFP responses will be reviewed by the requestor/requesting department, project manager, and procurement to identify no more than 3 vendors for final consideration. Further demos or additional information incorporating use cases may occur at this time to assist in this determination. The UDit Security department will review security documentation to ensure that vendor solutions on short list comply with UD security requirements. 
   
• 11.0 – Select Preferred Solution: Taking into consideration general costs, addressing requirements, goodness of fit with existing infrastructure, and security compliance, the team will select the preferred solution.
   
• 12.0 – Price Negotiations: Procurement will review contracts, refer to resources including state and industry pricing, and proceed with price negotiations to ensure UD is offered the best possible price for the solution. The result of this section will be a formal proposal contract.

Phase 2C - Security and Legal Review (2 weeks)

Owners: Legal / UDit Security

• 13.0 – Legal Review: The UD Legal Affairs department will review all contractual documentation via the TeamDynamix Contract Routing and Approval service. Legal Affairs will either approve or request modifications to contract language. The result of this section will be contract approval, once both parties are satisfied with contractual language. 

• 14.0 – Security Review: Concurrently with Section 13.0, final security documents will be reviewed by the UDit Security team and approved if they meet UD security requirements.
   
• 15.0 – Finalize: Approved documentation, both contractual and security, is compiled and presented for final review by the requestor/requesting department, project manager and Procurement. 
   
• 16.0 – Notify Vendor: Notify vendor of contract approval and proceed with contract signature by Senior Leadership. Request e-document for electronic signature routing. Senior Leadership representative signs contract.
   

PHASE 3: Project Implementation (duration TBD)

Once the project has been approved and any required procurement activities are complete, the project team can develop a plan and timeline for implementation. The time required for implementation will depend largely on resource availability.  

• 17.0 – Setup Project Launch Date: The project lead coordinates with UDit and system vendor (if applicable) to identify a Kick-Off date.
   
• 18.0 – Open Project: Convert the approved request from section 3.0 to a “project” in TeamDynamix (TDX), identify all stakeholders, establish a project team, and rank project priority.
   
• 19.0 – Set Target Dates: After assembling the project team, which should include all departments impacted by project, and meeting with vendor for the kick-off meeting, establish a target go-live date, taking into account the project priority as well as workloads of all departments on the project team.
   

Expedited (Fast Track) IT System Procurement 

Some IT project requests require the purchase of a new IT system (i.e., hardware, software, or both). The IT system procurement process, developed by UD’s Procurement Office and the UDit Project Management Office (PMO), defines the steps necessary for these purchases. 

In rare cases to meet critical campus needs, the division VP may approve an expedited procurement process, reducing the time required for IT procurement from 14-20 weeks to 8-9 weeks. This does NOT include the time needed for system implementation.  

Fast Track IT procurement process should only be used when:

• The project is critical and unexpected
• The expedited process has approval at the VP level
• Business requirements are completely or well known
• Costs are already understood (and preferably approved) by Senior Leadership

The Fast Track process groups procurement-related sections of the standard IT project request process according to general function (see flowchart below).  Assumptions associated with the “fast tracking” of these groupings are described below. 

Group A (1.0 - 3.0): 1 week
The Fast Track process presumes the need / opportunity has already been clearly identified and leadership approval has been obtained prior to project initiation, effectively reducing the time required in this stage to no more than a week. 

Group B (4.0 - 7.0): 2 weeks
The Fast Track process presumes that a specific (or narrow set of) solution / vendor has already been identified. A rough cost estimate should be known and approved by Senior Leadership. This prework  precludes the need for a formal Business Case document, effectively bypassing the solution requirements process reducing the estimated completion time from 7 weeks to 2 weeks or less.

Group C (8.0 - 12.0): 3.5 weeks
The project is presumed to have preliminary approval of leadership. If a short list of vendors has been identified and the estimated cost exceeds $10,000, Procurement will distribute an RFP to vendor candidates with an abbreviated response time requirement. In the expedited process, there may be a limited ability to negotiate pricing, as we’ll likely be working with only a single or limited set of vendors. 

Group D (13.0 - 16.0): 2 weeks
Legal and security review normally requires 2-3 weeks; the Fast Track process requests an expedited review and sign-off within 2 weeks.

The total estimated time for the Fast Track process is about 9 weeks. Once the procurement is complete, the project team can develop a plan and timeline for implementation. The time required for implementation will depend largely on resource availability.