In the field of project support and more generally of quality, we try to have as pragmatic an approach as possible: quality and project management methodologies are not an end in themselves, but means at the service of our projects.
Thus, the majority of the actions we carry out are “à la carte”, according to the needs expressed by the laboratory management, by the departments, by the projects.
We have a Project Support Unit (PSC) in the laboratory. This cell is composed of the management and the heads of department. It is led by the technical manager of the laboratory and chaired by the director of the laboratory. This PSC meets essentially to decide whether the laboratory can become involved in a new project without taking the risk of jeopardizing projects in which it is already involved. Through their knowledge of the skills and availability in their department, the heads of department advise the management on the advisability of embarking on this new project. This SSC also meets if the scope of the laboratory’s involvement in a project is likely to change, or is already changing, and the management and department heads have not had sufficient information. Anyone who is involved in a project and has concerns about the progress of the project can also call a meeting of the SSC, knowing that this request must be validated by the laboratory director.
This unit is not intended to carry out project management, this management is carried out by the scientific and/or technical managers of our projects. On the other hand, its role is to advise these pilots, on their request.
In addition to these “à la carte” actions, the CSP carries out a complete review process of our projects at the beginning of each year. This work focuses exclusively on physics projects and experiments involving technical and administrative staff.
(process below)
At the national level, we have been providing major support to IN2P3’s technical assistant directorate for many years in the area of project management and quality. The technical manager of the laboratory is the institute’s project management project manager and is in charge of IN2P3’s national “project management” training programs. The tools to help project management at IN2P3 are available on the IN2P3 tech news website and on the IN2P3 project repository (access restricted to IN2P3 laboratory staff).
The project or experience leaders (or their representative that can be the physics group leaders) meet with each of the department heads in order to express what will be their needs in human resources for their project and experience for the next two calendar years. These needs are specified following the discussions between these leaders and the department heads and expressed in full-time equivalents (FTE).
These FTE requests are then sent by the project leaders (or their representative) to the technical manager (RT) of the laboratory, with information (copy) to the department heads concerned.
All of these requests are concatenated by the technical manager of the laboratory and then discussed at the PSC meeting. The department managers take a position on each of these requests, based on their knowledge of the expertise and availability of their department. Discussions focus mainly on people whose activities could be very tense. The director makes decisions on the basis of this information, of that given by other members of the laboratory management and on criteria linked to the laboratory’s strategy.
It consists of a half-day meeting open to all laboratory staff. During this meeting, all the projects and experiments involving LPCC technical and administrative human resources are presented (objectives and motivations of the project, framework, major phases of the project, personnel involved, sources of funding). All FTE applications, after possible modifications at the end of step 3, are presented.
This is an opportunity to present a balance sheet between what was requested the previous year and what was finally done.
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