Tracking Non-Project Time in an Information Systems Department with Project Server Kelly Jones PMO Manager, Information Systems Sharp Healthcare

Agenda  Why Track Non- Project Time?  Common Methods of Accounting for Non- Project Work  Advantages of Non- Project Time Tracking  Non-Project Time Assumptions  Non-Project Categories  Logistics for Tracking Non-Project Time  Administrative Projects  Reporting Examples

Why Track Non-Project Time?  Everyone does non-project work  Management meetings and reports  Operations work  Organizing and communication activities  If your organization is completing timesheets already, you may as well capture all work hours  Management wants to know what is happening in their area

Common methods for Dealing with Non-Project Work  Ignore the work performed outside of projects  For example, assume 75% availability to projects. Two methods:  Change default resource calendar to 6-hour days (e.g. 9 AM – 12 PM and 1 PM – 4 PM)  Reduce resource maximum units (Max. Units) to 75%

Advantages of Non-project Time Tracking  Non-project business indicators  Client reports showing overall workload of employees  Resource management  Look at future capacity for additional projects  Use recent actual hours as basis for future planning  Timesheet oversight  Easily see FTE under-reported timesheet weeks

Non-Project Time Assumptions  Tasks have no end date  Remaining Work and Duration is irrelevant  Individual managers may want to customize task list for their group  Tasks need to be categorized for high- level reporting

Non-Project Categories  Enhancements  Internal Management  Operations  Staff Development  Time Off

Enhancements  “Mini-projects”—fewer than 100 work hours in duration  Involve improving upon the design of something (vs. correcting a defect)  Minor application or sub-system improvements or upgrades  User interface or report changes that enhance the design of an application

Internal Management  General communication and/or organizational activities that have indirect client benefit  Should be 10% or less of total work hours for non- management  Work should not apply to Operations, Enhancements, or Projects  Examples:  General staff meetings  Management status reports  Organizing work area  General /voice mail  Filling out timesheets

Operations  Includes:  Defect correction  Application or sub-system not working as designed  Recurring maintenance activities  System backups  Uptime assurance activities  Non-IS user assistance or training on how to use applications or equipment  On-call activities

Staff Development  The amount of time that the Information Systems department spends improving itself  Includes:  Receiving training  Giving training to other IS staff  Recruiting activities  Team-building initiatives

Time Off  All non-productive time  Sick time  Jury duty  Vacation  Holidays  Does not include compensatory time (“comp time”)  This inflates our time-off statistics

Non-Project Logistics  Every manager maintains their own non-project schedule for their direct reports  Each non-project schedule has one outline level only that depicts the non-project category for tasks belonging to it  Managers can create custom tasks for their own group within one of the summary tasks  Often tasks are created by product that the group supports e.g. HPA Operations  Units for each assignment should be equal to previous year’s actual values  Custom enterprise outline code used to designate schedule as “Non-Project”

Administrative Projects  New feature with Project Server 2003  Allows user to create schedules of non- project tasks  Mechanics for creating are the same as regular project schedules  Template required  Features:  Prevents update of Remaining Work on timesheet (task will not fall off timesheet)  User cannot hide, reject, or create new task for project on timesheet  Tasks are not imported to Outlook calendar

Administrative Projects from User Perspective  Appears at the bottom of the timesheet  Allows user to assign themselves to existing non-project tasks  Time entry can only use the Hours per Day tracking method  Remaining Work cannot be updated

Tracking Temporary Non- Project Work  Use additional regular project schedule (not administrative project)  Use same “Non-Project” designation via custom enterprise outline code  Create tasks using same summary task scheme  Assign resources to tasks and publish to user timesheets  Time will roll-up with other non-project work in reports

Reporting Examples  Actual Work per Month by Category  Department  Resource  Percentage FTE Utilization per Month  Monthly Task Actual Work Hours  Product Actual Hours per Month by Category  Product Committee Task Actuals

Questions?