Welcome to the TCIT Project Management Portal! This portal serves as a one-stop shop for project management resources. Here you can find guidance on how to prepare for a project, build a plan, align stakeholders, manage the project plan's execution, and close the project. You can also sign up for project management training offered by TCIT's Project Management Office (PMO).
Summary
The Project Management Office (PMO) within the Teachers College Information Technology (TCIT) department, serves as the primary point of contact for all technology related project requests. PMO also manages the new application assessment request process - Request a New Application Assessment.
Vision & Value
The PMO works alongside TCIT's other divisions to ensure successful and timely delivery of technical initiatives.
We partner with stakeholders across the College to develop long-term technology plans so that senior leaders can ensure organizational readiness for IT transformations. The PMO empowers project teams with tools, processes, and strategic guidance that enable effective collaboration, timely delivery against expectations, and delivery of quality solutions. We establish and support effective IT governance structures that provide College leaders with the information needed to make decisions that align with the College’s objectives, proactively identify and mitigate risks, and promptly address issues. The PMO ensure that IT transformations achieve maximum value through organizational change management practices.
Following consultation with senior leadership in their department, TC stakeholders are encouraged to submit a project request to assess a technology strategy, implement a new system, or implement major enhancements to an existing system. Click the button below to submit a project request.
Jon Macmillan founded and leads the TCIT Project Management Office, and has overseen the execution of over 500 IT projects at TC. Prior to Teachers College, Jon worked for nearly a decade as a senior consultant at Exeter Group, overseeing complex technology transformations at higher education and healthcare organizations. Jon hails from the Greater Boston area, and returns to Cape Cod every summer. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner and their Swedish Vallhund dog, Buzz.
Michael Headrick is TCIT's Strategy and Planning Manager. He focuses on working with stakeholders across the College to identify needs for technology, evaluate investments in technology, and facilitate the approval and budget processes. After graduating with a Bachelors of Arts in Architectural Studies at The University of Hong Kong, Michael pursued a career in technology: UX design, product management and strategic leadership. Michael is also an accredited facilitator of group dynamics and conflict mediation. He is also pursuing a Masters of Clinical Psychology at Teachers College.
Amber Wylie began her TC career in HRIS as a Senior HRIS Analyst/Project Manager, then eagerly accepted the opportunity to join the newly formed TCIT Project Management Office in 2016. She manages projects across TC and enjoys working with departments to successfully implement solutions that add value and improve efficiency. Amber is originally from Orange County, California, has a Chihuahua mix named Sawyer, and loves to travel.
Alexander Dymovsky brings a wealth of expertise to his role as IT Project Manager and Application Analyst at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he has served since 2017. Adept at leading significant application transformations and managing platforms like Salesforce and Marketing Cloud, Alexander has over a decade of experience implementing complex technical solutions in higher education environments. He began his career at the Bard Early Colleges, immersed in data and systems management for research and operational efficacy. This experience sparked his interest in systems technology and optimizing data processes, laying the foundation for his progressive expertise in IT solutions.
Sonya Jones started her career at TC in the Telecommunications Department, overseeing the phone system. Since 2023, she has been an integral part of the PMO Team. Alongside managing projects, she serves as the Change Management Lead, collaborating closely with project teams. Her primary focus is assessing the repercussions of change and keeping stakeholders thoroughly
Raza Ahmed is a seasoned Business Analyst based in Somerset, NJ. His professional journey includes impactful contributions in roles such as a Junior Business Analyst Consultant at EC2 Software Solutions and SEI Investments. Alongside his professional experience, he hold a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Rutgers University, earned in 2015. Raza's expertise lies in optimizing business processes, facilitating seamless collaboration between development teams and stakeholders, and ensuring successful project outcomes. He is an avid fan of both watching and playing basketball.
Start here to learn about project management basics.
A work effort is requested, but how do you know if it is a task, project, or service?
WHAT IS A TASK? |
WHAT IS A PROJECT? |
WHAT IS A SERVICE? |
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A task is a work item or activity with a specific purpose related to the larger goal. Tasks can be standalone efforts, or components of a larger project plan. Example: Create a mock-up of the event registration form to document the fields that will be included on the new form. |
A project is a temporary effort to create value through unique products, services, and processes. Example: Implement a new event management platform to replace the existing platform.
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A service is a function or process (or set of related functions or processes) provided on an ongoing, duplicable basis to a set of clients. Example: Event Technical Support - Facilitate execution of TC events - preparation, audio/visual support, live streaming, etc. |
A project can start as an idea to implement a product, service, or solution to improve on the status quo. The idea must be vetted to ensure it aligns with the goals of the department or College. On an annual basis, the PMO team meets with department leaders to assess strategy, technology, effort, and cost of initiative proposals for the following fiscal year. These proposals are submitted through ServiceNow and move through the demand (project review) process. Once the project request is approved, it is formally turned into a project and scheduled based on project team availability. Once initiated, the project is executed until it is complete; then the project is closed, and; the solution is operationalized.
In TCIT, a project request begins as a "demand," or project request, which is submitted through the Submit a Project Request form on the self-service portal. Once a demand is submitted, it moves through the demand review process to evaluate the request through value, technology, and resource assessments. If approved, the demand is converted to a "project," where it is assigned a project manager, staffed with the project team, and scheduled. This process is part of the initiation project phase.
This diagram displays the different phases of a project from initiation of the project request to closing the project once it is complete.
Projects require strong teams working together to complete the effort successfully. Below are a few key roles involved in most projects.
Common terms used in project management.
This page provides resources to guide you through managing a project.
For more information, please review the Project Management 101 guide.
You have been assigned as the project manager on a new project - now what? When starting a new project, there are a few things you should do to organize and prepare:
1.) Set up a shared project space - There are many project and task management tools available on the market, but TC recommends using Asana for project and task management. Asana is a web-based platform that helps teams to organize, track, and manage work. Set up the Asana project space to include the project description, project team and their roles, key resources, and the project plan.
Watch the Intro to Projects video to get a quick overview of how projects work in Asana. For a deeper dive, take the Get Started with Asana course (this course requires an Asana account).
2.) Build a Project Plan - A project plan is a blueprint of the goals, objectives, and tasks your team needs to accomplish for a specific project.
In Asana, click on the "List" icon in the top menu.
3.) Schedule the project kickoff meeting - The initial project meeting with the project team and stakeholders to discuss the project goals & objectives, meeting cadence, and project etiquette & expectations.
1.) Maintain project plan - Update the project tasks statuses and ensure the project is on schedule.
2.) Schedule weekly project standup meeting to discuss tasks, issues, and roadblocks.
3.) For TCIT project managers, submit your weekly project status reports through ServiceNow. See instructions in the Project Management 101 guide.
1.) Document tasks to prepare for go-live using the Project Go-Live Readiness Checklist (see Resources tab).
2.) Schedule a meeting with the Organizational Change Lead to discuss communications and rollout.
3.) Schedule a meeting with the TCIT Service Desk to notify them of the rollout so they know what to expect and train if necessary so they can support the system.
4.) Train administrators.
5.) Send communication to affected stakeholders to announce go-live.
1.) Review the project plan, ensure all tasks are complete.
2.) Note any future operational tasks that need to be addressed post-implementation.
3.) Hold a project closure meeting with the project team to confirm project objectives have been met.
4.) Hold a project retrospective meeting to discuss what went well, what didn't work well, and what can be improved next time (this can be combined with the project closure meeting or held as a separate meeting).
All templates can be found in the Google Drive Template Gallery under the "Tc.columbia.edu" tab in the "TC Project Management" section. To access a template, go to Google Drive > click the "New" button > select Google Docs or Google Sheets > select "From a template" > from the Tc.columbia.edu tab, scroll down to the TC Project Management section > click on the template you wish to use and it will open in a new tab > rename and modify the document as needed.
Below are a few tips and tricks to help you manage and participate in projects successfully.
Review this page to learn more about change management.
Organizational Change Management is an organized, systematic application of knowledge, tools, and resources that prepare stakeholders for changes to technology, process, and roles/responsibilities. As part of a project, change management provides a means of effectively communicating to the relevant stakeholders what the new solution is, how it is used, and who it will affect.
Change Management involves all members of the project team, but the project manager should coordinate the change effort with the PMO Organizational Change Management Lead.
The PMO Organizational Change Management Lead can provide critical support in developing organizational change management (OCM) plans that prepare stakeholders for changes to user experience, process, and roles/responsibilities. They can assist with stakeholder analysis, leading brainstorming sessions on communication and rollout strategies, drafting communications, developing training, facilitating updates to your department website, developing rollout presentation materials, and updating on-campus e-boards to announce the project go-live.
Here is an example of how change management was used in the Okta project - a TCIT project to implement a new single-sign platform college-wide; requiring all users to enroll in Okta and create a new password for TC resources.
The project manager met with the PMO Organizational Change Lead early in the project to plan: 1.) communication strategy, 2.) process documentation required for training, 3.) training needs, and 4.) support on the go-live date and immediately after.
Review this page for all the resources and links mentioned in the project management portal.
Asana project management software
All templates can be found in the Google Drive Template Gallery under the "Tc.columbia.edu" tab in the "TC Project Management" section. To access a template, go to Google Drive > click the "New" button > select Google Docs or Google Sheets > select "From a template" > from the Tc.columbia.edu tab, scroll down to the TC Project Management section > click on the template you wish to use and it will open in a new tab > rename and modify the document as needed.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEMPLATES
CHANGE MANAGEMENT TEMPLATES
To attend a project management training session, please register on the TCIT Workshops page: https://www.tc.columbia.edu/tcit/resources/tutorials--training/workshops/
For more information on project management, please review the Project Management 101 guide.
Teachers College Information Technology (TCIT)
Address: 525 West 120th Street br> New York, New York 10027-6696
Phone: 212-678-3300 Email: servicedesk@tc.columbia.edu