1. Project Management

1.1. Overview

We propose the CDMS II Project to be funded by the National Science Foundation Physics and Astronomy Divisions and by the Department of Energy through its High Energy Physics University Program and through Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. It will be carried out by a collaboration of University and National Laboratory Groups. The plan for managing the CDMS project is presented and described in this Chapter.

1.2. Organizational Elements of the CDMS Project Management Plan

This subsection will tabulate the functions, responsibilities, and assignments of all the elements comprising the CDMS organizational structure. To this purpose, the organization structure will be given, and the requisite organizational relationships will be described. In addition, the lines of management responsibility necessary for successful administration of the project will be defined.

1.2.1. Organization Chart

The CDMS Organization Chart is shown in Figure 5.1. The functions and responsibilities of each of the boxes will be discussed in the following subsections. Further details concerning the subsystem structure can be found in Section 5.2.9

1.2.2. CDMS Spokesperson

The CDMS Spokesperson is responsible for the scientific success of the CDMS experiment, and as such, is accountable to the funding agencies. Consequently, the CDMS Spokesperson develops and establishes the scientific strategies and priorities necessary to ensure the success of the experiment. All decisions involving changes in the scientific scope are made by the Spokesperson. Accordingly, he or she works closely with the CDMS Co-spokesperson and the CDMS collaboration to ensure the scientific goals of the CDMS experiment are established and achieved.

Other specific duties assigned to the CDMS Spokesperson include the negotiation and assignment of CDMS Project responsibilities to the collaborating institutions. In addition, the CDMS Spokesperson is charged with the responsibility for the advancement of the educational missions of the CDMS collaborating institutions. Issues related to the educational mission include student theses, postdoc career issues, instrumentation and physics publications, and outreach activities.

Acceptance of the scientific leadership of the CDMS experiment implies that the CDMS Spokesperson will develop close working relationships with the CDMS Co-Spokesperson, the CDMS

Figure 5.1: CDMS Project Organization Chart

Project management team, and the CDMS collaboration. He or she shall be responsible for organizing and calling collaboration meetings at 3 months intervals or less. These meetings will provide a forum for discussion of the scientific issues confronting the experiment. In addition, they will serve as a forum to present, review, and discuss important accomplishments. To maintain a healthy collaboration the Spokesperson must work to maximize the contribution of each collaborator and seek to recognize and reward important accomplishments through presentation at conferences, first authorship on papers, increased responsibilities and promotion. In summary, he or she is responsible for maximizing the opportunity for each institution to contribute to the overall success of the experiment.

The Spokesperson is appointed by the CDMS Executive Committee with the concurrence of the funding agencies and the Laboratory Directors. The appointment shall be made for the duration of the construction and installation period of the CDMS project. The present Spokesperson of the CDMS experiment is Bernard Sadoulet.

The CDMS Spokesperson appoints the Project Manager and the Deputy Project manager with the concurrence of the CDMS Executive Committee and the funding agencies.

1.2.3. CDMS Co-Spokesperson

The CDMS Co-Spokesperson is responsible for the technical success of the CDMS project. Accordingly, the Co-Spokesperson works closely with the CDMS Spokesperson to develop technical strategies and priorities which ensure the fulfillment of the scientific goals of the experiment. In addition, the Co-Spokesperson is charged with all of the responsibilities and duties of the CDMS Spokesperson during periods of unavailability of the Spokesperson, or whenever the Spokesperson makes such assignments.

Other specific duties assigned to the CDMS Co-Spokesperson includes setting the technical goals and priorities of the CDMS II project. Consequently, the Co-Spokesperson arranges for and organizes all technical and scientific reviews of the Project.

The CDMS Co-Spokesperson is appointed by the CDMS Executive Committee with the concurrence of the funding agencies. The appointment is made for the duration of the construction and installation period of the CDMS project. The present CDMS Co-Spokesperson is Blas Cabrera.

1.2.4. CDMS Project Manager

The CDMS Project Manager is responsible for the execution of the CDMS Construction Project. As such he or she must develop and maintain the Project Management Plan, negotiate and update the Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) between all of the collaborating institutions, and manage all the construction, installation, and related operational activities. These MOUs determine the resources which are available to the project from the collaborating institutions. Implicit in these responsibilities is the requirement that the Project Manager administer both human and financial resources available to the project through these MOUs.

Specifically, the CDMS Project Manager assigns responsibilities and resources to the Subsystem Managers. The progress of these assignments is monitored through monthly status reports generated by the Subsystem Managers, by means of monthly Subsystem Managers meetings, and through daily communications. He or she is responsible for developing, maintaining, and tracking the schedule for the project, which shall include a complete list of milestones to facilitate monitoring the progress of the project. Problems and concerns identified by this process must be corrected by the Project Manager. He or she shall react to such difficulties by making the appropriate reassignments of resources within the collaboration. Finally, it is also the responsibility of the Project Manager to provide quarterly reports summarizing the progress of the Project to the CDMS Spokespersons and to the funding agencies.

The Project Manager may delegate any or all of these responsibilities to the CDMS Deputy Project Manager as he or she deems optimal for efficient execution of the project.

The Project Manager is appointed by the CDMS Spokesperson with the concurrence of the CDMS Executive Committee and the funding agencies. The appointment is made for the duration of the CDMS Construction Project. The Project Manager position is a full-time assignment. The current Project Manager is Roger Dixon.

1.2.5. CDMS Deputy Project Manager

The CDMS Deputy Project Manager assists the CDMS Project Manager with all of the responsibilities and activities discussed in Section 5.2.4. In the absence of the CDMS Project Manager, the Deputy Project Manager performs all the duties of the Project Manager. The CDMS Project Manager may assign specific tasks to the Deputy Project Manager to facilitate execution of the Project. For example, the specific tasks currently assigned to the Deputy Project Manager include developing, maintaining, and tracking the CDMS Project schedule and budget. In addition, the Deputy Project Manager presently organizes and calls meetings of the CDMS Subsystem managers to discuss progress and problems associated with the work in the individual subsystems.

The CDMS Deputy Project Manager is appointed by the CDMS Spokesperson with the concurrence of the CDMS Executive Committee and the funding agencies. The appointment is made for the duration of the CDMS Construction Project. The current CDMS Deputy Project Manager is Anthony Spadafora.

1.2.6. CDMS Executive Committee

The CDMS Executive Committee includes a senior member from each of the collaborating institutions. The Chairperson of the Executive Committee is elected by the membership of the Executive Committee and is expected to serve for the duration of the CDMS construction period. The CDMS Spokesperson, Co-spokesperson, Project Manager, and Deputy Project Manager are ex-officio members of the CDMS Executive Committee.

The CDMS Executive Committee provides a forum to discuss scientific and technical progress of the CDMS experiment. In addition, Project execution and managerial issues are also matters for the consideration of the Executive Committee.

Specific responsibilities of the CDMS Executive Committee include the appointment of the CDMS Spokesperson and Co-Spokesperson. The Committee must also concur on the appointments of the Project Manager and the Deputy Project Manager. Furthermore, the Executive Committee must appoint an External Advisory Board (EAB) to monitor and review the execution of the CDMS Project. Meetings of the EAB are scheduled and organized by the Chairperson of the Executive Committee, and reports of the panel are made to the Executive Committee.

The Chairperson of the CDMS Executive Committee shall call, organize, and conduct the meetings of the Executive Committee. The present Chairperson of the Executive Committee is David Caldwell.

1.2.7. External Advisory Board

An external advisory board made up of four people with expertise scientific, technical, and managerial matters shall be appointed by the CDMS Executive Committee. Appointments are made for the duration of the CDMS Project. Should panel members resign, replacements will be appointed by the Executive Committee.

The External Advisory Board will meet twice per year to review the scientific and technical goals and achievements of the experiment. In addition, project execution will also be examined and evaluated by the EAB. Specifically, the EAB will review any schedule, cost, or scope variance that has to be reported to the funding agencies (see Table 5.1). Furthermore, the EAB will also be charged with reviewing the performance of the Project Management team.

Meetings of the EAB will be called and organized by the Chairperson of the CDMS Executive. Reports, including the recommendations of the Panel, will be submitted to the CDMS Executive Committee and will also be made available to the funding agencies. The current members of the EAB are: Dr. Harvey Moseley (NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center), Dr. Natalie Roe (Lawrence Berkeley National Lab), Dr. Gary Sanders (California Institute of Technology), and Prof. Michael Turner (U.Chicago).

1.2.8. CDMS Change Control Board

The CDMS Change Control Board (CCB) shall review all changes in cost or schedule which exceed the thresholds tabulated in Section 5.3.5. The Chairperson of the CCB is the CDMS Project Manager. He or she is joined on the Board by the Spokesperson, the Co-Spokesperson, the Deputy Project Manager, and the Subsystem Managers.

Items which need to be considered are brought to the attention of the CCB by the Project Manager or the Spokesperson depending on the nature of the proposed change (see Table 5.1). For the purpose of their deliberations, the CCB may organize any reviews they deem necessary. Once the CCB has examined the request for change a recommendation for appropriate actions is made to the CDMS Spokesperson and/or Project Manager, depending on the nature of the change. Recommendations are made on the basis of a majority vote of the CCB. Records of their recommendations will be kept and changes for the Project will be tracked in the accounting system.

The CCB will meet as needed. The CDMS Project Manager is responsible for calling meetings of the CCB. Meeting intervals are expected to be determined by the number of change requests and the urgency of the requests.

1.2.9. CDMS Subsystem Managers

The CDMS Subsystem Organization is shown in Figure 5.2. The CDMS Subsystem managers report to the CDMS Project Manager and to the Deputy Project Manager. They are responsible for the CDMS II activities designated in their box of the organization chart. As such they are responsible for bringing their subsystem into existence within the time and budget constraints imposed by the project schedule and goals.

The primary responsibility of the Subsystem managers is the planning and the coordination of the work for the subsystem. In close consultation with the Project Managers, they develop the work plan, schedule, and budget for their individual subsystems. They are in charge of implementing such a plan and track its progress and use of resources. They coordinate the personnel allocated by the Project Managers, and optimize the use of facilities at their disposal.

Subsystem managers must also coordinate with one another to ensure the success of the construction Project. Their subsystem must be documented in such a way as to facilitate its integration with the other subsystems. In addition, they are responsible for calling attention to technical and managerial problems and working within the CDMS Project management organization and the collaboration to find solutions.

As part of their responsibilities, Subsystem managers must provide the Project Managers with a monthly status report. The report will highlight both progress of their particular subsystem toward the project goals and difficulties encountered along the way. The report should include a short discussion of technical management relevant to their responsibilities, and should measure the progress of the subsystem effort against the specific milestones of the subproject. Furthermore, it should give an accounting of the budgetary expenditures during the monthly period, which highlights items costing more or less than expected.

Subsystem Managers are assigned by the CDMS Project Manager with the concurrence of the CDMS Spokesperson, Co-Spokesperson, and the CDMS Executive Committee. The assignments are made for the duration of the construction and installation of the project.

1.3. Project Management Systems

1.3.1. Introduction

This chapter describes the procedures and special tools which will be integrated into the project management design to create a management plan with the attributes of accountability, traceability, and flexibility. Consequently, monitoring of the technical and financial progress of the project by the Project Manager and the Deputy Project Manager, the Spokesperson and the Co-Spokesperson, and the funding agencies will be substantially enhanced. The Project Manager is responsible for implementing and using the procedures and tools described in this section.

1.3.2. Financial Plan

Prior to the beginning of each project year the Project Manager and the Deputy Project Manager in consultation with the CDMS Spokesperson and Co-Spokesperson, the Laboratory Directors, the CDMS Executive Committee, and the CDMS Level 2 managers will draft a financial plan for the coming project year. The financial plan will subsequently be submitted to the funding agencies for their concurrence and guidance. Once agreement has be reached the plan will be used by the funding agencies and the Laboratories for the allocation of Project funds to the CDMS collaborating institutions and the

Figure 5.2: CDMS Subsystem Organization Chart

laboratory groups. This plan will summarize the status of the Project spending and contingency usage. It will also tabulate the previous years’ expenditures and the current estimate of the cost to go. In addition, it will highlight all significant variances from the baseline cost estimate and the previous year’s plan.

1.3.3. Spending Authorization and Cost Accounting

Funds will be allocated at the beginning of each project year to each of the WBS subtasks within the Project based on the financial plan described in the previous section. Authorization for spending is granted by the Project Manager and can be made on as block grant of authorization or item by item as deemed necessary by the Project Manager. These authorizations will be made in writing to the Subsystem Managers.

A project accounting system based on Microsoft Excel will be created and maintained by the Project Manager and his Deputy. Updates to this system will be made at least monthly by the Subsystem Managers. The Subsystem Managers are responsible for monitoring, controlling, reporting, and correcting problems with the spending for his or her subtask. Equipment spending for each subtask will be reviewed monthly by the Project Managers and the individual Subsystem Managers. Together they will initiate any appropriate corrective actions. Should the difficulties encountered exceed the thresholds delineated in Section 5.3.5, the Change Control Process must be initiated by the Project Manager.

1.3.4. Contingency Allocation

The Project Contingency is defined as the difference between the original project Total Estimated Cost and the current Estimated cost at Completion. The actual expenditure of contingency is reflected in the Estimated Cost at Completion and all changes will be traceable. A change in the Total Estimated Cost at Completion greater than the thresholds in section 5.3.5 requires the approval of the funding agencies.

Contingency for a specific project year will be held by the CDMS Project Manager, and all use of contingency must be approved by him or her. The amount of contingency held during any year by the Project Manager is determined by the approved Financial Plan and is based upon the contingency analysis submitted to the funding agencies as part of the baseline cost estimate. Subsystem managers are responsible for requesting the use of contingency funds from the Project Manager as soon as the need for such funds is discovered. These requirements will naturally arise during the monthly reviews of expenditures for each subtask. Funds not used in a subsystem are returned to the contingency.

1.3.5. Change Control Process

Schedule, cost and resource variance will be examined monthly by the Project Managers and the Subsystem Managers. When any changes occur in the cost, schedule, or scope of the CDMS project the change control process must be initiated. The particular path that the change control process takes depends on the magnitude and class of change required. For example, cost variations which result in changes of less than $5K in any specific subsystem item (Level 3 or below) require on the approval of the Subsystem Manager while changes to the scientific scope of the project require the approval of the Spokesperson, and notification of the Project Manager or his Deputy, the Change Control Board, and the funding agencies. Of course, there are many variances which fall in between these two extremes. Table 5.1 summarizes the level of approval required for all changes in cost, schedule, and scope.

Items which must be placed before the Change Control Board for a recommendation are forwarded to the Board in writing by either the CDMS Spokesperson or the Project Manager depending on the nature of the change. For example, all cost and schedule changes are submitted by the CDMS Project Manager . Alternatively, all changes to the scientific scope of the project are submitted by the Spokesperson. Should there be disagreement between the CDMS Project Manager or his Deputy and the CCB concerning a particular change, Project Management shall make the final decision. Should there be a disagreement between the Spokesperson and the CCB, the CDMS Spokesperson will make the decision. Resolution of disagreements between the Project Managers and the Spokesperson depend on the nature of the disagreement. The Project Manager or his Deputy will have the final say in all matters concerning project resources (cost and effort), and the Spokesperson will make the decisions on all matters of scientific scope.

Tracking of the schedule will be done with milestones. The primary (WBS level 1) milestones have been given in section 3.4. Agencies should be informed of any anticipated slippage of these milestones by more than 6 months. Slippage of any of the WBS level 2 milestones (subsystem milestones given in Sec. 10) by more than 3 months must be approved by the Spokesperson. Budget tracking will be accomplished as described in section 5.3.3 and 5.3.4. Normally, notifications of cost and schedule changes will be made to the funding agencies in the Project Manager’s Quarterly Report.

1.3.6. Information Distribution and Reporting

In order to keep the project running smoothly it will be necessary to keep all persons working on the project informed of the current status, including problems, progress, and future plans. In addition, the funding agencies must be kept abreast of our progress. To facilitate the distribution of this information the Project Management team has adopted several standard tools to track, report, and distribute information. Microsoft Project 4.0 combined with Microsoft Excel will be used to track and monitor progress on the schedule and budget. In addition to the CDMS collaborators, it will also be necessary to implement a series of formal reports to be distributed to the stakeholders in the CDMS Project. In addition to the CDMS Collaborators, the funding agencies, the Laboratory Directors, and the External Advisory Board members are included in the group of CDMS stakeholders. For example, the Level 2 Subsystems Managers will report on the progress of their subsystem monthly. Their report will be submitted to the Project Managers, who will distribute it to the Spokespersons, the Executive Committee, and to the collaboration. Furthermore, the Project Managers will complete a quarterly report on the progress of the project and submit it all of the CDMS stakeholders. This report will summarize the recommendations of the Change Control Board in addition to giving the overall project status.

Table 5.1 Change Control Reporting Requirements

Variance	Subsystem Managers	Project Manager	Spokes- Person	CCB	EAB/Funding Agencies
Cost or effort Variance resulting in cost changes within any subsystem of ≤$5k	√
Cost or effort Variance resulting in cost changes within any subsystem of >$5K	√	√
Cost or effort Variance resulting in cost changes within any subsystem of ≥$25K	√	√	√	√
Cost or effort Variance resulting in cost changes within any subsystem of ≥$50K	√	√	√	√	√
Schedule Variances within any subsystem ≤ 1 month	√
Schedule Variances within any subsystem > 1 month	√	√
Schedule Variances within any subsystem ≥ 3 months	√	√	√	√
Schedule Variances within any subsystem ≥6 months	√	√	√	√	√
Technical Scope change At WBS Level 3 or below	√
Technical Scope Change at WBS Level 2 or above	√	√	√	√
Scientific Scope Change at any WBS Level			√	√	√

√ è Requires notification or approval of the person or group at top of column.

Other reports will be made by the External Advisory Board and the CDMS Executive Committee. These reports will be distributed as they become available.

Another means of distributing information is through the use of regular meetings. Several of these have already been discussed in this proposal. All will be summarized here.

The CDMS Spokesperson will call a meeting of all collaborators with a frequency of at least every 3 months to discuss progress, achievements, problems, and issues concerning the CDMS Project. This meeting will be open to all members of the collaboration.

A Subsystem Managers’ Meeting will be held monthly between the CDMS Project Managers and the Subsystem Managers. This meetings will be used to discuss progress, achievements, and difficulties concerning cost, effort, schedule, and technical matters.

The CDMS Executive Committee will meet monthly to monitor and evaluate all aspects of the project and the corresponding scientific effort including the management team. Furthermore, the Executive Committee shall arrange to have a meeting of the External Advisory Board at least twice per year. The EAB will monitor progress and performance of the Project and give timely advice to the Executive Committee, Spokespersons, Project Managers, and funding agencies. Written reports of this panel will be distributed to the relevant people as necessary.

Finally, it is anticipated that travel funding will be limited, so many of these meetings will be teleconferenced.