FAQs

What is a Project Investment Justification (PIJ)?

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The Strategic Oversight group, within the Arizona Department of Administration’s Arizona Strategic Enterprise Technology (ADOA-ASET) office, helps State agencies, departments, boards, and commissions develop business cases for Information Technology (IT) projects and investments. This information is captured in a document called a Project Investment Justification (PIJ) form.

The PIJ form gathers the needed information in a way that allows analysis and evaluation across all requests, reduces the time needed for review, and assures that the value to the public and risk are clearly considered. The required forms are posted below, along with links to the State Procurement Office for information on regulations, statutes, and other procurement related activities.
The actual PIJ form is a document with several sections that is used to gather information from an Agency/Board/Commission that is required to explain the project, its benefits, and the projected costs. The information provided allows ADOA-ASET to complete an analysis and evaluation of the project from an enterprise perspective, and assures that the value to the public and risks are addressed. The required forms and additional information regarding Strategic Oversight can be found under Resources on the ADOA-ASET web-site, along with links to related statutes, policies and procurement related activities.

The Strategic Oversight Team is here to assist you through the PIJ process and to collaborate with you to ensure that the right solution is being applied to the IT initiative at hand.

What is the review process?

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The review process starts at the Agency/Board/Commission level with the identification of an IT project which needs to be completed. An example of the typical flow of the PIJ process can be found on the ADOA-ASET website at: http://aset.azdoa.gov/strategic-oversight.

A quick overview of the process is listed below, broken up into two phases: Agency phase, and ADOA-ASET Strategic Oversight Phase.

Agency Phase (Prior to formal Submission)*
Agency determines if upcoming initiative requires a PIJ/Pre-PIJ (IT related, ≥ $25,000)
Agency discusses upcoming initiative with Strategic Oversight for preliminary feedback or direction
Agency submits a draft PIJ for ADOA-ASET Strategic Oversight review (optional)
Agency obtains necessary Agency approvals (signatures)
Agency submits the final PIJ for ADOA-ASET Strategic Oversight review

ADOA-ASET Strategic Oversight Phase (once the document has been formally submitted)
ADOA-ASET Strategic Oversight reviews PIJ document for completeness/soundness and performs analysis
ADOA-ASET Strategic Oversight works with the Agency if additional information is required
ADOA-ASET Strategic Oversight submits the final PIJ along with an analysis and recommendation for Approval, or Approval with Conditions to the State CIO
If State CIO approves, <$1 million = Agency is notified and can then secure funding to begin project
If State CIO approves, >$1 million = ADOA-ASET makes recommendation to ITAC
Agency/Board/Commission prepares an ITAC presentation
The project is presented at the next ITAC meeting (typically the 4th Wednesday of the calendar month)
If ITAC approves, Agency is notified and can then secure funding to begin project

*The Strategic Oversight team is available to help, or discuss any item at any phase in the process (including prior to a PIJ even being written) to answer any questions, provide guidance, or help determine if a PIJ is needed.

What will Strategic Oversight do?

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Strategic Oversight is here to assist an Agency through the process for obtaining an approval from the State CIO and, if necessary, ITAC for your PIJ. If you have a complex project coming down the pipe that you want to begin preparing for approval, let the Oversight team know. Our team of Strategic Oversight Program Managers is available to meet with you.

As part of our role, Strategic Oversight will also help provide quality assurance for the State and ensure that a solution has been properly vetted before the paperwork is submitted for approval by the State CIO and ITAC.

When does a PIJ need ITAC approval?

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Generally speaking, ITAC approval is needed when the development costs are greater than $1 million.
In addition to providing ITAC members with a copy of the PIJ, as well as ADOA-ASET’s analysis and recommendation, a presentation created by the Agency/Board/Commission will also be given to ITAC in the review meeting.

What forms are needed to obtain PIJ approval?

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PIJ Form – In this document, an explanation of the problem will be provided, along with, solution, financials, and other relevant information for ADOA-ASET review. The PIJ form includes an embedded spreadsheet used to provide detailed financial information, an itemized list, a risk matrix, and areas of impact.

Supplemental information - Copies of relevant vendor quotes and other supporting information should be provided.

What is the process after approval?

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All of the stakeholders identified in the PIJ will receive a notification from Strategic Oversight stating that the project is approved. This will include the approval letter signed by the State CIO, which will be emailed to the Agency/Board/Commission Director, and will document any conditions that have been applied to the PIJ approval.

Once approved, additional approvals may be secured as required from the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting, and the State Procurement Office.

What is the difference between development cost and operational costs?

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In general terms, development costs are about implementing projects; operational costs are about taking care of what has been implemented. Development costs are tracked by Strategic Oversight and cease when the project is completed. Operational costs are ongoing costs that will be incurred as a result of the project being implemented, and are not tracked by Strategic Oversight.

In Arizona, IT costs are tracked using the following categories: Professional & Outside Services (P&OS) (e.g., contractor support), hardware, software, communications, facilities, licensing and maintenance fees, and other. Any one of these categories can include development and operational costs.

For instance, software purchases and first year licensing fees would be considered a development cost (see year 1 box below). On-going software licensing and maintenance fees are considered operational costs (see year 2 box below).

Description
Type
Year 1
Year 2
Extended Cost
Software
Development
$100,000

$100,000
Operational

$10,000
$10,000

Description	Type	Year 1	Year 2	Extended Cost
Software	Development	$100,000		$100,000
Operational		$10,000	$10,000

Do I need to report other funding sources?

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Yes, the total funding for the project must be included in the PIJ, regardless of whether it involves State funds or any other type of funds.

My project has received approval…now what?

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The contact identified in the PIJ will receive a Start-up Event Status Report from the assigned Strategic Oversight Manager and notification that the document needs to be completed prior to any expenditure of funds. The e-mail notification will give clear instructions on what to do and will include contact information should any questions arise.

When are status reports due?

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ADOA-ASET will inform the Agency whether the project is on a monthly or quarterly reporting cycle in the start-up request. This may change once the document is submitted or as the project progresses.

Monthly project status reports are due by the 10th of the following month.
For instance, the May project status reports are due to ADOA-ASET by June 10th.

Quarterly project status reports are due by the 10th of the month after the quarter closes.
For instance, the FY15 Q1 project status report is due to ADOA-ASET by October 10th.

When is the final project status report due after my project completes?

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Final project status reports are due once the project has completed and a final accounting of all costs can be provided.

Where does the financial information on the project status reports come from?

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The “Current Month Spend” in the project status report should reflect actual expenditures that have posted to the Arizona Financial Information System (AFIS) during the reporting period, which can be for the month or quarter. Only development costs are reported in the Project Status Report.

What if the project has Automation Projects Fund (APF) funding? Are there requirements specific to APF funding?

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APF funding comes with an additional set of requirements including the execution of interagency service agreements and APF budget, milestones and key accomplishment reports. Please contact your Strategic Oversight Program Manager for information on all requirements associated with APF funds.

What signatures are needed and when?

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For PIJs that will not require ITAC approval, the following signatures are required:
Project Manager
Information Security Officer
Agency CIO
Project Sponsor
For PIJs that will require ITAC approval, an additional signature is needed:
Agency Director

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