Oral Presentations and Performances: Session III

Author Information

Project Type

Presentation - Campus Access Only

Project Funding and Affiliations

BMIS 476 Integrated Project Management

Faculty Mentor’s Full Name

Clayton Looney

Faculty Mentor’s Department

Business

Abstract / Artist's Statement

The University of Montana is currently losing millions of dollars due to their lack of efficiency and oversight on contracts. There are many contracts that affiliates of the university have signed without authorized oversight. Without the correct oversight, the university ends up signing multiple contracts for the same product. This also leads to members of the university wrongly giving away valuable data and information to companies without properly signing contracts. All of their contracts are scattered across campus, some signed correctly and some not. These documents are stored in various offices, departments, and using a mix of storage systems. This results in lost or not easily accessible documents, double contracts, compliance concerns, and increased liability.

My project aims to reduce this over expenditure and increased liability. We aim to create a system in which all proposed contracts go through the “office of contracts” in which the UM Legal Counsel and contracts team will review each contract and ensure it is signed only by authorized signers. We will also propose new messages and a webpage to guide university affiliates to follow the newly adopted system. This will eliminate double contracts, in which the University signs and pays for many licenses or products, when they only need one. It will also eliminate the risk of untrained individuals signing away the university's data in exchange for something they believe is free. Finally, it will ensure all contracts are stored in an organized, central location for easy accessibility when a claim or dispute arises.

I approached this project with a team of individuals also studying Management Information Systems. We used the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), the Project Life Cycle, and Agile methodologies to identify, plan, collect data, and develop the project. This process contributes to my field of study and my aspirations to work in management consulting. This project is vital for my education in Management Information Systems, but it is also vital for the University of Montana. This project will decrease the expenses and liability of the university, which will lead to an increase in resources for students.

Category

Humanities

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Apr 17th, 3:45 PM Apr 17th, 4:00 PM

Expanding University of Montana's Contract Management System

UC 333

The University of Montana is currently losing millions of dollars due to their lack of efficiency and oversight on contracts. There are many contracts that affiliates of the university have signed without authorized oversight. Without the correct oversight, the university ends up signing multiple contracts for the same product. This also leads to members of the university wrongly giving away valuable data and information to companies without properly signing contracts. All of their contracts are scattered across campus, some signed correctly and some not. These documents are stored in various offices, departments, and using a mix of storage systems. This results in lost or not easily accessible documents, double contracts, compliance concerns, and increased liability.

My project aims to reduce this over expenditure and increased liability. We aim to create a system in which all proposed contracts go through the “office of contracts” in which the UM Legal Counsel and contracts team will review each contract and ensure it is signed only by authorized signers. We will also propose new messages and a webpage to guide university affiliates to follow the newly adopted system. This will eliminate double contracts, in which the University signs and pays for many licenses or products, when they only need one. It will also eliminate the risk of untrained individuals signing away the university's data in exchange for something they believe is free. Finally, it will ensure all contracts are stored in an organized, central location for easy accessibility when a claim or dispute arises.

I approached this project with a team of individuals also studying Management Information Systems. We used the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), the Project Life Cycle, and Agile methodologies to identify, plan, collect data, and develop the project. This process contributes to my field of study and my aspirations to work in management consulting. This project is vital for my education in Management Information Systems, but it is also vital for the University of Montana. This project will decrease the expenses and liability of the university, which will lead to an increase in resources for students.