IT Governance Proposal Intake and Prioritization Process Guide

Guide Purpose

The purpose of this guide is to provide insight to the Proposal Intake and Prioritization process. It describes the process of how to use the Technology Governance Framework to determine if a proposal requires approval from a formal IT governance body, then how a submitted proposal would proceed on its path to acceptance. It also details the various inputs, processing steps and procedures required.

The process seeks to keep a submitter's effort to a minimum.

Use the Technology Governance Framework to determine scope

The Technology Governance Framework (TGF) is a tool that communicates and outlines resource, support and integration guidelines to support decision-making around the adoption of new applications or technology solutions. It also assists in indicating when formal IT governance is required to align new software/technology solutions with Institutional goals and priorities. The TGF should be used/referenced to frame conversations and make decisions under the following scenarios:

  • Implementing a new application/technology solution
  • Making significant changes to existing applications
  • Determining future direction of an application/solution

Note: The TGF is not meant to be used to make day-to-day tactical and operational decisions regarding the delivery of services.

Use the TGF to answer the following 7 questions regarding your proposed new application or technology solution. This will help determine what level of governance the proposal should be targeted.

  • Who: Who is using it?
  • Governance: Who is making decisions?
  • Impact: How many are using it?
  • Value: Why is it being used?
  • Financial: Who is paying/How is it funded?
  • Administration: How is it administered?
  • Support: How is it supported?

After reviewing your proposed new application or technology solution with the TGF, proceed with the Proposal Intake and Prioritization process if:

  • The solution falls into either the Multi-Unit or Enterprise classification levels
  • The funding requirements are greater than $75,000

If the usage, scope and funding fall under the Individual or Single-Unit levels, formal IT Governance is generally not required.

Please review with your Relationship Manager if there is any uncertainty on how to proceed.

Proposal Process

A 2-page proposal is submitted rather than a full business case. The proposal is verified to determine completeness and then compared to other proposals for similarity. The proposal continues through the approval process where an assessment or business case is developed. Once completed the business case or assessment is reviewed and signed off before being assigned to a project management team to initiate.

Participating Roles

  • Submitter of proposal
  • PMO - Portfolio Operations Manager
  • IST Executive
  • IT Steering Committee
  • Project Management Team

Key Activities

  • Submission of the proposal
  • Validation of the proposal
  • Scoring of the proposal
  • Evaluation of proposal by steering committee
  • Creation of assessment or business case
  • Review and approval of assessment or business case

Proposal Intake and Prioritization Process Flow

Inputs

  • Submitted Proposal

Procedure

  1. Individual review the IT Governance Proposal Intake and Prioritization Process Guide and submit the online Opportunity Proposal Form
  2. The proposal is reviewed by the Manager of IT Governance for completeness and returned if corrections are needed or forwarded if complete.
  3. The IST executive reviews to ensure a similar proposal is not already queued or being acted upon.
  4. The IST executive forwards to the appropriate steering committee, or advise the proponent that Governance Approval is not required.
  5. Steering Committees meet quarterly to review new items.
  6. Accepted items are then forwarded to the Project Management Team to complete an assessment with the proponent to determine a precise scope, benefits to be obtained, metrics to ensure benefits are achieved, a more detailed cost analysis and both business and technical resource availability
  7. High cost and scope proposals will be forwarded to UIIS for approval.
  8. A final review is conducted by the Steering Committee and then both the submitter and the steering committee sign off.
  9. The project is passed to the Project Management Team for execution.

Outputs

  • Approved project proposal