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Hello and welcome to - "What is a Major Information Resources Project?"
If you work for a Texas State Agency and are responsible for any aspect of information resources management
you need to know if your project is defined by the State as a MAJOR Information Resources
Project.
Why?
Because there are several, unique challenges for planning, implementing and reporting the
progress of a project that's considered MAJOR.
The Texas Department of Information Resources, in partnership with several key stakeholders,
created The Texas Project Delivery Framework, - a tool kit of resources, to help you overcome
these unique challenges.
Although the Framework may be useful for all IR projects -- it is not required for all
of them.
However if a project is defined as MAJOR then Texas Government Code requires that the Framework
MUST be used by the agency responsible for planning and implementing it.
Using the Framework will help you successfully manage your IR project and assure it is on
time, within budget and aligned with the right business goals for the State of Texas.
But - How do you know if your project is considered major or not?
Start by asking
What is the project purpose AND what will it cost?
How long will it take?
Will other state agencies be involved?
And will it alter personnel work methods and service delivery?
If for example your project purpose includes software or systems application development and the
total costs are greater than or equal to one million dollars -- it will be considered
major if it also meets one of the following three criteria.
The project requires one year or longer to reach operations or
It involves more than one state agency; or
it substantially alters work methods of state agency personnel or the delivery of services
to clients.
Note that the one million dollar costs include the expenses associated with full time equivalent
positions.
Alternately -- a project would be considered Major if the legislature simply designates
it as one.
Now let's discuss two example projects to see if they meet the definition we just described.
Example 1:
Your department is tasked with an IT modernization effort.
After your team performs requirements analysis, you determine that the total project cost
will be approximately $2 million over the course of two years.
Of that two million, $500 thousand is for Application Development.
Is this project considered a major information resources project?
Yes.
Although the application development portion is indeed under $1 million, the total project
cost is over the 1 million threshold.
The planning and implementation time also exceeds the one year level therefore the project
is considered MAJOR.
Example 2:
Your department is going to modernize its information technology infrastructure to comply
with new disaster recovery requirements.
You determine that the project will cost $1.1 million, over the course of two years and
includes FTE positions.
The project will involve purchasing new hardware and includes contract staff to install network
devices.
Software and systems development will not be part of the project scope.
Is this project considered a major information resource project and will you be required
to use the Framework?
No.
Although it will cost over $1 million dollars and will take more than a year to complete,
the project does not involves application development.
Therefore, it does not meet the definition of a major information resource project as
described above.
If you have any questions about whether your project fits the Major Information Resources
Project definition
Our email address is
projectdelivery@dir.texas.gov
Call us at 1-855-ASK-DIR1
That's 1-855-275-3471
Or Visit us www.dir.texas.gov
We are here to help you navigate through the Framework and help you deliver your projects
on time, within budget and aligned with your business goals.