Chapter 2: The Project Management Context and Processes

adopted from PMIs PMBOK 2000 and Textbook : Information Technology Project Management (author : Dr. Kathy Schwalbe)

contents
Three Sphere Model
system philosophy, system analysis and system management

Project Life Cycle

Concept, development, implementation and support

Project life cycle vs product life cycle Management reviews in project phases organization structure Success factors in project management Project Management job functions : 15 Skill required in project manager Project management process:
initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing

PM processes vs knowledge areas

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Projects Cannot Be Run In Isolation

Projects must operate in a broad organizational environment Project managers need to take a holistic or systems view of a project and understand how it is situated within the larger organization See example in opening and closing case to illustrate this concept
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A Systems View of Project Management

A systems approach emerged in the 1950s to describe a more analytical approach to management and problem solving Three parts include:
Systems philosophy
View things as systems, interacting components working within an environment to fulfill some purpose

Systems analysis
problem-solving approach

Systems management
Address business, technological, and organizational issues before making changes to systems
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Figure 2-1. Three Sphere Model for Systems Management

Project Life Cycle and Project phases

A project life cycle is a collection of project phases Project phases vary by project or industry, but some general phases include
concept development implementation support
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Figure 2-2. Project Life Cycle and Project Phases

Product Life Cycles

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 Typical SDLC phases include planning, analysis, design, implementation, and support
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Sample SDLC Models

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 release model: provides for progressive development of operational software RAD model: used to produce systems quickly without sacrificing quality Prototyping model: used for developing prototypes to clarify user requirements

Figure 2-3. Spiral Model of Software Development (Boehm, 1988)

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Project Life Cycles vs Product Life Cycles

The project life cycle applies to all projects, regardless of the products being produced Product life cycle models vary considerably based on the nature of the product Most large IT products are developed as a series of projects Project management is done in all of the product life cycle phases
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Why Have Project Phases and Management Reviews?

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 projects progress, likely success, and continued compatibility with organizational goals
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What Went Right?

"The real improvement that I saw was in our ability toin the words of Thomas Edisonknow 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...as a result he had 14,000 patents and was very successfulIn IT we ride dead horsesfailing projectsa 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. Cabanis, Jeannette, "'A Major Impact': The Standish Group's Jim Johnson On Project Management and IT Project Success," PM Network, PMI, September 1998, p. 7
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Understanding Organizations
Structural frame: Focuses on roles and responsibilities, coordination and control. Organization charts help define this frame. Political frame: Assumes organizations are coalitions composed of varied individuals and interest groups. Conflict and power are key issues. Human resources frame: Focuses on providing harmony between needs of the organization and needs of people.

Symbolic frame: Focuses on symbols and meanings related to events. Culture is important.
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What Went Wrong?

Many data warehousing projects are side-tracked or derailed completely by politics. Data warehousing projects are always potentially political because they cross departmental boundaries, change both the terms of data ownership and data access, and affect the work practices of highly autonomous and powerful user communities. Many organizations fail to admit that many data warehousing projects fail primarily because management and project teams do not understand and manage politics. Marc Demarest found over 1200 articles on the topic of data warehousing based on a journal search he did from July 1995 to July 1996. Many of those articles offer advice on how to run successful data warehousing projects and focus on the importance of design, technical, and procedural factors, when, in fact, political factors are often the most important in helping these projects succeed.
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Many Organizations Focus on the Structural Frame

Most people understand what organizational charts are Many new managers try to change organizational structure when other changes are needed 3 basic organization structures
functional project matrix

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Figure 2-4. Functional, Project, and Matrix Organizational Structures

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Table 2-1. Organizational Structure Influences on Projects

Organization Type Project Characteristics Project Manager's Authority Percent of Performing Organization's Personnel Assigned Fulltime to Project Work Project Manager's Role Common Title for Project Manager's Role Project Management Administrative Staff Functional Little or None Virtually None Part-time Project Coordinator/ Project Leader Part-time Weak Matrix Limited Matrix Balanced Matrix Low to Moderate 15-60% Strong Matrix Moderate To High 50-95% Projectized High to Almost Total 85-100%

0-25%

Part-time Project Coordinator/ Project Leader Part-time

Full-time Project Manager/ Project Officer Part-time

Full-time Project Manager/ Program Manager Full-time

Full-time Project Manager/ Program Manager Full-time

PMBOK Guide, 2000, p. 19

The organizational structure influences the project managers authority, but remember to address the human resources, political,and symbolic frames, too.
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Recognize the Importance of Project Stakeholders

Recall that project stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by project activities 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 are very important stakeholders
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Table 2-2. What Helps Projects Succeed?

According to the Standish Groups report CHAOS 2001: A Recipe for Success, the following items help IT projects succeed, in order of importance:
Executive support User involvement Experience project manager Clear business objectives Minimized scope Standard software infrastructure Firm basic requirements Formal methodology Reliable estimates
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Need for Top Management Commitment

Several studies cite top management commitment as one of the key factors associated with project success Top management can help project managers secure adequate resources, get approval for unique project needs in a timely manner, receive cooperation from people throughout the organization, and learn how to be better leaders

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Need for Organizational Commitment to Information Technology (IT)

If the organization has a negative attitude toward IT, it will be difficult for an IT project to succeed Having a Chief Information Officer (CIO) at a high level in the organization helps IT projects Assigning non-IT people to IT projects also encourage more commitment
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Need for Organizational Standards

Standards and guidelines help project managers be more effective Senior management can encourage
the use of standard forms and software for project management the development and use of guidelines for writing project plans or providing status information the creation of a project management office or center of excellence
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Table 2-3. Fifteen Project Management Job Functions*

Define scope of project Identify stakeholders, decisionmakers, and escalation procedures Develop detailed task list (work breakdown structures) Estimate time requirements Develop initial project management flow chart Identify required resources and budget Evaluate project requirements Identify and evaluate risks Prepare contingency plan Identify interdependencies Identify and track critical milestones Participate in project phase review Secure needed resources Manage the change control process Report project status
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*Northwest Center for Emerging Technologies, "Building a Foundation for Tomorrow: Skills Standards for Information Technology,"Belleview, WA, 1999

Suggested Skills for a Project Manager

Communication skills: listening, persuading Organizational skills: planning, goal-setting, analyzing Team Building skills: empathy, motivation, esprit de corps Leadership skills: sets example, energetic, vision (big picture), delegates, positive Coping skills: flexibility, creativity, patience, persistence Technological skills: experience, project knowledge

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Table 2-3. Most Significant Characteristics of Effective and Ineffective Project Managers
Effective Project Managers

Leadership by example Visionary Technically competent Decisive Good communicator Good motivator Stands up to upper management when necessary Supports team members
Encourages new ideas

Ineffective Project Managers Sets bad example Not self-assured Lacks technical expertise Poor communicator

Poor motivator

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Project Management Process Groups

Project management can be viewed as a number of interlinked processes The project management process groups include
initiating processes planning processes executing processes controlling processes closing processes

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Figure 2-5. Overlap of Process Groups in a Phase (PMBOK Guide, 2000, p. 31)

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Table 2-5. Relationships Among Process Groups, Activities, and Knowledge Areas

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Table 2-5. Relationships Among Process Groups, Activities, and Knowledge Areas

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Developing an IT Project Management Methodology

Most projects are unique
approaches to project management are also unique

Many organizations develop their own project management methodologies

especially for IT projects Example: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan used the PMBOK as a guide in developing their IT project management methodology
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Figure 2-6. IT PM Methodology

See figure in text. Note that many parts of this approach map to the PMBOK, but some activities have been changed to meet the needs of the organization.

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Summary
Three Sphere Model
system philosophy, system analysis and system management

Project Life Cycle

Concept, development, implementation and support

Organization structure
functional, project and matrix

Success factors in project management

many, but most important is management support

Project Management job functions : 15

define, identify, develop, estimate participate and report

Skill required in project manager

communications skill, organizational skill, team building, leadership skills, coping skill and technical skill

Project management process:

initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing
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