Cornell Project Management Methodology

Project Management at Cornell

Cornell University is a project based organization. The budget for administrative, facilities, information technology, and research projects easily exceeds $500M each year.

Cornell's project management initiative is designed to provide an institution-wide project management capability based on a common language, a practical set of skills, and a robust methodology, with appropriate support tools for maximizing productivity and effectiveness in completing projects successfully, on time, and within budget. The larger intention of this effort is to develop a community practice in good project management across all aspects of the University.

Background

In February 2003 the University’s Systems Management Group (SMG) approved a pilot program to provide training in project management to staff from central administrative units. In total 110 people completed courses in fundamentals of project management, advanced project management, and Microsoft Project.

Over the next year an additional 200 staff completed project management training, including 140 staff from Cornell Information Technologies (CIT) and 60 other staff from across the university. Courses in Microsoft Project also were provided to staff through Tompkins County Community College.

The broader university program and methodology –Cornell Project Management Methodology (CPMM) - is initially building upon materials which have been developed within Cornell Information Technologies for a project management initiative operating under the leadership of Catherine McNamara, working with a Project Management Core Working Team. In completing their work, the project team adapted the project methodology from Princeton University. This methodology has a seven-year track record of success in higher education and basically follows the industry standard from the Project Management Institute (PMI). A Quick Guide and set of templates were developed and have been successfully piloted in CIT.

Last modified: Thursday, 31-May-2007 18:02:58 EDT