Case Studies
Independent Verification and Validation
Since 2004, the Maryland Department of Information Technology (DoIT) (formerly part of the Department of Budget and Management) has selected Cirdan Group to conduct more than 30 independent verification and validation (IV&V) assessments of various State of Maryland major information technology projects (MITDP). DoIT is responsible for the project management oversight of all state MITDPs, and in this role, it supports more than 90 state agencies in the effective execution of State of Maryland system development life cycle (SDLC) and project management best practices. Challenged by disparate processes, lean staffing, and deficiencies of project management capability at the agency-level, DoIT counts on Cirdan Group as a proven project management consultancy to consistently, effectively, and comprehensively determine project health and identify realistic corrective actions required to minimize project cost, schedule, and quality risk.
Cirdan Group utilizes its proprietary IV&V Toolkit to conduct all State of Maryland IV&V assessments. The Cirdan Team begins with a thorough investigation including extensive documentation review and stakeholder interviews. This information is analyzed to determine compliance with all Project Management Institute (PMI) and SDLC best practices and to ascertain the many aspects of the IT solution’s feasibility. The Cirdan Team then carefully develops a detailed findings report, which includes strengths, areas for improvement, and risk-mitigating recommendations for all relevant project management and life cycle areas. Finally, the team presents findings to DoIT and the evaluated agency and, in some cases, continues to support the agency in the implementation of corrective actions.
Procurement Planning and Requirements Analysis
Cirdan Group provided procurement planning and requirements analysis support for a new, agency-wide network managed services (NMS) contract for the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). The previous NMS project went severely over budget and experienced significant service-level deficiencies—all stemming from an improperly-defined contractor pricing model. Cirdan Group assigned a senior Business Process Consultant to help MDOT plan for the transition to a new service-based delivery model, facilitate organizational change, define a new scope of contractor services, and develop a Request for Proposals (RFP) that would mitigate risk throughout the duration of the resulting contract.
To develop a comprehensive understanding of the current situation, the Cirdan Group Business Process Consultant began with an assessment of “as is” business processes and a review of federal government best practices for service-based infrastructure support models. As part of this review, he defined and documented the deficiencies and inefficiencies of the prior device-based service model and identified strategies to dramatically improve these weaknesses through the new model.
To prepare for RFP development, the Cirdan Group Business Process Consultant worked extensively with a large committee of representative stakeholders to build consensus on the “to be” business processes and to define the scope of work and requirements for the new procurement. The Cirdan Group Business Process Consultant was also heavily involved in procurement planning activities for the new NMS RFP; he worked with the stakeholders to identify contractor performance evaluation criteria and developed detailed cost estimates to secure funding. He then wrote the draft RFP in accordance with State of Maryland requirements, including a detailed scope of work, requirements, proposal evaluation criteria, service level definitions, reporting requirements, and a proposal template. The resulting risk-mitigating RFP set the groundwork for a new network managed services contract that will dramatically improve infrastructure service delivery and save the State of Maryland more than $50 million.
SDLC Development
The State of Maryland’s Department of Budget and Management found its System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) outdated. Agency project managers said the documentation was too dense, too difficult to follow, and lacked sufficient flexibility. The State needed a thorough, sensible methodology that would ensure successful implementation of a wide variety of information technology systems: single and multiple releases, custom and commercial-off-the-shelf solutions, and hardware and software acquisitions.
Cirdan Group’s experienced team of project managers collaborated with state executives to satisfy over 200 requirements in the SDLC enhancement project. Our team developed an improved methodology, more consistent with the Project Management Institutes’ Project Management Body of Knowledge and flexible enough to meet the needs of an organization with diverse project types. Further, we went above and beyond the original scope by developing a custom-designed, SharePoint-based website for the publication of the enhanced SDLC. This additional element would increase visibility and usability for project managers all over the state.
The enhanced State of Maryland SDLC will allow project managers, stakeholders, and agency executives to easily follow a methodology that will maximize project outcomes and minimize project risks. Project managers will be able to complete vital project documentation by filling out easy-to-follow templates and following the clear, concise, and cogent directions in each of ten project phases. This enhancement is designed to dramatically alleviate end user reluctance to follow the imperative, risk-mitigating steps in the SDLC.
Technical Writing
An international non-profit association of over 20,000 members approached Cirdan Group with a problem: it paid over a million dollars for a research document that was intended to introduce its members to a new professional strategy, but instead, the document was long, unfocused, full of grammatical errors, and generally unusable. The association staff needed to save its investment and produce a functional document to introduce and promote its new strategic plan.
For a fraction of one percent of the association’s original cost, the Cirdan Group technical writing team reduced the document’s size by half while retaining all necessary information. The team also reorganized and reformatted document information for readability and cogency. The association was able to compound its investment and savings by utilizing Cirdan technical writers to develop a strategic professional article and brochure also for a fraction of the association’s original cost.
Carefully and properly edited documents are essential for communication with your clients, potential clients, organization members, and personnel. Cirdan Group’s technical writing team has the experience and expertise to ensure that every document your organization produces is thoroughly proofread and formatted and successfully communicates your intended message.
Asset and Service Management
Cirdan Group supported the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Secretary’s Office in its agency-wide migration to an integrated asset and service management system. Previously, MDOT’s asset and service management suffered from inefficiency and redundancy due to disparate business processes and tools across seven transportation business units (TBUs)—The Secretary’s Office, Motor Vehicles Administration, State Highway Administration, Maryland Aviation Administration, Maryland Transportation Authority, Maryland Port Administration, and Maryland Transition Administration. Asset and service management inconsistencies throughout the transportation business units resulted in inaccurate and outdated information, which severely hampered MDOT’s ability to effectively and efficiently provide network managed services.
Cirdan Group’s Business Analyst assessed thousands of assets in the existing asset management systems across all seven TBUs, evaluated the state of the information, and conducted research, which culminated in the implementation of corrective strategies and identification of new asset management business processes. As corrective actions resolved outstanding issues, the Cirdan Group Business Analyst supported implementation of the new, integrated Maximo Asset Database, which ensured accurate, timely, and comprehensive data for all seven transportation organizations.
The enterprise-wide migration to the Maximo Asset Management and Service Management software required significant business process change. Cirdan Group helped MDOT mitigate business process change risk by developing extensive training manuals and designing and facilitating the training of agency personnel. The Cirdan Group Business Analyst wrote detailed, easy-to-follow training manuals, which included technical information regarding the new software as well as comprehensive ”to-be” business processes. The Business Analyst then designed a custom curriculum and trained 400 MDOT employees and contractors on proper usage of the new system. This training allowed the seven TBUs to successfully migrate to the new enterprise-wide system with accurate, up-to-date, and comprehensive data, which in turn allows for the effective and efficient performance of network managed services.
The Cirdan Group Business Analyst continues to support MDOT as the asset and service management subject matter expert, addressing questions that arise, updating documentation as business processes evolve, and training new personnel.
Transition Planning and Management
The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) selected Cirdan Group to provide planning and management services for a major transition from its current network management services (NMS) contract to a new five-year contract with a new operational model. MDOT needed an independent, third-party resource to plan transition activities, define the detailed schedule, identify risks and mitigation strategies, and manage the transition. To help MDOT address its need, Cirdan Group assigned a Senior Project Manager to lead NMS transition planning and execution.
The Cirdan Group Project Manager assembled a diverse group of agency stakeholders to represent the transition core project team. She drove core team activities as well as communication with representatives from eight transportation business units to define all transition activities, which ultimately facilitated a smooth transition that did not jeopardize production network services. The schedule definition was particularly complex due to disparate vendor resources, processes and procedures, and operational models. The Cirdan Group Project Manager overcame these challenges through proactive and persistent coordination, communication, and schedule definition based on detailed activity definition, sequencing, and estimation.
To ensure that the transition was effectively managed, the Cirdan Group Project Manager developed a thorough project management plan, a master project schedule, and detailed processes for project operations, communication, status reporting, and schedule management. She also worked with more than 20 project stakeholders to identify and analyze project risks and agree on and document risk mitigation strategies.
Upon completion of transition planning, the Cirdan Group Project Manager oversaw the execution of transition activities and ensured that plans were executed as defined and risks were mitigated as planned. In order to stay on schedule and meet ambitious deadlines, the Cirdan Group Project Manager monitored schedule performance routinely, identified issues, and facilitated the identification of corrective actions. She facilitated all meetings on MDOT’s behalf and provided MDOT executive leadership frequent written status reports to inform them of project performance, risks, and issues.
As a result of Cirdan’s Project Manager’s thorough and effective planning, risk mitigation, leadership, and communication, MDOT successfully completed the NMS transition on time and without the realization of any significant risks.