PSCIOC-PSSDC Workplan Coordination Strategy–

Draft

Coordination Committee

Telecon 2003-04-08

Overview

• Background

• Strategy Development Activities– Objectives, Assumptions, Recommendations,

Templates, Flow Diagram

• Requirements Check

• Tiered approach

• Visible and Internal Mechanisms

Background: The Goal!

• Workplans potentially exist at 3 levels:– Joint Council level– Individual Council level– Committee/Sub-Committee/Task Group/Working

Group level

• How do we track and monitor progress at all 3 levels?

Successful communications between PSCIOC and PSSDC (key deliverable) requires a coordinated approach to workplanning

Activities to date

• Several discussions with Stuart Culbertson (SFC)• SFC produced (next set of slides):

– Objectives, Suggested Framework, Assumptions and recommendations

– Draft workplan tracking template– Example workplan applied to PSCIOC content

• Secretariat developed a draft Workplan Coordination strategy:– Including Stuart’s material and a diagram of Workplan

flow– Next Steps

Objectives

• PSCIOC and PSSDC clearly share a common interest in:– ensuring that their priority workplan projects are

managed and tracked to ensure outcome. – the Secretariat establishing an enhanced

communications vehicle that will help ensure that all members know what is happening in both Councils and their respective subcommittees.

Project Tracking Framework• Both objectives can be accomplished by attempting to

format the Councils and their sub-committees’ workplans into a Project Tracking Framework. This framework would:– Serve as an accountability mechanism between the Council sub-

committees and the main Councils.– Allows reporting of Project work against priority deliverables and

project milestones that the Councils will have agreed on in advance when they approved the go-ahead for the project.

– It would also allow the responsible sub-committees a vehicle for posing issues and “decisions required” to the Councils if something has occurred in the work program that requires mid-course direction or decision.

– Form a monthly or quarterly report that the Secretariat could compile to circulate to both Councils – meeting reporting and enhance communications needs.

Assumptions

• The success of such an approach is predicated on the following assumptions:– Both Councils will be much more rigorous in defining their

workplans;

– Workplans with key program deliverables and associated timelines are actually developed in advance and approved by the Councils;

– Councils and their sub-committees agree to a standard reporting framework and agree to file these on a regular basis with the assistance of the Secretariat.

– Reporting is made as easy as possible to do by Council and sub-committee members.

Technical Architecture Recommendation

• SFC drafted a simple Project Tracking and Reporting Framework (next slide), which could be refined for adoption by both Councils.

• SFC scanned some of the project management programs currently available on the market to see if any are relevant to the work at hand (e.g. Microsoft Project, QuickBooks Smart Tools). – “While several would certainly provide full support, I do not

think the Councils actually need the full industrial-strength and cost-focussed detail and structure that such programs can provide.”

SFC recommended the Councils would best benefit from a crisp, high-level summary of workplans that underscores accountability to the agreed workplan and serves as a reporting vehicle.

 

PROJECT Sub-Committee / Council Contact

Project Deliverables and Timelines

Project Status/Issues Other Groups Involved / Relevant Initiatives

        Title        Brief Description/ Project Rationale

        Official responsible and contact #s        PSCIOC-PSSDC project sponsor

        Summary of key project outcomes/deliverables along with Timelines

        Note – date on which Council approved Project Workplan;[1]         Summary of latest information on project progress;        Summary of any issues arising in work thus far (i.e. any items that the sub-committee wishes to note to PSCIOC/PSSDC which may pull the sub-committee off of the workplan);        Date of Next meeting (if scheduled)

        Listing of all known relevant initiatives or groups working on the same theme.        Could include partnerships that the sub-committee is involved in or other inter-jurisdictional groups at work on related themes or interested in sub-committee’s work[2]

 S.F. Culbertson and Associates Inc. D R A F T - 03.04.2003

[1] This assumes that the Project team has filed a Workplan and the Council has approved it.

[2] For example, Privacy Commissioners viz. PSCIOC Privacy sub-committee; Public Service Commissioners viz. PSSDC recruitment and retention work

PSCIOC-PSSDC : TEMPLATE FOR PROJECT REPORTING AND WORKPLAN TRACKING

PSCIOC-PSSDC:Workplan Coordination – Possible Flow

SecretariatPSCIOC PSSDC

Joint Councils

Council Committees/Task Groups

WorkplanSystem

Councils’

Extranet (website)

Councils’

Extranet (website)

Lac Carling

Quarterly Report Request

Reports

Completed Template

Approved Annual Workplan

Approved Annual Workplan

Reports

ReportsApproved Annual Workplan

Updates

Reports

Reports

Drill-DownRequests

Prepared by:PSCIOC-PSSDC

Secretariat2003-03

Request CommitteeWorkplan

Request CommitteeWorkplan

SubmitDraft

Workplan

SubmitDraft

Workplan

Requirements Check

• What are the key deliverables?– Workplan tracking– Communications enhanced

• What are the desired results?– All levels of PSCIOC-PSSDC activities are understood– Gaps are identified and reviewed at all levels– Not overly onerous on those reporting or formulating workplans

• What reports are required? How often?– Status reports, Annual reports – Quarterly or 2 weeks before Council/Joint Councils Meetings

• What level of detail?– Is proposed template sufficient?– What else is required?

Tiered Approach

• Recommend a tiered approach– Regular updates from committees to their

Council via Secretariat– Regular updates from Joint Priority Project

leads to Coordinating Committee and Joint Council via Secretariat

– Sharing of reports and workplans via website

Visible Workplan Mechanisms• Subcommittees provide to their respective Council:

– Annual Workplans for approval– Status reports for each Council meeting

• Joint Priority Projects leads provide: – Status reports to every other Coordinating Committee meeting– Updates to each PSCIOC-PSSDC Joint Council meeting

• PSCIOC and PSSDC endeavour to:– Set Strategic Goals and Plan every 2-3 years– Review and update Strategic Plan annually– Review workplans regularly– Share their workplans with each other (posted on website)

• PSCIOC-PSSDC Joint Council endeavours to:– Set Strategic Framework For Action every 2-3 years– Review and update Strategic Framework annually– Approve Priority Projects annually

Secretariat provides coordination at all levels

Internal Workplan Mechanisms

• Secretariat provides overall coordination by:– Receiving sub-committee workplans and rolling them into a single

Council workplan– Requesting status reports from sub-committees– Requesting status/update reports from Joint Priority Project leads– Loading approved workplans at all levels onto website for review

by all members– Tracking and monitoring progress– Analyzing workplans for gaps and issues and preparing a

Secretariat report on overall coordinated progress– Developing an overall integrated workplan approach or “system”

using basic office technology software and use of the joint website

Next Steps

• Confirm approach• Work with co-chairs to compile Council workplans• Put workplan reporting in place for Lac Carling PSCIOC,

PSSDC and PSCIOC-PSSDC meetings– Use template (modified where required) provided by SFC

• Secretariat brief/present approach to:– Co-chairs and seek their support for strategy and approach– PSCIOC and PSSDC on their next telecons– Sub-committee co-chairs and/or sub-committees as a whole

• Secretariat develop:– Planning/reporting cycle diagram– Internal tracking system to manage workplans and reports