The John Marshall Law School Moves to Formal IT Project Management

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 08/20/09

The John Marshall Law School in Chicago has deployed TeamDynamixHE's project portfolio management (PPM) software in its IT department. The software will provide a central repository for the IT staff to manage and track all projects and evaluate and allocate resources. Each IT team member has access to a customizable dashboard that shows tasks and current issues.

Previous project and portfolio management was done through Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, Microsoft Project, and Microsoft Exchange. CTO James Velco initiated a search for a replacement after becoming frustrated by the lack of communication and oversight on projects and the inability to sort out what people were working on which projects.

"Formal project management is becoming a standard in higher education, and TeamDynamixHE is tailored to fit and scale to meet the needs of higher education institutions, which have different priorities than those found in the corporate environment," said Velco. "TeamDynamixHE's Web interface is easily customized to meet our organization's structure, allowing our team to understand the PPM concepts and get up and running on the solution quickly."

Velco is also working with the school's administration to develop a new IT governance structure. He said he expects the application to provide transparency for administrative decision-making by helping to prioritize projects and improve project workflow and accountability.

"I am very happy with this software because using it will mean that project management is no longer the sole responsibility of the CTO," Velco added. "The team members in IT can now take charge and directly manage projects, while the CTO has oversight. This software is a great tool that allows me to stay in tune with the various projects as they progress."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • From Fire TV to Signage Stick: University of Utah's Digital Signage Evolution

    Jake Sorensen, who oversees sponsorship and advertising and Student Media in Auxiliary Business Development at the University of Utah, has navigated the digital signage landscape for nearly 15 years. He was managing hundreds of devices on campus that were incompatible with digital signage requirements and needed a solution that was reliable and lowered labor costs. The Amazon Signage Stick, specifically engineered for digital signage applications, gave him the stability and design functionality the University of Utah needed, along with the assurance of long-term support.

  • Microsoft

    Microsoft Introduces Its First Quantum Computing Chip

    Microsoft has unveiled Majorana 1, its first quantum computing chip, aimed at deployment in datacenters.

  • interconnected glowing nodes and circuits in blue and green, forming a neural network on a dark background with a futuristic design

    Tech Giants Launch $100 Billion AI Infrastructure Network Project

    OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle have unveiled a new venture, Stargate, through which they aim to build a massive AI infrastructure network across the United States. The initiative, which was announced at the White House with President Donald Trump, has been described as the "largest AI infrastructure project in history."

  • glowing digital shield with a checkmark in the center, surrounded by interconnected lines and nodes on a dark blue background with subtle circuit patterns

    Navigating CMMC 2.0: New Cybersecurity Standards Impact Higher Education

    In October 2024, the Department of Defense published a new update to its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification enforcing new cybersecurity standards on universities and colleges. With Phase 1 beginning this year, here's what the new requirements mean for higher ed.