Project management elements and processes and tools are usually the same irrespective of whether the project is IT based or not. The problem in the management of IT projects however comes in where most people attempt to manage these projects just like the construction or event organization projects. IT projects are different and to successfully manage such a project, “the management approach must be updated to reflect the current business environment (Cadle & Yeates, 2008, p. 40).
Information technology projects differ amongst themselves whereby some deal with the hardware components, others the software while others are network oriented. Examples of these projects include replacing the computers in a certain department, software developers incorporating a new feature to the existing application, upgrading the internet infrastructure to incorporate wireless network and website development projects among others.
From these examples, it is clear that IT projects vary greatly. Some of the attributes of project management include first every project has its distinctive purpose. This forms the objectives of the project and it defines the outcome of the project once it has been implemented. Second projects are usually temporary in the sense that they must have a beginning and an end. Third, projects are progressive. This means that at the beginning, it may not be possible to define some aspects of the project but with time, these aspects become clearer. Forth, all projects require different resources depending on the project definition.
Human effort is the only common resource to all projects. Next, projects must have sponsors referring to the people with some interest in the outcome of the project. This is the person or corporate body that provides funding and specifications for the project (Mcdermid, 2008, p. 78).
Finally, a high degree of uncertainty is involved in all the projects. This is owing to the uniqueness of the projects and it involves unclear objectives, uncertainty in time estimation and the cost as well. These uncertainties pose a great challenge to project managers and especially the ones in the IT environment because of the frequent changes in technology. The project management tools in the IT projects are different from those of other projects (Mcdermid, 2008, p.75). This difference is brought about by the unique risks faced by IT project managers. These are brought about by the rapid developments in technology, the dynamic market and the short technological lifespan.
The project structure is made up of different departments in the organization hence involving different categories of people. Some of these include marketing specialist, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, chemical engineers, software engineers, production engineers and marketing officers.
All these people together make up a team that can handle projects of any kind in the organization. Some projects might involve all these personnel but most usually involve just a group of them in different capacities. The expectations of these projects mostly include innovating new products and services, creating a long term sustainable marketing strategy and growing to the point of compliance with all the quality standards.
Projects involving information technology are usually faced with three main categories of constraints. The first is the scope constraint which defines the tasks that need to be carried out for the project to be complete. The second constraint is the time constraint which refers to the time frame required for the project to be completed. As part of this, there should be a specification of the person who has the responsibility of approving any changes made to the timetable. The third and final constraint is cost which defines the amount of resources needed to complete the project in financial terms (Taylor, 2004, p.35).
A cost tracking system should also be developed and any changes made in the budget should be accounted for by the relevant persons. At the inception of the project, the time, cost and scope constraints are set though in terms of estimates. There should be an allowance for change though this should be directed by one person so s to ensure that no fraudulent changes are made. The targets are set in ranges to ensure that there is enough space for any delays, change in cost or a different definition in the scope.
There are four general steps involved in IT project management are team assembling, project plan development, implementation and closure. The team involved in the project plays a big role in the outcome. When developing a website for example there needs to be a competency team in this field who possess sound background and knowledge on project management (Taylor, 2004, p.48).
Some of the questions to be asked when putting together the team are first, the qualifications to look out for in the team leader, second the skills required by the team members, third the type of information needed and fourth the roles to be handled by each of the members. As for the qualifications the team members should be experts in the required fields. In addition, they should possess the relevant information as well as effective communication and research skills.
The second step is project plan development which involves the coming together of the team members to brainstorm the general objectives of the entire project. The first agenda at this stage is the identification of the “project’s rationale, scope and limitations, organizational benefits, deadlines and milestones and sources of support” (Presern, 2008, p. 56). The second one is defining the main elements and their respective tasks as well as the segmentations and deadlines. At this stage, the team members are allocated their specific tasks. The resources are also identified and budgeted for and any potential bottlenecks are identified and preventive measures put in place. Besides this, planning also involves creating the schedule and timelines. A feedback mechanism is developed at this stage as well.
Third is the implementation phase where by the team members are expected to start working on their respective tasks. At this point, the only task of the project manager is to supervise the team and ensure that they are working within a safe schedule. The team members are expected to report on their progress regularly so that the project manager can determine what has not yet been done and what has been in the wrong way. Outcome reviews are also performed and this involves the comparison between the actual outcome and the forecasted outcome (Schwalbe, 2000, p.53). Conflicts might arise among the team members especially due to the differences in working habits and this should be handled early enough before it can have adverse effects on the project.
Finally is the closure of the project which is done after completing the implementation stage. The contributions of each of the team members must be acknowledged and this can be done by offering them a dinner celebration. Besides this kind of appreciation, rewards should also be offered at this stage depending on the contribution of the individuals to the success of the project. All these endeavors should be included in the project’s budget for effective planning and also avoid overspending.
In cases where for one reason or the other project was never completed in the anticipated way, the efforts of the team members should still be appreciated. A post mortem project review should be conducted to identify the challenges faced and how they were handled and the general lessons learnt from the project (Cadle & Yeates, 2008, p.52). A project report is necessary for future reference as well as to provide information on the technicalities of the project to the sponsor(s).
References
Cadle, J., & Yeates, D. 2008. Project Management for Information Systems, Pearson Prentice Hall, Harlow.
Mcdermid, D. 2008. Ethics in ICT: An Australian Perspective, N.S.W., Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest.
Presern, S. 2007. IT Project Management, Luxemburg, Office for official publications of the European Communities.
Schwalbe, K. 2000. Information Technology Project Management, Ma, Course Technology, Cambridge.
Taylor, J. 2004. Managing Information Technology Projects Applying Project Management Strategies To Software, Hardware, And Integration Initiatives. American Management Association, New York.