IT Project

Management
Introduction to Project
Management
Objectives
• Understand the growing need for better project management, especially for information
technology (IT) projects
• Explain what a project is, provide examples of IT projects, list various attributes of projects, and
describe the triple constraint of project management
• Describe project management and discuss key elements of the project management
framework, including project stakeholders, the project management knowledge areas, common
tools and techniques, and project success
• Discuss the relationship between project, program, and portfolio management and the
contributions each makes to enterprise success
• Understand the role of project managers by describing what they do, what skills they need, and
career opportunities for IT project managers
• Describe the project management profession, including its history, the role of professional
organizations like the Project Management Institute (PMI), the importance of certification and
ethics, and the advancement of project management software

Introduction
• A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique
product, service, or result” (PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, 2013)
• Operations is work done to sustain the business
• Projects end when their objectives have been reached or the
project has been terminated
• Projects can be large or small and take a short or long time to
complete

Examples of IT Projects
• A team of students creates a smartphone application and sells it
online
• A company develops a driverless car
• A government group develops a system to track child
immunizations
• A global bank acquires other financial institutions and needs to
consolidate systems and procedures
Project Attributes
• A project
• has a unique purpose
• is temporary
• is developed using progressive elaboration
• requires resources, often from various areas
• should have a primary customer or sponsor
• The project sponsor usually provides the direction and funding for the project • involves
uncertainty
Project and Program Managers
• Project managers work with project sponsors, project team, and
other people involved in a project to meet project goals
• Program: a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way
to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them
individually Program managers oversee programs; often act as
bosses for project managers
Figure 1-1 The Triple Constraint of Project
Management
What is Project Management?
• Project management is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools,
and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements”

• Project managers strive to meet the triple constraint (project scope,

time, and cost goals) and also facilitate the entire process to meet
the needs and expectations of project stakeholders
Figure 1-2 Project Management Framework
Project Stakeholders
• Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by project
activities
• Stakeholders include
• the project sponsor
• the project manager
• the project team
• support staff
• customers
• users
• suppliers
• opponents to the project
10 Project Management Knowledge Areas
• Knowledge areas describe the key competencies that project
managers must develop
• Project managers must have knowledge and skills in all 10
knowledge areas (project integration, scope, time, cost, quality,
human resource, communications, risk, procurement, and
stakeholder management)
• This text includes an entire chapter on each knowledge area
Project Management Tools and Techniques
• Project management tools and techniques assist project
managers and their teams in various aspects of project
management
• Some specific ones include
• Project charter, scope statement, and WBS (scope)
• Gantt charts, network diagrams, critical path analysis, critical chain
scheduling (time)
• Cost estimates and earned value management (cost)
• See Table 1-1 for many more
Super Tools
• “Super tools” are those tools that have high use and high potential
for improving project success, such as:
• Software for task scheduling (such as project management software)
• Scope statements
• Requirements analyses
• Lessons-learned reports

• Tools already extensively used that have been found to improve

project importance include:
• Progress reports
• Kick-off meetings
• Gantt charts
 • Change requests

Project Success
• There are several ways to define project success:
• The project met scope, time, and cost goals
• The project satisfied the customer/sponsor
• The results of the project met its main objective, such as making or saving a certain
amount of money, providing a good return on investment, or simply making the sponsors
happy

Table 1-2: What Helps Projects Succeed?*

1. Executive support
2. User involvement
3. Clear business objectives
4. Emotional maturity
5. Optimizing scope
6. Agile process
7. Project management expertise
8. Skilled resources
9. Execution
10. Tools and infrastructure
Top Three Reasons Why Federal Technology
Project Succeed
• Adequate funding
• Staff expertise
• Engagement from all stakeholders
What the Winners Do…
• Recent research findings show that companies that excel in project
delivery capability:
• Use an integrated project management toolbox (use
standard/advanced PM tools, lots of templates)
• Grow project leaders, emphasizing business and soft skills
• Develop a streamlined project delivery process
• Measure project health using metrics, like customer satisfaction or
return on investment
Program and Project Portfolio Management
• A program is “a group of related projects managed in a coordinated
way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing
them individually”

• A program manager provides leadership and direction for the

project managers heading the projects within the program

• Examples of common programs in the IT field include infrastructure,

applications development, and user support
Project Portfolio Management
• As part of project portfolio management, organizations group and
manage projects and programs as a portfolio of investments that
contribute to the entire enterprise’s success
• Portfolio managers help their organizations make wise investment
decisions by helping to select and analyze projects from a strategic
perspective

Figure 1-3. Project Management Compared

to Project Portfolio Management
Best Practice
• A best practice is “an optimal way recognized by the industry to
achieve a stated goal or objective”*
• Robert Butrick suggests that organizations need to follow basic
principles of project management, including these two mentioned
earlier in this chapter:
• Make sure your projects are driven by your strategy. Be able to demonstrate
how each project you undertake fits your business strategy, and screen out
unwanted projects as soon as possible
• Engage your stakeholders. Ignoring stakeholders often leads to project
failure. Be sure to engage stakeholders at all stages of a project, and
encourage teamwork and commitment at all times
Figure 1-4. Sample Project Portfolio
Approach
The Role of the Project Manager

• Job descriptions vary, but most include responsibilities like planning,

scheduling, coordinating, and working with people to achieve
project goals

• Remember that 97% of successful projects were led by experienced

project managers, who can often help influence success factors

Suggested Skills for Project Managers

• The Project Management Body of Knowledge
• Application area knowledge, standards, and regulations
• Project environment knowledge
• General management knowledge and skills
• Soft skills or human relations skills

Table 1-3 Ten Most Important Skills and

Competencies for Project Managers
1. People skills
2. Leadership
3. Listening
4. Integrity, ethical behavior, consistent
5. Strong at building trust
6. Verbal communication
7. Strong at building teams
8. Conflict resolution, conflict management
9. Critical thinking, problem-solving
10. Understands, balance priorities
Different Skills Needed in Different
Situations
• Large projects: Leadership, relevant prior experience, planning,
people skills, verbal communication, and team-building skills were
most important
• High uncertainty projects: Risk management, expectation
management, leadership, people skills, and planning skills were
most important
• Very novel projects: Leadership, people skills, having vision and
goals, self-confidence, expectations management, and listening
skills were the most important

Importance of Leadership Skills

Effective project managers provide leadership by example
• A leader focuses on long-term goals and big-picture objectives while
inspiring people to reach those goals
• A manager deals with the day-to-day details of meeting specific
goals
• Project managers often take on the role of both leader and manager

Careers for IT Project Managers

• Project management was second only to programming and
application development
• Even if you choose to stay in a technical role, you still need project
management knowledge and skills to help your team and
organization
The Project Management Profession
• The profession of project management is growing at a very rapid
pace
• It is helpful to understand the history of the field, the role of
professional societies like the Project Management Institute, and
the growth in project management software

History of Project Management

• Some people argue that building the Egyptian pyramids was a
project, as was building the Great Wall of China
• Most people consider the Manhattan Project to be the first project
to use “modern” project management

• This three-year, $2 billion (in 1946 dollars) project had a separate

project manager and a technical manager
Figure 1-5. Sample Gantt Chart Created with
Project
Figure 1-6. Sample Network Diagram
Created with Project
Project Management Offices
• In the 100s, many companies began creating PMOs to help them
handle the increasing number and complexity of projects
• A Project Management Office (PMO) is an organizational group
responsible for coordinating the project management function
throughout an organization

Global Issues
• Several global dynamics are forcing organizations to rethink
their practices:
 • Talent development for project and program managers is a top concern
• Good project portfolio management is crucial in tight economic conditions
• Basic project management techniques are core competencies
• Organizations want to use more agile approaches to project management
• Benefits realization of projects is a key metric

The Project Management Institute

• The Project Management Institute (PMI) is an international professional
society for project managers founded in 1969
• PMI has continued to attract and retain members, reporting more than
449,000 members worldwide by late 2014
• There are communities of practices in many areas, like information
systems, financial services, and health care
• Project management research and certification programs continue to
grow
• Students can join PMI at a reduced fee and earn the Certified Associate in
Project Management (CAPM) certification(see www.pmi.org for details)
Project Management Certification
• PMI provides certification as a
Project Management
Professional (PMP)

• A PMP has documented

sufficient project experience,
agreed to follow a code of
ethics, and passed the PMP
exam
• The number of people earning PMP certification is
increasing quickly
Ethics in Project Management
• Ethics, loosely defined, is a set of principles that guide our
decisionmaking based on personal values of what is “right” and
“wrong”
• Project managers often face ethical dilemmas
• In order to earn PMP certification, applicants must agree to PMI’s
Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
• Several questions on the PMP exam are related to professional
responsibility, including ethics
Summary
• A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique
product, service, or result
• Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and
techniques to project activities to meet project requirements
• A program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way
• Project portfolio management involves organizing and managing projects
and programs as a portfolio of investments
• Project managers play a key role in helping projects and organizations
succeed
• The project management profession continues to grow and mature
References
• https://www.accord.edu.so/web/content/33460?download=true&a
ccess_token=bb2b556c-9cbc-4ca8-9542-452369e0540c
• Information Technology Project Management, Eighth Edition, Kathy
Schwalbe