Project Manager

The major objective of the SOCA project management is to allow ideas to flourish, progress and generate impact. In order to achieve this capability, the project will rely on a continuous focus on innovation, as well as the process and tools to manage it, considering the close relationships between all researchers involved in the project. In order to stimulate the technical work, it is important that a lean management structure is in place, able to optimize the work, avoid inefficiencies, meet deadlines and reach milestones, but doing it so without strict regulations and hierarchical bodies that would be harmful to the creative process. As such, the project employs a flexible, lightweight and dynamic management structure composed of two main levels: the project and the work package. The project’s overall management structure is shown in the figure.

Workpackage Level

Each work package is led by the Work Package Leader (WPL), who is responsible for making the day-to-day administrative decisions that solely affect their work package. The WP leaders’ responsibilities include:

• Planning, coordinating and monitoring the work in a work package.
• Proposes a detailed work plan for the WP, maintains the plan, and communicates it within the WP and to the project.
• Coordinates and monitors the technical work of the WP, and ensures that it is always aligned with the overall project plan.
• Plans, schedules and approves the Deliverables, and runs internal WP review process.
• Carries out WP level reporting and provides WP contribution to Reports and Audit

Each Task is then led by the Task Leader (TL), who essentially replicates WPL activities at task level. The WPL maintains a close cooperation with the TLs.

Project Level

The WPLs, together with the Administrative Project Manager (APM) and the Technical Project Manager (TPM), build the Project Management Team (PMT). This team is in charge of supervising the technical progress of the project and solve any technical issues that might arise during the project lifetime. The PMT responsibilities include:

• Supervising the technical progress of the project, including resolution of technical problems.
• Ensuring that the evolution of technical work is aligned to the project workplan.
• Ensuring effective communication, collaboration and cooperation within the whole group by establishing and monitoring documents.
• Ensuring quality management of the project.
• Organising all project meetings.
• Reacting to contingencies, and applying contingency plans.

 The APM responsibilities include:

• Lead the Project Management Team.
• Lead the Advisory Board
• Producing periodical progress reports. Editing and forwarding formal project reports.
• Handling overall legal, contractual, financial and administrative management aspects of the project.

Administratively, the PM will be supported by the “Gabinete de Apoio a Projetos” (from UA), which will:

• Financial monitoring throughout the project life to obtain a timely and complete control of the financial situation of the project and its participants.
• Define and approve the project strategy with respect to the intellectual property and knowledge generated in the project.

The TPM responsibilities include:

• Ensuring timely release, technical high quality and accuracy of technical deliverables.
• Monitoring and controlling of the time schedule and the timing of the related activities.
• Identifying technical coverage issues, and promoting technical and human resources to solve these.
• Ensuring the flow of information between different technical work packages.

Advisory Board

The Advisory Board, lead by the APM, will contain a representative from the Research Units (IEETA, IT) management, and will have as responsibilities:

• Advising the PMT about potential synergies to be established with other activities inside the research units.
• Suggesting strategies to improve the reach of the SOCA activities towards the community in general or on the overall technical approach.
• Revising and providing feedback on the work performed inside SOCA.

The currently forecast members of the PMT are: