Solving the Project Request Intake Problem

Amanda Duffy is an ITS Supervisor, PMO at Southern Illinois Healthcare.

  Healthcare   PMO   Strategy  

The framework for critical thinking can solve many different types of problems. This article intends to use that same framework to solve the project request intake problem in the ITS Project Management Office of Southern Illinois Healthcare.

Problem
The ITS PMO currently has a process for prioritizing projects for a six-month optimization cycle. The projects are requested by individuals from all over the organization.

The project request is received by a group that estimates the size of the project. If the size, based on estimated hours to complete, is determined to be large enough for a project, the request is then entered into a queue.

When it is entered, an initial score is assigned. This score is a combination of costs of resources and widespread benefits, in addition to change trauma.

Before the start of a cycle, the requests that are in the queue are prioritized. The managers of the department do this in collaboration with the operational workgroups who submitted the requests. They work together to determine which projects can—and should—be worked on in the upcoming six-month cycle.

The problem is that the ITS department doesn’t really understand the time it will take to complete a project before prioritizing it.

Thinking Critically
The framework for critical thinking can be broken down into three stages: clarity, …

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