Agenda item

The Programme and Projects Manager will present a six month update report on the Project Management Select Committee to the Panel.

The Programme and Project Manager and the Executive Councillor for Resources presented a six month review report on projects at the delivery stage, as requested by the Project Management Select Committee.

The Select Committee had requested an update on the In-Cab Technology project however this project had been placed on hold until a review of the core processes and systems of the Waste Service has been completed. Members were informed that the Operations Database containing all details of the collections service (property details, bins and routing and rounding schedules) needs to be replaced as soon as possible as it is now an unsupported system. The replacement database will enable links to the Council’s CRM (customer relationship management) system and In-Cab Technology. Procurement of In-Cab Technology is therefore now expected to commence in early 2016, with the technology likely to be introduced around the autumn of 2016.

Members were then given an update on project activity over the last six months, including an overview of compliance with corporate project management guidance such as recording information on Sharepoint project sites. The Customer Service Manager then gave a demonstration on how the Sharepoint site for the new website project has been used to manage the project and to share information:

·  The site provides an overview on the status of projects and who is involved as project managers and membership of project teams and project boards;

·  The site provides tools and templates to assist in managing projects;

·  Project team members can store everything that they are using on the site so that the whole team are working on the same versions of documents and documents can be accessed when individual officers are not available;

·  Project board and team meeting agendas and notes can be recorded;

·  Details saved are easily exportable to Excel if necessary;

·  Lists are set up for logging of issues, risks or areas that will need additional work or to be followed-up after the project is completed;

·  The site can be used to share links to other projects or websites.

The Customer Service Manager was asked about security for the Sharepoint site and informed the Members that anyone on the Council’s network can access the site but that access to individual project sites, libraries and even individual documents can be restricted by amending permission settings. All information related to a specific project will generally be viewable and editable by members of the project team and there is also a clear audit trail which can be used to identify who has made changes and when.

The Panel were informed that staff have access to the network but Councillors do not due to public sector network restrictions, which require the Council to follow a code of compliance which prevents this. Information for Members is included on the extranet site and performance reports also serve to provide information to Councillors. Officers can provide information on request.

The Panel noted the report, with the Chairman commenting that there had been an improvement in how projects are now being managed.