Project Navigator FAQ

Welcome to the project Navigator FAQ

NPMS RENEWAL

What is the National Project Management System (NPMS) Renewal initiative?

The NPMS Renewal initiative aims to put in place a more comprehensive project management process that is better aligned to industry best practices. NPMS Renewal will address requests from Public Services and Procurement Canada’s (PSPC) project management community for improved efficiency and simplicity as well as recent Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) requirements associated with its new Directive on the Management of Projects and Programmes and Policy on the Planning and Management of Investments

This initiative includes four critical and interrelated components: ● an interim NPMS update ● project transition activities associated with Benefits Realization ● the PSPC Project Navigator ● the new Project Management Curriculum

The end goal is that the PSPC Project Navigator will completely replace the current NPMS by winter 2021, with existing projects becoming fully compliant through phased implementation over three years.

This initiative sounds like a lot of work. How will I be expected to implement this change while maintaining an already busy workload?

NPMS Renewal offers PSPC the opportunity to holistically assess how the NPMS has evolved and improve upon areas that have gradually become cumbersome. The result of this assessment will be the evolution of the NPMS into the newly-branded PSPC Project Navigator—a single linear process with consolidated documentation and project gates. By streamlining the documentation, project managers at PSPC are able to spend more time on planning and less time on repetitive tasks. The revitalized process introduces simplicity and integration, while empowering anyone managing projects to achieve even greater levels of delivery excellence and efficiency.

How will we build competencies associated with the PSPC Project Navigator?

At the Project Management & National Capital Area Project Delivery service lines town hall held on January 24, 2020, Assistant Deputy Minister Stéphan Déry referenced the TBS President’s mandate letter, which included a requirement to “improve project management capabilities so that all major projects in government are led by a certified professional with at least five years of experience.” To realize this, the new Project Management Curriculum will be launched to correspond with learning plan submission deadlines. The Curriculum is based on a professionally-recognized approach to competency development, and will help us, as a department, to establish a clearer picture of our project management capacity while better matching knowledge with project complexity. Moreover, the new Project Management Curriculum provides career development opportunities and a path for participants to achieve Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

The Department has experienced considerable change in the recent past and many people are experiencing fatigue. How will we support employees through this renewal?

To facilitate an easier migration from the old to the new, a dedicated team has been put in place to inform stakeholders, to provide learning opportunities and resources, and to establish and support a regional network of PSPC Project Navigator and Project Management Curriculum change agents. The intent is to ensure a continual flow of information and updates, and to provide opportunities to hear stakeholder’s thoughts and concerns.

Do we have enough time to properly prepare for and launch the NPMS Renewal components?

"Due to the TBS requirements, this initiative has had an accelerated schedule. To help ease implementation, the components are being launched sequentially, and a PSPC Project Navigator proof of concept exercise comprising of three to five projects per region will occur to identify and address issues that may arise. To be clear, this exercise will not test a fully functioning PSPC Project Navigator product, but rather will be a period during which documentation components and the gating model are reviewed and improved. Subsequent results will then be submitted to the appropriate governing bodies for their approvals.

In addition, it is important to understand that building employee knowledge about, and ability with, the PSPC Project Navigator and Project Management Curriculum will continue well after the launch dates. Change agents and tools are being put in place to support those managing projects, including feedback mechanisms that will enable users to report on experiences and highlight areas that may need improvement."

What is the role of the NPMS Continual Improvement team during this renewal?
The NPMS Continual Improvement team is the main instrument through which project management processes are made better. The NPMS Renewal represents a core activity for the Continual Improvement team, and they play a critical role in consulting with peers to provide guidance and form a key part of the change agent network.

How will NPMS Renewal benefit those leading and managing projects?

The ultimate outcome of NPMS Renewal is the implementation of the PSPC Project Navigator, which will streamline the project management process and ensure greater clarity and efficiency, with a clear gating process. It will also foster better transition and increased collaboration between project leaders and project managers, resulting in greater project continuity. Employees will be afforded opportunities to enhance their project management knowledge and work towards PMI PMP certification through the new Project Management Curriculum.

As a manager or supervisor of those managing projects, what do I need to know about the NPMS Renewal?

"Past experience has demonstrated that managers and supervisors play a pivotal role in ensuring that change is successful by acting as communicators, liaisons, advocates, resistance managers and coaches. The change management team and change agents will provide managers and supervisors with frequent updates on initiative progress, and make available tools and kits associated with the NPMS Renewal created specifically for them. Equally important, managers and supervisors will want to know how to guide their employees in implementing the NPMS update, Benefits Realization activities and PSPC Project Navigator, as well as in using the Project Management Curriculum. Training materials that provide simple instruction on how to manage the various components will be made available. "

What does the NPMS update entail?
The current NPMS will incorporate minor updates associated with the project sponsorship role in fall 2020 that will bring existing NPMS projects closer to TBS compliance. The NPMS Roles and responsibilities for project teams Internet page will be updated to reflect the new requirements, to which existing projects must adhere.

Proof of Concept (PoC)

Why can’t we have our own departmental pages on GCpedia that aren't accessible to other departments?

All pages on GCpedia can be seen by all users. GCpedia sysops can protect a page from editing if there is a strong justification for doing so (i.e. protecting a template that is used thousands of times on the wiki). If you need your page protected to prevent other users from editing it, ask yourself whether it belongs on GCpedia in the first place. A simple alternative to protecting a page is to use the template {{protected}}, which asks users to refrain from editing the page.

Is there a cost to using GCpedia?
Members of the Chief Information Officer Council (CIOC) provide funding to the GCTools Team to support operations of GCpedia and GCconnex.

About the Benefits Realization Activities

Can GCpedia support every employee in the federal government?
Yes, federal government employees total approximately 250,000 Canada-wide, which is not a lot of users in the large scheme of wiki/web use. Pages are lightweight in terms of memory use because they contain “thin” media-wiki code. Maximum capacity (all Government of Canada) was considered in the planning stage.