Project Management

Chronology of Project Management in Caltrans

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Chronology 1993
Date	Description
January 1993	1993 Peer Review Report Project Management Peer Review by Bechtel Corporation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. Department of the Navy recommends standardization of process and tools. Major recommendations concerned with Project Manager and Functional Manager roles and responsibilities, Project Manager authority, organization, Project Management procedures, communications, training and forums, Management support and employee recognition, and tools. "CONCERNS" EXPRESSED BY THE CALTRANS PROJECT MANAGEMENT PEER REVIEW, January, 1993 Lack of realistic goals and objectives. The definition of project management does not properly recognize the constraints placed upon the employee in civil service. Lack of communication. The specific roles and responsibilities of all district employees in the project management process are not completely and uniformly understood. Lack of consistent management support. Each district has different agendas for what they expect of Project Managers and Control Units, and how they hold them accountable for their actions. Lack of authority. HQ micro-manages (over administers) district activity to such an extent that district accountability and responsibility is diminished. Consequently, the districts have very little authority to allocate to Project Managers. Lack of tools. Project Managers don't have sufficient tools or procedures to know how their projects are progressing against plan except at gross summary levels. Functional Managers have no way of knowing what their workload is or how to plan for it.
February 1993	Caltrans initiates 9 month task force comprised of District and Headquarters representatives to review and develop strategy for implementing findings of the 1993 Peer Review Report by the Bechtel Corporation, the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the US Department of the Navy.
March 1993	SRI International – Technical Proposal Prepared for the California Legislature, Legislative Analyst’s Office by SRI International, Gabriel Roche, Inc., and Vernazza Wolfe Associates, Inc.
June 1993	Memo dated 6/24/93 from Deputy Director, R.P. Weaver defining the Project Management effort through the Construction phase, Post Award duties.
August 1993	SRI International – First Preliminary Report Prepared for the California Legislature, Legislative Analyst’s Office by SRI International, Gabriel Roche, Inc., and Vernazza Wolfe Associates, Inc.
September 1993	SRI International Second Preliminary Report Prepared for the California Legislature, Legislative Analyst’s Office by SRI International, Gabriel Roche, Inc., and Vernazza Wolfe Associates, Inc Project Management Data Warehouse (PMDW) came on-line. This database system links information from various databases such as Project Management Control System (PMCS), Transportation Accounting And Management System (TRAMS), and Office Engineer (OE) databases, providing coordinated access to key information too more effectively manage projects.
October 1993	Stanford Research Institute (SRI) reported on the "Evaluation Of The Organizational Structure And Management Practices Of The California Department Of Transportation." The report recommends standard processes, tools, Project Management authority, etc.
November 1993	SRI International – Draft Final Report Prepared for the California Legislature, Legislative Analyst’s Office by SRI International, Gabriel Roche, Inc., and Vernazza Wolfe Associates, Inc
October 1993 - February 1994	A Project Management task force was formed to develop requirements for Enterprise Wide Project Management Software. The task force reviewed various products and selected eXpert Project Manager (XPM)) as the Department's standard scheduling tool
December 1993	Caltrans Implementation Plan, Caltrans task force publishes "Revisions to Improve Project Management in Caltrans." Caltrans review and recommendations on the "Project Management Peer Review" prepared by the Bechtel Corporation, US Army Corps of Engineers and US Department of the Navy (see January 1993 listing)