Overview
The A&M System has developed a TAC 216 Companion Guide to help members be compliant with TAC 216. The Companion Guide helps you define a project, it provides a method for classifying projects based on their complexity and risk, and it outlines minimum project management requirements needed to complete any size project. The Companion Guide also outlines how to meet TAC 216 requirements for project governance, assessment and reporting.
The Companion Guide has been tested with both agile and waterfall development approaches.
Members are welcome to develop their own approach to compliance with TAC 216, addressing the policy, requirements and standards of TAC 216, or they are welcome to use the A&M System’s TAC 216 Companion Guide.
The TAC 216 Companion Guide (pdf, opens in a new window) organizes these knowledge areas across four project management process groups:
Initiating Templates:
Planning Templates:
Executing Templates:
Closing Templates:
New to project management? Use the 2016 Complexity Assessment to understand how much project management your project needs. Then Use the 2016 Best Practices and add the 2018 and 2020 Best Practices as your project managers build skills.
Click the document, template or tool name to open it.
- NOTE: All documents were updated September 2021 in conjunction with the 2022 review. Documents are waiting on final approval from the TAC 216 Subcommittee of the Executive IT Council.
Getting Started
| TAC 216 Companion Guide The TAC 216 Companion Guide helps project teams define a project, provide a method for classifying projects based on their complexity and risk, and outline minimum requirements for completing projects based on their classification level |
| Complexity Assessment - Standard Use the Standard Complexity Assessment to determine if the information resources effort is a project and if it is a project, classify it as a Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 or Level 4 project |
| Complexity Assessment - Advanced Use the Advanced Complexity Assessment to determine if the information resources effort is a project and if it is a project, classify it as a Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 or Level 4 project Example |
Best Practices
2016 Best Practices
| Lessons Learned Report Write a Lessons Learned Report to show how project events were addressed and what could be done differently on future projects Example |
| Level 1 Project Use the Level 1 Project to bring together elements of the Project Charter, the Risk Register and Lessons Learned for Level 1 small projects Example |
| Project Charter Develop a Project Charter to provide a common vision and understanding of what the project will accomplish, an initial estimate of how much it will cost and how long it will take and who will be involved Example |
| Risk Register Use the Risk Register to list project risks and strategies for managing them Example |
2018 Best Practices
| Business Case Develop a Business Case to document a project's benefits and let decision makers review and decide if the project should be approved to go forward or rejected Example 1, Example 2, Example 3 |
| Project Plan Use a Project Plan to document key information about the project, including the scope, schedule, budget, stakeholders, resources and communication plans, and the project's approach to managing risk, quality and changes. The Project Planning template also documents how the result project will transition to IT operations when it finishes |
| Project Portfolio Tracker Use the Project Portfolio Tracker to let IT management track how projects are meeting organizational strategic goals |
| Project Request Use a Project Request to describe the project and request approval to develop a Business case or a Project Charter Example |
2020 Best Practices
| Communication Plan Use a Communication Plan to plan for and execute stakeholder communications |
| Project Change Request Use the Project Change Request to document a change to the project and the impact it will have |
2022 Best Practices
Additional Templates
| Executing, Monitoring and Controlling Document Used to monitor day-to-day project activities |
| Post Project Survey Helps you gather feedback from project participants and stakeholders |
| Project Closure Document the final outcomes of the project |
| TAC 216 Checklist Used to keep track of all the process group procedures and documentation |
Have Questions?
If you have questions about the TAC 216 Companion Guide, please contact your institution or agency CIO.