Lesson 10 IT Project & Program Management

Project Management Business and project management skills are becoming important for IT professionals to master. There are Web sites that allow you to learn about current technology and Internet trends The Netcraft site is a web site that performs market research and analyzes current trends in Internet business.

Project Management the practice of applying knowledge, skills and processes to activities in order to meet deadlines and achieve desired results

Project Management Defining Project Management Terms Project is a sequence of tasks that must be accomplished within a defined time frame to achieve a desired result. Projects are different than ongoing work operations because they are temporary and unique. Task is a unit of work that must be accomplished during the course of a project. Resource is a person, department or device needed to accomplish a task. Assignment is appointment of a specific resource to a specific task. Plan is the term that describes the appointment of a specific resource to a specific task.

Project Scope is the goals and tasks of a project and the work required to complete them. Small increments in a project scope are called a Scope Creep. This can undermine the success of a project by Incremental changes in scope that can affect the schedule, cost or performance required to complete the project. In order to manage scope creep, you can use scheduled meetings to review and discuss proposed changes to the project scope. Change management is the term for the process, tools and techniques that help people implement changes to achieve outcome.

Stakeholder is a person or group with the power to exert influence over a project is the stakeholder.

Project Management skills Communication skills are important to gather information from customers at the beginning of the project, and keep project participants informed of the project’s status. Organizational skills helps project participants coordinate and prioritize their tasks to stay within the project scope. One of a project manager’s skills is teaching effectively, which can be considered primarily a type of leadership skill. Planning skills is the ability to identify the tasks that constitute a project, understand the ways in which tasks are dependent upon one another, and know the ways that project dependencies will affect the project as a whole.

Project Life Cycle The project life cycle of a project consists of the initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing phases of the project. Initiating Phase sets the foundation for the project. Includes SWOT which is a strategic planning method that can be used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in relation to an organization. This will prepare to define the ways that project success will be measured. The needs analysis helps in a project to identify the problems or requirements that the project must resolve or address.

Cont. Project Life Cycle Planning phase=develops a project schedule and assembles the project team. The project schedule is a document that lists the planned dates for performing tasks and meeting goals defined in a project plan. In order to manage an effective project schedule you must know the tasks necessary to achieve project objectives, the approximate length of time each task will take the order in which tasks should be performed and the employees who will perform them. Project milestone is a major event during the course of a project. The best way to help project team members improve their performances or resolve similar issues in future projects are to document the lessons learned during the current project. An issue log should be kept by a project manager to document problems that need to be escalated to managers or executives outside the project team for resolution.

Cont. Project Life Cycle The executing and controlling phases typically occur simultaneously. Executing is when work is performed During the controlling phase you can troubleshoot problems and take corrective measures to ensure that all objectives are being met. Closing phase = determines the aspects of the project that worked well and the changes that should be implemented in the future.

Cont. Project Life Cycle You should schedule meetings with project stakeholders and management during the executing and controlling phases of a project to inform them of progress and to handle issues they raise that may affect project scope. Product testing and performance evaluations occur. The formal project review consists of testing the product, evaluating performances and documenting lessons learned.

Project Triangle The project triangle includes three factors: time, money and scope that affect every project. The fourth element – quality – is at the center of the triangle and is affected by any changes you make to the three “project triangle” factors in an effort to optimize a project’s schedule.

Project management Software You can use project management software to automatically calculate the length of time required to complete project tasks, as well as the availability of resources, as you establish relationships among the tasks. Gantt charts graphically display the project tasks and task durations.

Browsers in the Business World Intranet A Web site and network used only by employees within a company. They are popular because they provide a standard method for accessing resources, regardless of the operating systems used. Extranet Internal network designed to provide access to selected external users, and is not available to the Internet public. The difference of the two is that they exclude the general internet public. They are subsets of the Internet.

Webinars & web conferences Webinar is training conducted via a PowerPoint presentation over the Web. A drawback is that they may require multiple presentations if participants are located in different time zones. Webcast is the term for an audio and/or video Web event that is distributed over the Internet

Quality Assurance: Project managers should not only be concerned with the components of the project triangle, but also with quality Six Sigma is a methodology that was originally developed to improve manufacturing processes in order to eliminate product defects ISO 9000 standards details the steps recommended to product high-quality products and services using a quality-management system that maximizes time, money and resources. The separation of duties help to ensure the quality of a product by providing independent verification that project tasks were completed correctly You can improve the quality of a product by providing independent verification that project tasks were completed correctly and adhering to ISO 9000 standards.

ROI Return on Investment (ROI) describes profit earned as a result of a project relative to the value of the resources required to complete the project. As an IT project manager, you must be able to determine which projects to preserve and which projects to eliminate in order to maintain a positive ROI.

IT Projects IT projects are different from other projects because they deal with a business’s data and may involve several different systems. Employee productivity may be adversely affected due to excessive system downtime when IT projects are mismanaged. When IT projects are managed properly employee productivity loss is minimized.

Cont. IT Projects An IT right is receiving clear, detailed objectives and instructions so that you can provide the appropriate services and products. Also you must have the appropriate access to hardware and software, and getting the security access required to perform tasks. An IT responsibility provides services and products in a timely, cost-effective, secure manner. Minimizing workflow interruptions during the course of an IT project can be considered an IT responsibility. If there is conflicts of interest that develops among various departments represented in your project to the point where the investment required to implement necessary project plan modifications is not justified than you have to terminate the project.

IT right & it responsibility Receiving clear, detailed objectives and instructions so that you can provide the appropriate services and products. Having the appropriate access to hardware and software, and getting the security access required to perform tasks. IT Responsibility Providing services and products in a timely, cost-effective, & secure manner. Minimizing workflow interruptions during the course of an IT project can be considered an IT responsibility.

Project management Institute (PMI) is a nonprofit membership organization that publishes standards and offers education in the project management profession.

Project management Program Management is the process of managing multiple interdependent projects in order to improve an organization’s performance. Project management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is a set of principles and techniques to help you manage projects. One of the three Project Management Concepts Benefits management= includes maximizing revenue, maximizing efficiency, minimizing cost and eliminating waste.