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ITS Project Governance

The Project Prioritization Committee Charter defines the structure, roles, and processes for prioritizing Information Technology Services (ITS) projects within the University. Given the high volume of project requests and the limited resources available, it's essential to focus our efforts on projects that yield the greatest benefit for WKU. The committees are responsible for ensuring that projects align with divisional and university-wide goals, and for strategically prioritizing those that offer the most significant impact.

 

Committee Structure

The project prioritization process involves two committee levels:

  1. Governance Committees

    • Academic Committee: Focuses on projects and requests that fall in the Academic Affairs division of the University’s organizational structure.

    • Administrative Committee: Focuses on projects and requests related to administrative divisions including the following divisions: Strategy Operation and Finance, Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement, and the Office of the President and ESE.

  2. Vice President (VP) Review Committee

    • After the governance committees have reviewed and prioritized their respective projects, the VP Committee will review the work of both the Academic and Administrative Committees to make final decisions on overarching project prioritization reinforcing a WKU-wide perspective on impact.

Committee Objective

The committees are charged with evaluating and prioritizing project requests to manage workloads effectively and ensure the most critical projects are addressed within the available time frame and resources. The primary goals of the committees are to:

  • Prioritize project requests within their division based on strategic importance and impact.

  • Ensure projects align with the university’s strategic plan and goals.

  • Evaluate current resource allocation and determine if requested projects are the most effective use of resources.

 

Process for Project Evaluation

Step 1

Project Request

A project request is submitted to ITS.

Step 2

Information Gathering

The IT Project Manager will provide the necessary documentation for all submitted projects ready for approval and prioritization and share that information with the governance committee. Governance committee members may reach out to the project requestor(s) for additional information or invite them to a committee meeting for clarification. ITS aims to accurately estimate the required resources during this step, a difficult and challenging task that we are continually improving.

Step 3

Project Review

Governance committee members thoroughly review and evaluate project proposals prior to the scheduled meeting. This evaluation should consider factors such as the project's alignment with the strategic plan, its impact on students, faculty, and staff, ongoing maintenance requirements, and overall cost.

Step 4

Approval and Prioritization

During governance committee meetings, new project requests will be evaluated in comparison to the current project list. The objective is to assess the impact of the new project by considering its magnitude and importance relative to existing projects. At this stage, the committee has the authority to approve or deny a project request. Once a project request is approved, a priority order should be assigned, and existing work may need to be re-prioritized accordingly.

Step 5

Final Review and Approval

The VP Review Committee will review the prioritized lists from both the Academic and Administrative governance committees to make their final decisions. If any projects compete for the same resources based on their priority, they will be discussed to determine which project takes precedence.

Step 6

Sequencing and Kickoff

ITS will make every effort to complete the projects in the priority order determined by the committee.  Due to resource and time constraints, ITS may sequence projects in a slightly different order than the prioritization ranking.  As projects near the kickoff time, ITS will reach out to schedule a kickoff meeting with the relevant stakeholders.

 

Roles and Responsibilities

IT Project Manager

  • Schedule committee meetings.

  • Organize and provide information? on projects as submitted to ITS for evaluation.

  • Provide updates on in-progress projects.

Committee Leader

  • Maintain committee membership and ensure active participation.

  • Guide the committee through evaluating projects and deciding which ones align with divisional and university goals.

  • Lead the process of gathering any additional information required by the committee to complete evaluations.

Committee Member

  • Review submitted project materials

  • Provide input during evaluation process

 

Common Terminology

When evaluating projects, committees should consider the following factors, and in the following way:

  • Project Scope: The specific objectives, deliverables, and tasks of the project.

  • University Need: Alignment with the university’s strategic plan and overall institutional goals.

  • Magnitude: How the project affects students, faculty, and staff. Consider the number of users impacted.

  • Efficiencies Gained: Potential time and effort savings.

  • Risks: Potential perils associated with project implementation, including operational, financial, and reputation risks.  Additional risks include opportunity cost which could include things such as lost revenue if a project is not pursued.

  • Impact: The combination of all the evaluation criteria.

  • Resources Requirements/Cost:  Monetary and labor requirements.

  • Prioritizing: The process of determining the order of importance and urgency of tasks or initiatives to allocate resources and time effectively, ensuring that the most critical work is completed first.

  • Sequencing: Theprocess of arranging projects in a specific, logical order based on dependencies, resource availability, and timelines.

 

Committee Rules & Guidelines

Each review period which will be no less than quarterly, new projects will be presented alongside previously prioritized projects for a comprehensive prioritization review.

  • Barring an institutional emergency, projects that are already in progress cannot be halted to prioritize or fast-track new initiatives.

  • Not all pending projects will be presented to the committee for prioritization, but the data will be available/provided.  Ex. Internal, mandatory IT Service (ITS) work.   Construction and renovation, AV, etc.

  • Committees are responsible for setting the priority order of projects in an advisory manner. The sequencing of project work will be managed by ITS following the spirit of priority. These will be sequenced in the most efficient manner bearing in mind prerequisites, specialized resource availability, client availability, project size, etc.… Many projects are worked in parallel, so this must be thought of as putting puzzle pieces together rather than a simple one is worked, then another is worked, etc.

 

Current Governance Committee Members

Administrative Committee
  • Jennifer Tougas (chair)
  • Renaldo Domoney
  • Quentin Hughes
  • John Mark-Francis
  • Kerra Ogden
  • Quenna Thompson
Academic Committee
  • Amber Scott (chair)
  • Rob Hale
  • Jennifer Hammonds
  • Jenni Reddifer

 

Conclusion

This charter outlines a structured approach for approving and prioritizing ITS project work, ensuring that resources are optimally allocated to support the university's mission and strategic goals. By adhering to this charter, committees will bring clarity, accountability, and strategic focus to their ITS project prioritization efforts.



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 Last Modified 2/25/25