Effective Project Control using an Automated

Gated Process Workflow and Project

Scalability

Dan Cohen

Manager, Project Management Foundational Capability

April 22, 2016

1

DTE Energy, a Diversified Energy Company with Utility

and Non-Utility Businesses

DTE Energy Includes Both Electric and Gas

Regulated Utilities with Operations Throughout Michigan

DTE Energy also Includes Multiple Non-Utility Energy-

Related Facilities Throughout the United States

DTE Energy Non-Utility Energy-Related Facilities

Include Gas Storage and Pipelines

MAJOR ENTERPRISE PROJECTS

A Business Unit of DTE Energy Company

DTE Energy

Regulated Utilities

DTE Gas Company

DTE Electric Company

Non-Utility Businesses

Major Enterprise Projects

We are an industry-leading project management

organization specializing in successful implementation and

execution of large, complex projects. We take on tough

challenges and help our customers meet their goals safely,

efficiently, cost-effectively and on or ahead of schedule.

Major Enterprise Projects

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Major Enterprise Projects Structure

Fossil, Environmental,

Facilities

Distribution Technologies &

Renewables

Nuclear Development

& Other

Fermi 2 Nuclear Power Plant

DTE Gas

Quality Management Center of Excellence

Project Management Office Center of Excellence

Major Enterprise Projects Structure

280 Employees

Presentation Title

300 Projects

1.5 Billion USD Budget

3.8% PMO Overhead

applied to projects

Major Enterprise Projects History and Growth

10

2006 Small Project Management

Office (PMO) begins to form 2007-

2008

Organization grows and becomes

Major Enterprise Projects focused

on environmental projects 2009

Facilities projects comes to

MEP with added employees

2010 MEP achieves PMMM Level 3

and Smart Grid comes to MEP

with added employees 2011

Fermi 2 nuclear projects come

to MEP with added employees

2012 MEP achieves PMMM Level 4

and APQC Best Practice PMO

Award 2013

2014

Michigan and out of state

natural gas projects come to

MEP with added employees

MEP begins to work outside of the

company. PMO of the Year

finalist. Awarded ISO 9001.

Portfolio exceeded $1 billion. 2015

Information Technology Service

projects come to MEP with

added employees

MAJOR ENTERPRISE PROJECTS

Project Management Office (PMO) Center of Excellence

• Project Controls

– Scheduling

– Estimating

– Contract Administration

• Project Management

• Finance and Budgeting

• Continuous Improvement

• Engineering

– Project Engineering

– Discipline Engineering

• Construction Management

• Information Management

• Document Control

• Communication

• Training

• Safety

• Facilitation and Metrics

• Human Resources

• Administrative Support

• Supply Chain

Gated Process

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MAJOR ENTERPRISE PROJECTS

Best Practice Solutions to Keep Projects on Track

Benchmarking has shown that having a gated project management process is

the best practice for ensuring sustainability and compliance to pre-specified

processes which is the key to project success

The MEP Gated Process Establishes

Clear Pre-Specifications:

• Required Deliverables

• Deliverable Due Dates

• Approval Requirements and Roles

The MEP Gated Process Contains

Embedded Tests:

• Standardized Process for

Submitting a Project for Gate

Approval

• Projects Do Not Move to the Next

Phase without Gate Approval

Gate 0 • Authorization

Gate 1 • Initiation

Gate 2 • Conceptual

Gate 3 • Design

Gate 4 • Implementation

Gate 5 • Commissioning / Start up

Gate 6 • Closeout

MEP Gated Process

Gate 0

Authorization Phase

Deliverables

Gate 1

Initiation Phase

Deliverables

Gate 2

Conceptual Phase

Deliverables

Gate 3

Design Phase Deliverables

Gate 4

Construction / Implementation

Phase Deliverables

Gate 5

Commissioning & Start-Up

Phase Deliverables

Gate 6

Close-Out Phase

Deliverables

All Projects must come

through the Strategic

Planning Process

Project Manager is

Assigned

Work Scope Document is

approved

*Complete Deliverable &

Design Verification Checklist

* Complete Project Work Scope

Checklist

*Design Deliverables

completed per Scope, per

Schedule

Notification by Contractor of

Substantial Completion is

provided per Contract

Notice of Equipment in

Service eform is completed

Project Closeout

Phase-Process

Checklist has been

completed

Project Owner is

established

Project Charter is approved

by Customer and MEP

Leadership

Project Kick-Off meeting is

completed

*Meeting Minutes and

Notes Issued

Construction Criteria & Testing

Criteria are completed

Commission Readiness Approval

is granted by Contractor and

accepted by Start-Up Team per

Contract

*Project Closeout

Checklist-Deliverables has

been completed

*Training and Warranty has

been Accepted by Client

Project Summary

Report has been

finalized per Scalability

Document

Partial Appropriation is

approved

Project Scalability Matrix is

approved

*Initial Baseline Schedule is

completed

*Initial Baseline Budget is

completed

*Staffing Plan is completed

Baseline Schedule is

completed

Initial Punch List is developed per

Contract

Punch (warranty) List is

Accepted by Client

AAR Meeting is

Completed

Financial Analyst notifies

Scheduling Supervisor of

the project

Initiation Meeting is

completed and Meeting

Notes Issues

PDRI is completed if

required through Scalability

Matrix document

* Baseline Budget is completed

(Initial Cost Sheet)

*Full Appropriation is granted

Update Project Summary Report

per Scalability Document

Update Project Summary

Report per Scalability

Document

MEP Roles &

Responsibilities are

Clarified

Preliminary IRP with

template review

Complete Conceptual

Phase Checklist, Initial

Master Document List,

Environmental Change

Checklist

Initial Project Summary Report

per Scalability Document

Construction Configuration

Control as per Document Control

Plan

Key Stakeholders are

identified

Documentation Strategy is

Established

Equipment Checkout and Initial

Operation Plan per Scalability

Document

Project is accepted by the

Directors of the PMO

Office and added to 1 & 5

yr Plans

Completion of the Initiation

checklist

Initial Project Manage Plans

to support design phase:

- Project Management Plan

- Quality Plan

- Scope Management Plan

- Procurement Plan

- Stakeholder Engagement

& Communication Plan

- Risk Register

- Risk Management Plan

- Document and File

Management Plan

Project Management Plans are

Finalized and Approved for the

rest of the Project:

- Safety Plan

- Project Management Plan

- Quality Management Plan

- Scope Management Plan

- Procurement Plan

- Stakeholder Engagement &

Communication Plan

- Risk Register

- Risk Management Plan

- Document and File

Management Plan

Project Management Plans are

Updated if required:

- Safety Plan

- Project Management Plan

- Quality Management Plan

- Scope Management Plan

- Procurement Plan

- Stakeholder Engagement &

Communication Plan

- Risk Register

- Risk Management Plan

- Document and File Management

Plan

Project Management Plans

are Updated if required:

- Safety Plan

- Project Management Plan

- Quality Management Plan

- Scope Management Plan

- Procurement Plan

- Stakeholder Engagement

& Communication Plan

- Risk Register

- Risk Management Plan

- Document and File

Management Plan

Preliminary MEP Director

sponsor ensures Gate 0

actions are completed

Construction Status and Startup

Readiness Plan per Scalability

Document

Communication is notified

by Gate Administrator who

will announce new project

to all MEP

System Startup and Integrated

Testing Plan per Scalability Plan

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2015 MEP PM & PC All Hands:

Gated Process- Gate 0 - Authorization A. Awad

Project Scalability…determining level of rigor

Likelihood

Impacts

Schedule

Cost Less Than 1,000,000$ $ 1,000,000 to $ 10,000,000 Greater Than $ 10,000,000

Quality

Safety

Scope

Reputation

Operations

Revenue

Environment

Legal

Visibility

Expertise

Complexity

Team Size Less Than 20 20 to 1000 Greater Than 1000

Impact level Matrix

Small number of interfaces with

structures/systems/components and/or people

Little or no visibility to company executives

Low

Unlikely

Low High

Almost Certain

High

High visibility to company executives

Large number of interfaces with

structures/systems/components and/or people

Medium

Likely

Medium

Moderate visibility to company executives

Medium number of interfaces with

structures/systems/components and/or people

Little or no impact on the company's ability to

operate if the project is behind schedule

Potential to affect company's ability to operate if the

project is behind schedule

Certain to affect company's ability to operate if the project

is behind schedule

Minor impact to the quality of the company's

operations

Moderate impact to the quality of the company's

operationsMajor impact to the quality of the company's operations

Low risk to personnel of physical injury requiring

first aid.

Moderate risk to personnel of physical injury requiring

medical treatment.

Significant/high risk to personnel of physical injury requiring

hospitalization.

Low chance of scope changes Medium chance of scope changes High chance of scope changes

Potential for minor reputational harm to DTE

EnergyPotential for moderate reputational harm to DTE Energy Potential for serious reputational harm to DTE Energy

Little or no impact on the company's ability to

conduct business operations

Minor impact on the company's ability to conduct

business operations

Major impact on the company's ability to conduct business

operations

No impact to company's ability to collect revenue Minor impact to company's ability to collect revenue Major impact to company's ability to collect revenue

No impact to surrounding environment Potential impact to surrounding environment Certain impact to environment

Little to no legal liability Potential minor legal liability Potential major legal liability

Sufficient expertise to manage project exists Some expertise to manage project exists Insufficient expertise to manage project

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2015 MEP PM & PC All Hands

Gated Process- Gate 1 - Initiation A. Awad

H = High Process Rigor

L = Low Process Rigor

VL = Very Low Process Rigor

R = Required

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2015 MEP PM & PC All Hands

Gated Process- Gate 2 - Conceptual A. Awad

H = High Process Rigor

L = Low Process Rigor

VL = Very Low Process

Rigor

R = Required

20

2015 MEP PM & PC All Hands

Gated Process- Gate 3 - Design A. Awad

H = High Process Rigor

L = Low Process Rigor

VL = Very Low Process Rigor

R = Required

21

2015 MEP PM & PC All Hands

Gated Process- Gate 4 – Construction/Implementation A. Awad

H = High Process Rigor

L = Low Process Rigor

VL = Very Low Process Rigor

R = Required

22

2015 MEP PM & PC All Hands

Gated Process- Gate 5 – Commissioning/Start up A. Awad

H = High Process Rigor

L = Low Process Rigor

VL = Very Low Process Rigor

R = Required

23

2015 MEP PM & PC All Hands

Gated Process- Gate 6 - Closeout A. Awad

H = High Process Rigor

L = Low Process Rigor

VL = Very Low Process Rigor

R = Required

N/C = No Changes

MEP Gated Process Key Players

• Process Owner

– Communicates with stakeholders; educates project managers

• Gate Administrator

– Schedules all Gated Process weekly meetings, publishes agenda, and

forwards file folder location of Gated Process Checklist Package to the

Knowledge Area Leads

• Project Manager

– Prepares and submits Gated Process Checklist Package to

MEPGATE@dteenergy.com

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MEP Gated Process Key Players

• Knowledge Area Lead

– Reviews pre-specified attributes that are within his/her knowledge area

to ensure effective implementation of PMMM process

• Gate Committee

– The Gate Committee is comprised of the following directors: Program

Office, Quality Management, Project Management, Engineering and

Construction, and the Project Platform requesting Gate approval

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Gated Process Weekly Timeline

Old Manual Process (1 Week cycle)

• Tuesday - Project Manager submits required documents via email

• Wednesday Noon - Gate Administrator creates different public folders and

inform Knowledge Area leads to start the review of submitted documents

• Friday - Knowledge Area Leads finish their review

• Tuesday Noon - Gated Process Owner and Administrator summarize the

reviews and mitigate issue

• Tuesday Afternoon - Gated Process Steering Committee meet to pass /

reject different projects and sign gate process checklists

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What issues do you see?

New Automated Gated Process (1-2 Day cycle)

Tools

• ePAT (Electronic Project Activity Tracking) - Oracle Primavera Unifier

workflow software

• Primavera - 3 Project Schedule Templates for High, Low, and Very Low

process rigor projects, including required deliverables

• PMMM Document Tracker utilizing Primavera/Access Database Interface

27

ePAT

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Electronic Project Activity Tracking (EPAT)

29

30

Business Processes Programs and Projects

31

Contact Closure Business Process Workflow

32

Issues Business Process Workflow

33

Gate Review Business Process

34

Gated Process Workflow

35

36

Temple Substation - Distribution Operations Project

37

Project Gates

38

Email to Approver

39

Project Gate Submission for Approval

40

Approval List

41

Gate Review Business Process Workflow

42

Gate Review Trend Charts

OLD Manual Process

Up to 15 days to process

NEW Automated Process

Average 1- 2 days

Knowledge Area Lead

43

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Project Management Maturity Model

Knowledge Area Leads • The PMMM KAL role is responsible for one or more specific knowledge areas

within the PMMM in supporting the objective to raise the project management

capability across the Enterprise

• The KAL is the subject matter expert for their knowledge area and ensures their

assigned PMMM knowledge area is comprehensive and accurately describes

the actions required to achieve each PMMM assessment level.

• The PMMM KAL participates in the project Gate process by reviewing and

approving knowledge area documents.

• Further, the PMMM KAL provides coaching and mentoring to MEP PMs and

others in regards to their assigned knowledge area to support effective project

management practices and support the attainment of project management

certification.

Project Tracking

Integration of Primavera and ePAT

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46

2016 MEP PM & PC All Hands

PMMM Document Tracker A. Awad

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2016 MEP PM & PC All Hands

PMMM Document Tracker – Low Rigor A. Awad

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2016 MEP PM & PC All Hands

PMMM Document Tracker – Very Low Rigor A. Awad

References

• DTE Energy

https://www.newlook.dteenergy.com/wps/wcm/connect/dte-web/home

• Oracle Unifier

https://www.oracle.com/applications/primavera/products/unifier.html

• Primavera

https://www.oracle.com/applications/primavera/products/project-management.html

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