K-12 Technology Works


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How many times in your career have you seen great projects fail? Projects that had the possibility of transforming education into something more powerful, more efficient, and more productive. If only these projects had been designed, implemented, and maintained properly using effective project management. Unfortunately there is rarely a budget that provides for dedicated project management in our schools thereby requiring operational managers to perform duties better suited to someone not directly tied to operations.

First of all, if an operational manager’s attention is divided between project management and operational duties one can expect neither responsibility to be adequately addressed. In addition, managers responsible for both project management and operations will often find their responsibilities in conflict with one another. Finally, it is often the case that project management skills are at best underdeveloped. The simple truth is that successful project management requires the same level of dedication and organizational importance as operational duties. K12 Technology Works can help you focus on operations and provide the level of expertise required of mission critical projects.

Of course, not all projects are created equal and therefore not all projects require dedicated project management. However, high-impact, high-cost projects can undoubtedly benefit. At K12 Technology Works (K12TW) we feel that the short term expenditure required for quality project management clearly outweighs the cost of failure. We know. We have learned the hard way through years of technology leadership in California schools and we would like to help you avoid failure and achieve success.

The project management team at K12TW strictly adheres to the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) standards as outlined in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). Adhering to PMI’s globally recognized standards provides a framework of best practices to help ensure that your projects are properly managed.

Partnering with K12TW on a project means that the entire project management lifecycle will be attended to, so that you can focus on results. The typical project management lifecycle consists of the following stages:

Initiating a project entails the development of a project charter, the identification of a project manager, and often times a preliminary scope statement (possibly derived from the memorandum of understanding). We can assist your team in gathering preliminary requirements and facilitate stakeholder meetings to ensure that the project is aligned with the organization’s goals and objectives.

Planning involves the entire project team, led by the project manager, and leads to the development of a detailed project plan that details what is to be accomplished and how it is to be done. In other words, “Plan the work, work the plan.” Our project plans will provide all the documentation required to be successful. All of our plans address time, cost, quality, personnel, communications, and risk management.

Executing the plan is simply carrying out the work detailed in the project plan. This stage is by far the largest in terms of time and resources. It is also the stage where most plans fail for a multitude of reasons. As your project manager we will ensure that all phases of the plan are carried out as required with an emphasis on timeliness and budget. The project sponsor, team, and other key stakeholders will be kept abreast of progress through regular communication and regularly scheduled meetings. Daily “hot sheets”, ad hoc meetings, mediation between departments, and a transparent reporting process are all deliverables that can be expected.

Controlling is the stage in which deliverables are accepted or rejected by stakeholders. This stage dictates how long the executing stage will last as it runs concurrently with that stage and doesn’t end until all deliverables have been accepted. Acceptance testing, performance reporting, cost and schedule control, managing change and stakeholder expectations, monitoring and controlling risks, and contract administration can be expected from your K12TW Project Manager.

Closing is the final stage and is where the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed. This stage is critical to the success of future projects in that it serves as the fodder for the development of a knowledge base for the organization to refer to on future projects. We can assist you in the development of documentation standards for your knowledge base and will provide the necessary documentation for project archival.

So, why would you want to partner with K12 Technology Works on your key projects?

Access to expertise in project management, information technology and K12 education in general
The ability to keep your staff focused on operations rather than project documentation, reporting, and deliberating with other departments on the project team
The ability to have a neutral set of eyes on a project
To ensure that project quality and improvement receive the attention they deserve