Hitachi Consulting’s Project Management Mentoring Program

Program Introduction Over the last several years, Hitachi Consulting has successfully mentored hundreds of students in CU’s project management course; student projects can range from BI, to process re-engineering, to development of marketing plans, etc. The mentoring program provides a way of connecting experienced professionals with students to provide them with different perspectives and potentially some good counsel with respect to successfully executing class projects This fall semester, starting in mid-September, our consultants will participate in three sessions in which we field questions from students about their class projects, mentoring them from project initiation through a final presentation Each of the three sessions is 2-3 hours in length and takes place in Boulder; mentors can also attend a fourth session—the student team’s final presentation in December Project teams typically have 4-8 student team members Client sponsors may attend mentoring sessions Optimally, the same mentor(s) work with the same team over the course of the semester

Program Introduction - Continued About CU’s Project Management Course The intent of the undergraduate course is to acquaint the student with “multidisciplinary aspects of project management, including the relationship between schedule, project cost, and performance.” Course content is based on the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) methodology; PMI is the institution that grants the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification Course activities are as follows: Early September, students select projects offered by real companies; student teams are then expected to execute the project from initiation & planning through execution & presentation of findings Mentors often act as a third party “interpreter” between what the client is saying and what the students are hearing; we also identify potentially important tasks that may need further attention Project documentation will be published prior to each mentoring session to a Internet-based collaboration site, which allows mentors an opportunity to scan briefly key elements of project deliverables A final student team presentation outlines the project, the solution, rationale, and business benefits The Instructor (Jim Marlatt) Jim’s been a professor at CU since 1999. Prior to that, Jim was a Senior Consultant with Price Waterhouse working on large business system implementations and a Partner with Arthur Andersen running consulting businesses in the U.S. and the former Soviet Union

Program Benefits CU Students Hitachi Consulting Mentors Leverage other’s experiences to help identify critical tasks that establish strong project foundations Learn typical project ‘gotchas’ Seek and receive advice on balancing priorities Discover hidden assumptions, constraints, and project tasks Gather perspectives from individuals that have dealt with a variety of projects and ambiguous situations Understand how classroom topics play out in real-world situations Challenge mentees to go further, take risks, set new goals, and achieve at higher personal and/or professional standards Hitachi Consulting Mentors Strengthens knowledge and experience base, including exposure to new industries and types of projects Improves communication skills Enhances leadership skills and encourages us to become more reflective professionals Provides intrinsic satisfaction (makes you feel good) by helping an emerging professional develop to his/her potential Demonstrates professionalism and a commitment to personal and professional development of self and colleagues Obtain professional recognition as a mentor for a commitment to developing the talents of new professionals

Key Mentoring Activities Semester Begins Semester Ends 2nd Week 4th or 5th Week Middle of Semester 3 or 4 Weeks Before End of Semester Last Week of Semester Project Fair Mentoring Session #1 (Project Initiation & Planning) Mentoring Session #2 (Project Execution and Monitoring) Mentoring Session #3 (Review Draft Presentations) Final Presentation Activity Objectives Project Fair (no mentor participation required) Students are introduced to the companies and projects and sign up for team membership; no mentor participation required Mentoring Session #1 - Project Initiation & Planning Discuss critical activities that establish a solid project foundation Mentoring Session #2 - Project Execution and Monitoring Discuss overall project progress and coach through difficult areas Mentoring Session #3 - Review Draft Presentations Discuss draft presentations and provide feedback on improvement Final Presentation (Optional) Student teams present final presentations and celebration of project success; mentor participation is optional

Mentoring Session #1 – Project Initiation & Planning Session Objective: Discuss critical activities that establish a solid project foundation Potential Discussion Points Project Initiation Charter, objectives, assumptions, constraints, and scope Related client or other documents Client culture Project Planning Major phases, milestones, and deliverables Key activities, dependencies, timelines, resource requirements, and critical paths Project schedule Quality Roles and responsibilities Communications Risk and reserves Project and change control guidelines Sign-off and kick-off

Mentoring Session #2 – Project Execution & Monitoring Session Objective: Discuss overall project progress and coach through difficult areas Potential Discussion Points Project Execution Communications and status reporting Quality Team building, rewards, and overall resource loading Monitoring and Controlling Plan progress, measurements, variances, and corrective actions Scope changes & solution realities Change recommendations, approval, and implementation Risks & issues logs Conflicts and resolutions

Mentoring Session #3 – Review Presentation Drafts Session Objective: Discuss draft presentations and provide feedback on improvement Potential Discussion Points Presentation and personnel introduction Quality and relevancy of supporting content Conclusions Content organization and sequencing Presentation timing Presentation hints Key dos and don’ts Individual presentation styles

Session #4 – Final Presentations (Optional) Session Objectives: Listen attentively to final presentations and ask clarifying questions of project teams Celebrate project team success Potential Presentation Discussion Points Source of facts Solution areas not commented upon Rationale for solution path selection Celebrate Team Success!! Meet client personnel Meet other project teams Network Dinner and refreshments provided

Additional Information The School: Leeds School of Business http://www.cuaccelerate.com The Course: SYST4080 The course syllabus is located at http://leeds-faculty.colorado.edu/marlattj/ Use the link for the course entitled SYST4080, towards the bottom of the page The Project Management Methodology The course utilizes the methodology specified by the Project Management Institute— http://www.pmi.org PMI is the institution that issues the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. See http://www.pmi.org/CareerDevelopment/Pages/Obtaining-Credential.aspx#pmp The Instructor – Jim Marlatt http://leeds.colorado.edu/Profile.aspx?id=254,288&aid=154&status=Ins Hitachi Consulting’s Mentoring Program Contact Rick Preston or Josh Kahn with any additional questions