The Purpose of Project Management - Essay Example

This paper is an overview of the necessary things that a person should keep in mind if he or she intends to pursue a career in IT project management. It defines the purpose of project management the methods and problems of it and also what it takes to develop a good project. This paper integrates the ideas of Kevin Kocis, who is a Manager of Information Technology in a fortune 100 company for 10 years. Introduction Let us first define what Project Management is really all about? Project management is the ability to administer a series of task leading to a desired ending. A project manger should be aware of leading a group of people rather than only managing them. Being a project manger can be a wonderful experience, not only is it challenging but it also helps us in stretching our minds and abilities further than what we thought. A project is a usually a small venture to create products or services. In some organization which comprises of application developers, consultants or IT integration whatever they do is a project because they complete a project for other organization or for their own business success. Therefore, as Kevin Kocis mentioned in his interview that the best part of IT Project management is leading and initiative that solves the business needs and or helps in the success of the business. IT Management is the all about implementing of technology and inspiring the team members. In a technical project the largest group of people involved are the users. Now that we have established the meaning of Project Management we shall proceed further and see what is required to start a project. To start a project all the information about the same is collected from people who are associated or have interest in the project. After all the information is gathered, than the project manager fits them together and finalizes whether this information can be deemed as a project or not. This similar theory is also explained by Kevin Kocis. The Project manger should establish the start and end time of the project. He is responsible for seeing whether the target is achieved and also developing ways to reach the target and making way for his team members. The one who is funding the project is known as the project sponsor. The project sponsor shall determine what the end result of the project should look like. To communicate between his seniors and team, the project manger acts like the interpreter as sometime the person who is funding the project is unaware about the information and relies on the project manager to help him understand the same. Once all the information is collected, the project manger should fix a goal. A goal is a clearly stated fact and it also sets up the project plan in a positive and direct style. Another thing that the project manger should do is prepare a project charter which is an important document in completing a project. The project charter is similar to the project goal which defines or relates to team communication within a given project. The project charter is also based in a similar pattern but is more official and more detailed. During his interview Kevin Kocis also said that the project charter should layout the key steps of the project. Some features or the project charter are as follows: it sanctions the project, it also identifies the sponsor for the project and the project manager, it authorizes all rights to the project manager on behalf of the sponsor, and it defines the structure and nature of the business. The charter makes the project manger responsible for the project. Every project should have a charter although small firm can start right of with the project but large firms undertaking project in huge scale should prepare this document. The project charter, creates a sense of responsibility for the project manager and a sense of ownership for the sponsor, also it gives the team that is working on a project an idea of team work. We should remember that IT projects fall under one roof, information in widely shared among everyone in every department and that each member works together to achieve the targeted goal. A project manger should keep in mind the number of working hours that is required to complete a certain project as this also directly affects the working environment. Another fact is that he or she should remember that there are certain norms that are set for the IT project by the Government for example in the Banking sector where security is of the upmost important. Not every project goes as planned, as there are many delays that often take place and must be faced by the project mangers. IT projects managers tend to face difficulties everywhere. They face problems such as keeping the team together, budget and also the troubling focusing on the goal. IT project management becomes more tiresome when the managers have to consider the expectation of the people who have invested in the project and also the upper management. However, the worst problem is the instability of the team members. Kevin Kocis describes the process that is usually involved with the vendors for the project undertaken. The vendors are informed about the requirements when the project is on its proposal stage. Many vendors do not start work on the hardware unless they receive a purchase order by the managers. Now, there may be issue involving the late delivery by vendors. To avoid this, managers should make aware of the deadline to the vendors in which, the vendors may assist the project managers with providing an alternative solution so that the schedule time of the project is not hampered. These issues should be discussed with the vendor before placing the order with them. Another fact that a project manager should keep in mind is whether the vendor has a good record and also if they are capable of solving a problem when it arises. There are certain traps that project managers may fall prey to but if proper precaution is taken by them then they can avoid such situation. IT project managers may face problems regarding reactionary decision which is based on hardship or challenging issue. The response time to address such complicated matters is limited and often project managers have to take instant decision without any business support. To overcome such issues the project managers have to ensure that contingency and roll back plans are included in every project undertaken. They have to listen to their team and form a unanimous decision together on an issue. Project managers may or may not be involved in the process if the project is behind or ahead of the schedule time. Since we have now covered almost all the issues that a project manager should be aware of and also the characteristics that he or she should posses in running a project. Therefore, we shall now discuss the process of launching a successful project. A successful project should consist of high publicity and management involvement. To start of a project a meeting should be held and the project manager should ensure that all members of the team and the upper management can participate. All communication standards should be adhered to and that the management understands the goal of the project and the people that are taking part in it. It is the duty of the project manager to review the plans and the impact of the project thoroughly also the managers have to identify the problems that occur and to make the adjustment in the project only if it is extremely necessary. Having the right technology ensures a good project. As discussed earlier that time is critical in completing a project and hence the manager has to make sure that team work is done accordingly to ensure a proper implementation of the project. Finally, we shall now discuss the things that project managers need to follow while implementing new technologies. A project manger should understand thoroughly the benefits of the technologies that are being implemented. He has to make sure that training and demos are provided. He should never underestimate the people who are going to use the technologies and how they are affected by the change even if it’s for a better change. IT Manager should remember that they are the professional and should make the decision while implementing new technologies. However, they will encounter problems with the upper management who sometime think that they have heard about the latest technology and should implement the same. A project manager needs to create a list of queries and then find the right technology that provides solution for these queries which also should work with the current system and fits within the budget. The project manage should have a clear vision of the goal and should recognize the necessary action to achieve the goals. On the other hand every IT project manager are different they have come from different background such as developers, database administrators, systems and network engineers. However, not all have been led by a certain individual who is a professional in his or her field not everyone has an idea of what the others do and how they do it. Therefore, a project manager has to listen to everyone and be fair to all and also focus on teamwork rather than just implementing work in his own style. Therefore, this paper has covered almost all the aspect and duties of the IT project manager. Kevin Kocis, in his interview has almost covered the same aspects and the necessary things that are required by a project manager in reaching towards his goal. The interview with Kevin Kocis has almost focused on all the steps of IT project management from starting to the end. The problems that are faced by IT project managers are also covered in his interview. As Kevin is himself a project manger he suggests that no one should only focus on what he or she has learned in his field but to work as a team which is a successful trait of a project manager. However, sometime the IT projects are constantly late, over-budgeted and even sometimes half completed. We should remember that IT project management is not about installing technologies, it is about leadership, integrity, decision making skills, planning and time management. Project management is administered by business cycle, dedication and time. To succeed in project management is to succeed in leadership. To be a successful project manger you have to have a clear vision of the project undertaken, the outcome of the project, the start and end time of the project and how to lead your team to the destination. Therefore, we see that IT project management is more than just technologies. Reference Phillips, J. (2004) IT Project Management, McGraw-Hill Professional (Accessed on 3rd September 2008) Read More