New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 1 - GENERAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
Chapter 12 - INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Part 5 - OVERSIGHT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS
Section 1.12.5.7 - DEFINITIONS

A. "Agency" means a state organizational entity of the executive branch, used interchangeably with department.

B. "Independent" is used to describe the autonomous and impartial verification and validation assessment of compliance to a project and the project's products requirements. These independent assessments are performed by a contractor that is not responsible for developing the product or performing the activity being evaluated.

C. "Independent verification and validation (IV&V)" means the process of evaluating a project and the project's product to determine compliance with specified requirements and the process of determining whether the products of a given development phase fulfill the requirements established during the previous stage, both of which are performed by an organization independent of the lead agency.

D. "Executive sponsor" is the person or group that provides the financial resources, in cash or kind, for the project.

E. "Lead agency" of a multi-agency project is the agency that is indicated as lead agency in the General Appropriations Act or as designated by the office. In the case that a single agency sponsors a project then that agency shall be known as the lead agency.

F. "Office" means the office of the chief information officer.

G. "Oversight" means a continuous process of project review and evaluation to ensure that project objectives are achieved in accordance with an approved project plan and project schedule and that IT projects are in scope, on time and within budget.

H. "Product development life cycle" is a series of sequential , non-overlapping phases comprised of iterative disciplines such as requirements, analysis and design, implementation, test, and deployment implemented to build a product or develop a service.

I. "Project" means a temporary process undertaken to solve a well-defined goal or objective with clearly defined start and end times, a set of clearly defined tasks, and a budget. The project terminates once the project scope is achieved and project approval is given by the project executive sponsor and verified by the office.

J. "Project director" means a qualified person from the lead agency whose responsibility is to manage a series of related projects.

K. "Project manager" means a qualified person from the lead agency responsible for all aspects of the project over the entire project management lifecycle (initiate, plan, execute, control, close). Must be familiar with project scope and objectives, as well as effectively coordinate the activities of the team. In addition, responsible for developing the project plan and project schedule with the project team to ensure timely completion of the project. Interfaces with all areas affected by the project including end users, distributors, and vendors. Ensures adherence to the best practices and standards of the office.

L. "Project management plan" is a formal document approved by the executive sponsor and the office and developed in the plan phase used to manage both project execution, control, and project close. The primary uses of the project plan are to document planning assumptions and decisions, facilitate communication among stakeholders, and documents approved scope, cost, and schedule baselines. A project plan includes at least other plans for issue escalation, change control, communications, deliverable review and acceptance, staff acquisition, and risk management.

M. "Project product" means the final project deliverable as defined in the project plan meeting all agreed and approved acceptance criteria.

N. "Project schedule" is a tool used to indicate the planned dates, dependencies, and assigned resources for performing activities and for meeting milestones.

O. "Qualified" means demonstrated experience managing IT projects. Demonstrated experience includes exhibiting the ability to apply project management methodology to maintain projects on time, on budget, and on schedule. Qualified also includes those employees who have the demonstrated ability to manage resources, lead people to accomplishing project objectives and who possess a working knowledge of the project scope.

P. "Quality" means the degree to which a system, system component, or process meets specified requirements, customer needs, and user expectations.

Q. "Quality assurance" means a planned and systematic pattern of all actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that a product or system component conforms to established requirements.

R. "Validation" means ensuring a system meets documented performance outcomes and requirements of the project.

S. "Verification" means application of an appropriate test yielding documentable, measurable evidence that ensures a process executed or the technical system developed produces required performance outcomes.