Project Management as Tool in Inforamtion Technology - Coursework Example

Project Management as a tool in Information Technology Section Number of Project Management as a Tool in Information Technology In the last couple of decades, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has developed at an unprecedented pace, and has ushered in the Digital Age. ICT has pervaded almost all walks of life and all fields of work. Almost all organizations worth their while have adopted computer infrastructure, implementation information systems and put up their own computer networks. Under the circumstances, more and more organizations have to take up ICT and Internet-based projects. ICT Projects Projects, going by their generic definition, can be differentiated from regular operational tasks in that they are temporary in nature, are objective or goal oriented, have a definite life time consisting of a start date and an end date and require a diverse set of human resources, each of whom brings specified skills and knowledge to accomplish the different project tasks (Project Management Institute, 1996). An ICT project typically comprises the development and installation of a software product. But all ICT projects are not pure development projects. Many ICT projects also involve setting up of infrastructure which may include not only the setting up ICT infrastructure but also the building up civil and electrical infrastructure to house the ICT equipment and machineries. Many projects are ‘hybrids’, i.e. they are composed of multiple independent sub-projects that must be managed separately (Dekkers & Forselius, 2007, pp. 1). ICT Projects have been categorized into seven distinct types as defined below: i. Customer specific new developemtn project: to create completely new customer-specific software. ii. Software product new development project: to create a new software product that can be used by more than one customer. A software product can be either standalone packaged software or embedded part of any other product. iii. Software version enhancement project: to create a new version of an existing software. iv. ICT service development project: to create a contract-based continuous or temporary ICT service. The service may be either software or hardware related or both, and may involve maintenance, support, helpdesk or operating service, v. Package software configuration project: in which the result is an installed parameterized, and user configured software package. vi. Data conversion project: to transfer and convert data from the data storage on one information systems to the data storage another information system. (Dekkers & Forselius, 2007, pp. 1) vii. Software integration development project: to create software that provides interface services between two or more information systems. Managing ICT Projects These ICT projects usually involve high risks and costs, but they also come with the highest potential for success and ensuing profits. However, despite the perceived benefits that such operations promise, actual success rates have in general been poor although they are improving (Brock, et. al., 2003, pp. 2). ICT projects often cast managers into areas of technology developments in which they may not be very comfortable. In the present-day environment a formalized project team may comprise members located at different parts of the world working together on the project. Project are therefore often managed using formal project management methodologies such as those derived from the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). The development of formal approaches to software process management has also been in response to the complicacies and complexities of ICT projects. Recent efforts have begun to integrate software process management methods with the more generic Project Management methods. All formal methods of project management provide a framework to manage the project through out its life cycle. The main features of any project management method are: i. To accurately define the project and systematically clarify the objectives. ii. Divide the project up into manageable tasks and stages. iii. Control the project through its different stages using the project definition as the reference. iv. Highlight the risks and develop specific procedures to deal with the risks. v. Provide the mechanism to deal with quality issues. vi. Clarify the roles of all the team members to provide the basis for effective teamwork. Project Management is therefore a set of tools, processes and competencies utilized to enhance and ensure a project’s success. Many project management methodologies are now available and each is promoted by the developing company as the best in the business. However, the underlying basic principles of management in each of these methodologies are the same and they have a lot in common. ICT Project Management Knowledge Areas Eight project management knowledge areas have been identified within the ICT industry as the essential areas of any project management endeavor: Project Selection and Reselection: The project selection process is a mechanism to judge the merit of a project. The process to make this evaluation may vary within individual organizations but the intended output always remains constant. This process provides a mechanism that ensures that projects with the most business sense are approved while the others are rejected. The financial models used to evaluate project proposals need constant upgrading and updating to ensure relevancy and proper selection of projects. Planning and Scheduling: The more the emphasis on the planning phase, the better. James Baar’s (2002) comment, “plan, plan, plan is far from being overused, over stated, or overdone” in context to planning in ICT industry project management reveals the significance of this area. The production of a Project Plan or a Schedule is a key part of any project development. The schedule defines the key stages to be completed during the project, sets the starting and completion dates for each task and details the resources that need to be allocated in each phase. Each stage can be further broken down into smaller tasks that are more easily manageable and achievable. The Project Schedule shows the inter-dependency of the project stages and tasks. The reliance of one phase on the completion of another becomes very clear. This enables the drawing up of an accurate timescale along with a cash flow profile which indicates expenditure volumes at different stages of the project. The planning phase works in opening up the initial communication channels. As planning involves interaction with all those who can contribute to the project and are most likely to be involved in the project, channels cutting across different functionalities and locations can be set up if the planning stage of the project is handled well enough. A project plan can be produced in many ways form using the simple pencil and paper to project plan depiction in Gannt charts. Risk Management: The textbook approach to risk management in ICT projects consists of attempts to classify and categorize the risks involved in a project by understanding the mechanics behind it. Events that could produce undesirable outcomes or effects negative to the project and the organization are initially identified. They are then analyzed for the severity of impact, probability of occurrence and duration or timeframe. In some cases a more quantitative analysis is done by assigning numerical values to the severity or intensity of impact to determine the level of exposure and also for simulation processes. Although in many small-scale projects and small organizations managers tend to follow a casual approach to risk management depending on personal experiences and definitions derived thereof, the size f the company and the complexity of the project nevertheless determines the degree of formality to be adopted in Risk Management. Risk Management encourages the use of processes that identifies, assesses, classifies, plans, tracks and mitigates risks. Companies are compelled to find ways to better anticipate the outcome of a Project and not repeat the same mistakes and become one of the failure statistics as identified by the Standish Group (CHAOS report, 1994). Project Controls: Project Controls incorporates three distinct activities – Scheduling, Estimating and Budgeting. Scheduling is a time decision and decides in advance when and where work will be performed. The scheduling process usually involves scheduling systems, policies, techniques and devices, and according to Harroff (1995) centers on time to do the work, the department which will perform the work, the resources to be applied, the status of progress in work compared to the work scheduled, and monitoring and reporting. Estimating is a fundamental part of project management on which the very success of the project depends. The glossary of PMBOK (1994) defines estimating as the quantified assessment of the resources required to complete part or all of a project, the prediction of the quantitative result. It is usually applied to project costs, resources and durations. Budgeting is defined by the PMBOK (1994) as consisting of a financial and/or quantitative statement, prepared and approved prior to a defined period, for the purpose of attaining a given objective for that period. It is the planned cost for an activity or project. Project Commissioning: In the context of the ICT Project commissioning may comprise as simplistic a task as installing a word processing system on a single computer. On the other hand, a commissioning may also deployment of a e-Governance system including many enterprise software solutions, hardware installations and manpower augmentation. The commissioning process begins well in advance of the project completion deadline and could be leveraged to include testing of the delivered product within the production environment for intended user acceptability. This helps to reduce risks by anticipating user acceptance in advance. Stakeholder Management: Since stakeholders are ultimately responsible for deciding whether a project is a success or not, it is crucial to manage the expectations of the stakeholders through training programs and involvement in the entire process. Communication channels should be kept open continuously with the stakeholders and they must be apprised of every development in the project. By doing so, the stakeholders are provided enough scope to adjust their expectations according to the progress of the project. Mitchell et al. (1997) define three main groups of stakeholders according to power, urgency, and legitimacy attributes, viz. latent stakeholders, expectant stakeholders, and definitive stakeholders. Project Teams and Organizations: Effective teams enable organizations to achieve the high levels of performance that are essential to survival and prosperity in todays extremely competitive and rapidly changing environment (Robertson & Tippets, 2002). The long-term benefits of successful teams include higher performance, increased morale, and a strong commitment to the mission of the organization that can withstand almost any kind of adversity. Various strategies such as Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), bi-weekly project status reports, and constant communication between management and employees are adopted for team selections. Technical competency and interpersonal communication skills are essential requisites for those involved in the process. Procurement and Contracting: Procurement of materials is a process that is not restricted to only the purchase department. It cuts across all organizational boundaries as all departments concerned has to be involved in the purchase materials required for their part of the project. Moreover the manner in which the goods are acquired can also vary. In the ICT industry, outsourcing to a an external source is very common and requires much more inputs in terms of planning and decision making. ICT in Project Management Project Management, in the ICT industry as in almost all other industries, is greatly aided by ICT itself. There are many Project Management methodologies. Each of these project management methodologies are promoted as individual packages or project management systems which by themselves consist of software applications that automate the entire project. These project management systems come complete with documentation templates, software monitoring and control systems and assessment functions. They are also bundled with consultancy services and training programs. All aspects of such packages have to be however considered before adopting any of them: “In selecting such a package you will need to be sure that the approach is appropriate for the scale of your projects, and that the style of the company meets your needs. Will their training style suit your staff? Will you be happy to work with their consultants?” (Lasa, 2007) References -01 1. Brock, S., Hendricks, D., Linnell, S., Smith, D., 2003, A Balanced Approach to IT Project Management, Proceedings of SAICSIT 2003, Pages 2 –10 2. Dekkers, C., Forselius, P., 2007, Increase ICT Project Success with Concrete Scope Management. Originally published as a paart of 2007 PMI Global Congress Proceedings. 3. Project Management Institute, 1996, PMBOK – A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, The Project Management Institute, Sylva, NC. 4. Project Management Institute, 1994, PMBOK – A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, The Project Management Institute, Sylva, NC. 5. Baar, J., (2002), Project Planning: A Great Communicator. AACE International Transactions. pp.11-16. 6. CHAOS Report., 1994, [Online] Available. http://www.pm2go.com/sample_research/chaos_1994_1.php [November 8, 2007] 7. Mitchell, R., K., Agle, B., R., Wood, D.J.,1997, Towards a theory of stakeholder identification and salience: Defining the principle of who what really counts. The Academy of Management Review. Vol. 22, Issue 4 pp. 853-886. 8. Robertson, R., L., & Tippet, D., D., 2002, Linking project team performance with team health. Engineering Management Journal. Vol. 14, Issue 1, pg. 35-42. 9. Lasa, 2007, Project Management, Lasa Computanews Guide, [Online] Available. http://www.lasa.org.uk/knowledgebase [November 8, 2007] Read More