Information Technology Project

Management, Eighth Edition

Note: See the text itself for full citations.

  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

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 2
  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

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 3
  Many organizations today have a new or renewed
interest in project management
 Worldwide IT spending was $3.8 trillion in 2014, a
3.2 percent increase from 2013 spending
 The Project Management Institute estimates
demand for 15.7 million project management jobs
from 2010 to 2020, with 6.2 million of those jobs in
the United States

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 4
  In 2013 (the most recent year of PMI’s salary survey), the
average salary in U.S. dollars for someone in the project
management profession was $108,000 per year in the
United States; $134,658 in Australia, (the highest-paid
country); and $24,201 in Egypt (the lowest-paid country)
 The top skills employers look for in new college graduates
are all related to project management: team-work,
decision-making, problem-solving, and verbal
communications
 Organizations waste $109 million for every $1 billion spent
on projects, according to PMI’s Pulse of the Profession®
report

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 5
  IT Projects have a terrible track record, as described in the
What Went Wrong?

 A 1995 Standish Group study (CHAOS) found that only

16.2% of IT projects were successful in meeting scope,
time, and cost goals; over 31% of IT projects were
canceled before completion
 A PricewaterhouseCoopers study found that overall half of
all projects fail and only 2.5% of corporations consistently
meet their targets for scope, time, and cost goals for all
types of project.

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 6
  Better control of financial, physical, and human
resources
 Improved customer relations
 Shorter development times
 Lower costs
 Higher quality and increased reliability
 Higher profit margins
 Improved productivity
 Better internal coordination
 Higher worker morale

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 7
  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

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 8
  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

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 9
  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

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 10
  Project managers work with project sponsors,
project team, and other people involved in a
project to meet project goals
 Program: group of related projects managed in a
coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not
available from managing them individually
(PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, 2013)
 Program managers oversee programs; often act
as bosses for project managers

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Information Technology Project
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  Project management is “the application of
knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project
activities to meet project requirements” (PMBOK®
Guide, Fourth Edition, 2013)
 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

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Information Technology Project
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  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

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 15
  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

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  “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

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 17
 What Went Right? Improved
Project Performance
The Standish Group’s CHAOS studies show
improvements in IT projects in the past decade:
 The number of successful IT projects has more than
doubled, from 16 percent in 1994 to 39 percent in 2012
 The number of failed projects decreased from 31
percent in 1994 to 18 percent in 2012
 Success rates were much higher for small projects
than large ones – 76 percent versus 10 percent

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 18
 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
*The Standish Group, “CHAOS Manifesto 2013: Think Big,
Act Small” (2013).
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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 19
  A program is “a group of related projects managed in
a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not
available from managing them individually” (PMBOK®
Guide, Fifth Edition, 2013)

 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

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 20
  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

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 21
  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

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 22
 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, balances priorities

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 23
  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

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 24
  In a 2014 survey, IT executives listed the “ten
hottest skills” they planned to hire for in 2015
 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

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 25
  Ethics, loosely defined, is a set of principles that guide
our decision making 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

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 26
  There are hundreds of different products to assist in
performing project management
 Three main categories of tools:
◦ Low-end tools: Handle single or smaller projects well, cost
under $200 per user
◦ Midrange tools: Handle multiple projects and users, cost
$200-$1,000 per user, Project 2013 most popular
◦ High-end tools: Also called enterprise project management
software, often licensed on a per-user basis
 Several free or open-source tools are also available

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 27
  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

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Management, Eighth Edition Copyright 2016 28
Information Technology Project
Management, Seventh Edition

Note: See the text itself for full citations.

  Projects must operate in a broad organizational
environment

 Project managers need to use systems thinking:

◦ taking a holistic view of carrying out projects within the
context of the organization.

 Senior managers must make sure projects

continue to support current business needs

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Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 2
 • In a paper titled “A Study in Project Failure,” two
researchers examined the success and failure of 2014 IT
projects over an eight-year period in several European
countries.
• The researchers found that only one in eight (12.5 percent)
were considered successful in terms of meeting scope,
time, and cost goals.
• The authors said that the culture within many organizations
is often to blame
• Among other things, people often do not discuss important
leadership, stakeholder, and risk management issues

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Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 3
  3 basic organization structures:

◦ Functional: functional managers report to the

CEO
◦ Project: program managers report to the CEO
◦ Matrix: middle ground between functional and
project structures; personnel often report to
two or more bosses; structure can be weak,
balanced, or strong matrix

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Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 4
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  Project managers must take time to identify,
understand, and manage relationships with all
project stakeholders
 Using the four frames of organizations** can help
meet stakeholder needs and expectations
 Senior executives/top management are very
important stakeholders
 See Chapter 13, Project Stakeholder Management,
for more information

◦ **The four frames they proposed were; Structural, Human Resource,

Political and Symbolic.
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Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 7
  People in top management positions are key
stakeholders in projects
 A very important factor in helping project managers
successfully lead projects is the level of commitment
and support they receive from top management
 Without top management commitment, many projects
will fail.
 Some projects have a senior manager called a
champion who acts as a key proponent for a project.

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Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 8
  IT governance addresses the authority and
control for key IT activities in organizations,
including IT infrastructure, IT use, and project
management

 ** IT governance refers to the management framework within which IT

project, program and/or portfolio decisions are made.

 A lack of IT governance can be dangerous, as evidenced

by three well-publicized IT project failures in Australia
(Sydney Water’s customer relationship management
system, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology’s
academic management system, and One.Tel’s billing
system)
Information Technology Project
Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 9
  A project life cycle is a collection of project
phases that defines
◦ what work will be performed in each phase
◦ what deliverables will be produced and when
◦ who is involved in each phase, and
◦ how management will control and approve work
produced in each phase

 A deliverable is a product or service produced or

provided as part of a project

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Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 10
  In early phases of a project life cycle
◦ resource needs are usually lowest
◦ the level of uncertainty (risk) is highest
◦ project stakeholders have the greatest opportunity to
influence the project
 In middle phases of a project life cycle
◦ the certainty of completing a project improves
◦ more resources are needed
 The final phase of a project life cycle focuses on
◦ ensuring that project requirements were met
◦ the sponsor approves completion of the project

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Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 11
Information Technology Project
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  Products also have life cycles
 The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is
a framework for describing the phases involved in
developing and maintaining information systems

 Systems development projects can follow:

◦ Predictive life cycle: the scope of the project can be
clearly articulated and the schedule and cost can be
predicted.
◦ Adaptive Software Development (ASD) life cycle:
requirements cannot be clearly expressed, projects are
mission driven and component based, using time-based
cycles to meet target dates.

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  Waterfall model: has well-defined, linear stages of
systems development and support
 Spiral model: shows that software is developed
using an iterative or spiral approach rather than a
linear approach
 Incremental build model: provides for progressive
development of operational software
 Prototyping model: used for developing prototypes
to clarify user requirements
 Rapid Application Development (RAD) model:
used to produce systems quickly without
sacrificing quality

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Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 14
  it aims to enable teams to quickly and effectively
adapt to changing requirements or market needs
by evolving their products with lightweight
planning and continuous learning.

 The ability to adapt allows teams to align with

organizational goals. The ASD approach
encourages teams to develop according to a
three-phase process: speculate, collaborate,
learn.

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  Agile software development has become popular
to describe new approaches that focus on close
collaboration between programming teams and
business experts
 See the last section of this chapter and Chapter 3
for more information on agile

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  A project should successfully pass through each of
the project phases in order to continue on to the
next
 Management reviews, also called phase exits or
kill points, should occur after each phase to
evaluate the project’s progress, likely success,
and continued compatibility with organizational
goals

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Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 18
 "The real improvement that I saw was in our ability toin the words
of Thomas Edisonknow when to stop beating a dead
horse.…Edison's key to success was that he failed fairly often; but as
he said, he could recognize a dead horse before it started to
smell...In information technology we ride dead horsesfailing
projectsa long time before we give up. But what we are seeing
now is that we are able to get off them; able to reduce cost overrun
and time overrun. That's where the major impact came on the
success rate.”*

Many organizations, like Huntington Bancshares, Inc., use an

executive steering committee to help keep projects on track.

*Cabanis, Jeannette, "'A Major Impact': The Standish Group's Jim Johnson On
Project Management and IT Project Success," PM Network, PMI, Sep.1998, p. 7

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  IT projects can be very diverse in terms of size,
complexity, products produced, application area,
and resource requirements
 IT project team members often have diverse
backgrounds and skill sets
 IT projects use diverse technologies that change
rapidly. Even within one technology area, people
must be highly specialized

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Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 20
  Globalization**
 Outsourcing: Outsourcing is when an organization
acquires goods and/or sources from an outside source.
Offshoring is sometimes used to describe outsourcing
from another country
 Virtual teams: A virtual team is a group of individuals who
work across time and space using communication
technologies
 Agile project management

 **Globalization: is a term used to describe how trade and technology have

made the world into a more connected and interdependent place.
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Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 21
  Issues
◦ Communications
◦ Trust
◦ Common work practices
◦ Tools
 Suggestions
◦ Employ greater project discipline
◦ Think global but act local
◦ Keep project momentum going
◦ Use newer tools and technology

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Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 22
  Organizations remain competitive by using
outsourcing to their advantage, such as finding
ways to reduce costs
 Their next challenge is to make strategic IT
investments with outsourcing by improving their
enterprise architecture to ensure that IT
infrastructure and business processes are
integrated and standardized (See Suggested
Readings)
 Project managers should become more familiar with
negotiating contracts and other outsourcing issues

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Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 23
  Outsourcing also has disadvantages. For example,
Apple benefits from manufacturing products in China,
but it had big problems there after its iPhone 4S launch
in January 2012 caused fighting between migrant
workers who were hired by scalpers to stand in line to
buy the phones.
 When Apple said it would not open its store in Beijing,
riots resulted and people attacked security guards. The
Beijing Apple Store has had problems before. In May
2011, four people were injured when a crowd waiting to
buy the iPad 2 turned ugly.

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  Increasing competiveness and responsiveness
by having a team of workers available 24/7
 Lowering costs because many virtual workers
do not require office space or support beyond
their home offices.
 Providing more expertise and flexibility by
having team members from across the globe
working any time of day or night
 Increasing the work/life balance for team
members by eliminating fixed office hours and
the need to travel to work.
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Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 25
  Isolating team members
 Increasing the potential for communications
problems
 Reducing the ability for team members to network
and transfer information informally
 Increasing the dependence on technology to
accomplish work
 See text for a list of factors that help virtual
teams succeed, including team processes,
trust/relationships, leadership style, and team
member selection
Information Technology Project
Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 26
  Agile means being able to move quickly and easily, but
some people feel that project management, as they have
seen it used, does not allow people to work quickly or
easily.
 Early software development projects often used a
waterfall approach, as defined earlier in this chapter. As
technology and businesses became more complex, the
approach was often difficult to use because
requirements were unknown or continuously changing.
 Agile today means using a method based on iterative
and incremental development, in which requirements
and solutions evolve through collaboration.

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Management, Seventh Edition Copyright 2014 27
Information Technology Project
Management, Seventh Edition

Note: See the text itself for full citations.

Software Project Management
1302383

Feasibility Study
 4

 Is the project potentially profitable?

 Does it have a chance of meeting our return-on-

investment hurdle rate?

 Does the firm have, or can it easily acquire, the

knowledge and skills to carry out the project
successfully?

 Does the organization currently have the capacity

to carry out the project on its proposed schedule?

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 5

 Feasibility studies can also act as a ‘business

case’
 Provides a justification for starting the project
 Should show that the benefits of the project will
exceed development, implementation and
operational costs
 Needs to take account of business risks

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1. Introduction/background.
2. The proposed project.
3. The market.
4. Organizational and operational infrastructure.
5. The benefits.
6. Outline implementation plan.
7. Costs.
8. The financial case.
9. Risks.
10.Management plan.

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 Introduction/background: describes a problem

to be solved or an opportunity to be exploited

 The proposed project: a brief outline of the

project scope.

 The market: the project could be to develop a

new product (e.g. a new computer game). The
likely demand for the product would need to be
assessed.

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 Organizational and operational infrastructure:

How the organization would need to change. This
would be important where a new information
system application was being introduced.

 Benefits: These should be express in financial

terms where possible. In the end it is up to the
client to assess these – as they are going to pay
for the project.

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 Outline implementation plan: how the project is

going to be implemented. This should consider the
disruption to an organization that a project might
cause.
 Costs: the implementation plan will supply
information to establish these
 Financial analysis: combines costs and benefit
data to establish value of project

Copyright 2014
  1. Developing the project charter involves working
with stakeholders to create the document that
formally authorizes a project—the charter.
 2. Developing the project management plan
involves coordinating all planning efforts to create a
consistent, coherent document—the project
management plan.
 3. Directing and managing project work involves
carrying out the project management plan by
performing the activities included in it.

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  Monitoring and controlling project work involves
overseeing activities to meet the performance
objectives of the project
 Performing integrated change control involves
identifying, evaluating, and managing changes
throughout the project life cycle.
 Closing the project or phase involves finalizing all
activities to formally close the project or phase.

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