Project management at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has grown from an informal process to the implementation of a corporate project office since I came on six years ago.
About two years ago, CME was involved with a single stock futures project that spanned the company. Because not every department uses one project management methodology, we established a corporate project support office (CPSO) as part of the office of the CEO to handle multiple projects bundled together and track progress across the senior management team.
When we began the common clearing link project with the Chicago Board of Trade, it touched every department. We relied on the CPSO to synchronize the organization and manage a lot of interaction and integration. The name change (to CPO) reflects increased visibility and shared accountability, and the CPO has become increasingly hands-on and no longer is merely a support system.
By increasing our corporate investment in project management, we've seen tremendous growth—up to 150 percent in electronic trading each year. In the technology department, we're constantly getting new people up to speed on our methodology, tools, approaches and processes. Early on, I brought in a single tool so everyone would be executing the same way and we'd have a process that anybody could repeat. Our department's methodology is loosely based on a customized rational unified process (RUP).
We have a workflow engine; e-mail notifications are sent to team members along with a link where they can access test plans to review, a collection of materials needed and other related project information such as timelines. We also have a mock project available online for new hires to walk through. For technology projects, we require that everyone use project charters so the person requesting a project explains what is needed. We do business analysis, translate function requirement lists into technical specifications, create testing plans and regression testing, and run a suite of performance tests.
photography by CHIP WILLIAMS
All of these steps are inherent in the process; you can't move from one phase of a project to the next without sign-off. It's very formal but adds value because you have a bunch of people standing up and saying, “Yes, we're going to do this.” We've also used this more formal approach to improve our ability to forecast and meet deadlines.
Our organization's growing interest in project management is visible throughout CME. We have about a dozen people with Project Management Professional (PMP®) credentials, and although we don't require them, it now plays heavily into our hiring process. About 40 people have formed an internal project management specific interest group to share experiences and exchange information about best practices.
By increasing our corporate investment in project management, we've seen tremendous growth—up to 150 percent in electronic trading each year.
Because project management is valued from the top down, they became enthusiastic. While we support the group, this was a grassroots effort. They feel like project management is important to them and to the CME, and they want to learn more.
While I have standardized and formalized an approach for the technology department, we still don't have a “homeroom” of project management. Instead, we view, plan and manage each project uniquely. In the long run, organizations perform better if people are trained as project managers. PM