Project Management 2007 Winter Meeting

January 23-24, 2007

Meeting Notes

 

The EFCOG Project Management Working Group (PMWG) held its Winter Meeting at the PNNL Offices in Washington, DC on January 23-24, 2007. Forty-two members participated (see Access List, Attachment 1).

The purpose of the meeting was to review actions from CY 2006, develop an Action Plan for 2007 and transition the Working Group (WG) Leadership. The agenda for the meeting is Attachment 2.

Pete Offringa presented accomplishments and continuing actions from CY 2006. Presentation is Attachment 3. The theme for 2006 activities was  "Improving the Quality of Contractor Documentation at Critical Decision Points." Deliverables provided by the Focus Groups have been well received by the DOE. As a result of the WG's reputation for high quality deliverables, numerous requests have been received for additional work. The WG outputs related to documentation at critical decisions were provided by NNSA to the Security Improvement Project at Y-12 to use in preparation for CD-1. The results of this activity will be used as a basis for evaluation of the usefulness of the documentation. Several other actions from CY 2006 are being continued into CY 2007.

The remainder of the day was devoted to organizing the writing of the Project Management Guides supporting DOE O 413.3A. For this activity the Guide Leads from DOE joined the WG. John Makepeace, the OECM lead, presented the objectives and purpose of the guides. He provided a matrix showing the Guide Leader, EFCOG POC and the DOE Standard 1189 interface POC for each guide. A target completion date for each guide was also presented as part of the matrix. Dick Englehart provided a presentation on the status of DOE Standard 1189 and the interface required between the Standard and many of the DOE O 413.3A Guides. Key to the effectiveness of this interface in maintaining continuity among these documents is the inclusion of the DOE Standard 1189 POC listed on the OECM matrix in the development of the Guides. General discussion took place; many questions were asked and answered. Some issues were tabled for further action. Roland Frenck of NA54 presented a proposed approach to the IPT Guide as a sample process. By the end of the session, most questions were answered and issues resolved. Those remaining were assigned for future action.

On the second day, January 24, activities for the Guides were reviewed, assignments verified and additional people added to contact teams. Remaining actions include:

  • Adding additional supporting POC and PMWG representatives to the matrix (John Makepeace, Pete Offringa).

  • Providing contact information PMWG representatives on the matrix (Pete Offringa).

  • Updating the templates for the Charter and the Guide (Clay Jones)

The Working Group then addressed the Plan of Action with Milestones (POAM) drafted by the EFCOG CEO Forum. Pam Horning, EFCOG Chair, provided background on the CEO Forum and the development of the POAM. Pete Offringa then led the discussion of PMWG actions resulting from the POAM (see Attachment 4). The group will accomplish actions in the following areas:

  • EVMS:

    • Web Site - Dan Armstrong

    • Surveillance Guide - Gerry Lipka

    • Peer Reviews - Dan Armstrong

    • EVM Guide - CJ Plummer Wooley

    • EM Practice Guide - Clay Jones

  • Improved Practices for Estimating

    • PRD Guide - Pete Offringa

    • Cost Estimate Guide - Bob Miklos

    • Risk Management Guide - Tom Morris

    • Cost Estimating Web Site - PMWG

    • Estimating Workshop - PMWG

    • External Peer Review - PMWG

    • Graded Approach - Vince Tonc

  • Communication and Management Involvement

    • DOE Project Review Process - Susan Stiger

    • Integrate DOE and contractor processes - Susan Stiger

  • Improved Risk Management

    • Risk Management Guide - Tom Morris

  • Improve PARS - Beth Bilson

The final hour of the meeting was devoted to the Business Meeting. The topics addressed are Attachment 5. Pete Offringa provided information on upcoming EFCOG events. Discussion was conducted over the need to keep the websites current. The PMWG roster was reviewed for accuracy. Valerie Carter provided the group an update on recent PMI activities. The Summer Meeting was tentatively scheduled for Albuquerque on July 17-19. Mike Strevell and Gerry Lipka will examine the feasibility of hosting the meeting at SNL or at a nearby facility in conjunction with a workshop on Estimating Practices, an action from the CEO Forum POAM. The meeting closed with the transfer of the Chair responsibilities from Pete Offringa to Clay Jones. Pete will serve as Vice Chair for a year and Susan Stiger will also be Vice Chair as the incoming Chair.