IT464 PROJECT MGMT IN INFO SYSTEMS

are those tools that have high use and high potential for improving project success, such as: ◦Software for task scheduling (such as project management software) ◦Scope statements ◦Requirements analyses ◦Lessons-learned reports

"Super tools"

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...In information technology 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."* Many organizations, like Huntington Bancshares, Inc., use an executive steering committee to help keep projects on track. Some projects still go on a long time before being killed, like Blizzard's Titan game project. *Cabanis, Jeannette, "'A Major Impact': The Standish Group's Jim Johnson On Project Management and IT Project Success," PM Network, PMI, Sep.1998, p. 7

program

"a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually" (PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, 2013)

Virtual Team Disadvantages

- Delays in meeting deadlines - Little supervision and greater trust on team members - Greater focus on results than the process - Provides guidance, encouragement, and support with little control

Coordinating Planning and Execution

- Project planning and execution are intertwined and inseparable activities - Those who will do the work should help to plan the work - Project managers must solicit input from the team to develop realistic plans

How Top Management Can Help Project Managers

- Providing adequate resources - Approving unique project needs in a timely manner - Getting cooperation from other parts of the organization - Mentoring and coaching on leadership issues

Project Integration Management Processes, Part 1

1. Developing the project charter involves working with stakeholders to create the document that formally authorizes a project—the charter. 2. Developing the project management plan involves coordinating all planning efforts to create a consistent, coherent document—the project management plan. 3. Directing and managing project work involves carrying out the project management plan by performing the activities included in it.

What Helps Projects Succeed?*

1. User involvement 2. Executive support 3. Clear business objectives 4. Emotional maturity 5. Optimizing scope 6. Agile process 7. Project management expertise 8. Skilled resources 9. Execution 10. Tools and infrastructure

Predictive Life Cycle Models

1. waterfall model 2. spiral model 3. incremental build model 4. prototyping model 5. rapid application development (RAD) model

What are the project management framework?

10 Knowledge Areas

Project Life Cycle

A collection of project phases, such as concept, development, implementation, and close-out

Scrum team or development team

A cross-functional team of five to nine people who organize themselves and the work to produce the desired results for each sprint

project charter

A document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities.

Change Control Board (CCB)

A formal group of people responsible for approving or rejecting changes on a project

Best Practice

A management process, technique, or method that is most effective at arriving at a desired outcome or better outcome than any other process, technique, or method.

kick-off meeting

A meeting held at the beginning of a project so that stakeholders can meet each other, review the goals of the project, and discuss future plans

Agile Software Development

A method for software development that uses new approaches, focusing on close collaboration between programming teams and business experts

deliverable

A product, or service produced or provided such as a report or segment of software code, produced as part of a project

The Importance of Project Phases and Management Reviews

A project should successfully pass through each of the project phases in order to continue on to the next

process

A series of actions or steps taken to achieve an end

Daily Scrum

A short meeting in which the team shares progress and challenges

Product Backlog

A single list of features prioritized by business value

Gantt chart

A time and activity bar chart that is used for planning, managing, and controlling major programs that have a distinct beginning and end.

weighted scoring model

A weighted scoring model is a tool that provides a systematic process for selecting projects based on many criteria Identify criteria important to the project selection process Assign weights (percentages) to each criterion so they add up to 100% Assign scores to each criterion for each project Multiply the scores by the weights and get the total weighted scores The higher the weighted score, the better

IT governance

Addresses the authority and control for key IT activities in organizations, including IT infrastructure, IT use, and project management

Top Three Reasons Why Federal Technology Project Succeed

Adequate funding Staff expertise Engagement from all stakeholders

Agile Project Management

Agile means being able to move quickly and easily, but some people feel that project management, as they have seen it used, does not allow people to work quickly or easily. Early software development projects often used a waterfall approach, as defined earlier in this chapter. As technology and businesses became more complex, the approach was often difficult to use because requirements were unknown or continuously changing. Agile today means using a method based on iterative and incremental development, in which requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration.

What is the name of one of the popular certifications provided by the project management Institute? a. Certified project Manager (CPM) b. Project Management Professional (PMP) c. Project Management Expert (PME) d. Project Management Mentor (PMM)

B. Project Management Professional (PMP)

The ______ filed includes the top skills employers look for in new college graduates. a. Communications b. Project Management c. Financial management d. customer service

B. Project management

Several application development projects done for the same functional group might best be managed as part of a ________. a. portfolio b. program c. investment d. collaborative

B. program

Advantages of Using Formal Project Management

Better control of financial, physical, and human resources Improved customer relations Shorter development times Lower costs Higher quality and increased reliability Higher profit margins Improved productivity Better internal coordination Higher worker morale

Which of the following is not a potential advantage of using good project management? a. shorter development times b. higher worker morale c. lower cost of capital d. higher profit margins

C. Lower cost of capital

Important Issues and Suggestions Related to Globalization

Communications Trust Common work practices Tools Suggestions Employ greater project discipline Think global but act local Keep project momentum going Use newer tools and technology

Which of the following is not true? a. most American companies have a project management office. b. you can earn an advanced degree in project management from hundreds of colleges and universities. c. Employers are looking for project management skills in new graduates. d. Project management certification does not affect pay.

D. Project management certification does not affect pay.

Which of the following is not an attribute of a project? a. Projects are unique b. Projects are developed using progressive elaboration. c. Projects have a primary customer or sponsor. d. Projects involve little uncertainty.

D. Projects involve little uncertainty.

methodology

Describes how things should be done;

NPV Calculations

Determine estimated costs and benefits for the life of the project and the products it produces Determine the discount rate (check with your organization on what to use) Calculate the NPV (see text for details) Notes: Some organizations consider the investment year as year 0, while others start in year 1. Some people entered costs as negative numbers, while others do not. Check with your organization for their preferences

A systems approach

Emerged in the 1950s to describe a more analytical approach to management and problem solving

Expert Judgment

Experts can help project managers and their teams make many decisions related to project execution

Financial Analysis of Projects

Financial considerations are often an important consideration in selecting projects Three primary methods for determining the projected financial value of projects: Net present value (NPV) analysis Return on investment (ROI) Payback analysis

A leader

Focuses on long-term goals and big-picture objectives while inspiring people to reach those goals

Change Control on Information Technology Projects

Former view: The project team should strive to do exactly what was planned on time and within budget Problem: Stakeholders rarely agreed up-front on the project scope, and time and cost estimates were inaccurate Modern view: Project management is a process of constant communication and negotiation Solution: Changes are often beneficial, and the project team should plan for them

What are the 3 basic organization structures?

Functional, Project, and Matrix.

The Role of the Project Manager

Highly visible Responsible for making sure that: 1. All necessary activities are finished in order and on time 2. The project comes in within budget 3. The project meets quality goals 4. The people assigned to the project receive motivation, direction, and information responsibilities like planning, scheduling, coordinating, and working with people to achieve project goals

The Context of IT Projects

IT projects can be very diverse in terms of size, complexity, products produced, application area, and resource requirements IT project team members often have diverse backgrounds and skill sets IT projects use diverse technologies that change rapidly. Even within one technology area, people must be highly specialized

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

outsourcing benefits

Increased quality and efficiency of business processes Reduced operating expenses for head count and exposure to risk for large capital investments Access to outsourcing service provider's expertise, economies of scale, best practices, and advanced technologies Increased flexibility for faster response to market changes and less time to market for new products or services

Virtual Teams Advantages

Increasing competiveness and responsiveness by having a team of workers available 24/7 Lowering costs because many virtual workers do not require office space or support beyond their home offices. Providing more expertise and flexibility by having team members from across the globe working any time of day or night Increasing the work/life balance for team members by eliminating fixed office hours and the need to travel to work.

Common Elements of a Project Management Plan

Introduction or overview of the project Description of how the project is organized Management and technical processes used on the project Work to be done, schedule, and budget information

Project Closing

Involves gaining stakeholder and customer acceptance of the final products and services

Project monitoring and controlling

Involves measuring progress toward project objectives, monitoring deviation from the plan, and taking correction actions

Organizational culture

Is a set of shared assumptions, values, and behaviors that characterize the functioning of an organization

Project Pre-initiation

It is good practice to lay the groundwork for a project before it officially starts Senior managers often perform several pre-initiation tasks, including the following: Determine the scope, time, and cost constraints for the project Identify the project sponsor Select the project manager Develop a business case for a project (see Table 3-2 for an example) Meet with the project manager to review the process and expectations for managing the project Determine if the project should be divided into two or more smaller projects

an informed decision

It is not a snap decision whether to use an agile approach or not, just like flying or driving somewhere on a trip Projects with less rigid constraints, experienced and preferably co-located teams, smaller risks, unclear requirements, and more flexible scheduling would be more compatible with an agile approach The following example uses Scrum roles, artifacts, and ceremonies

Focusing on broad organizational needs

It is often difficult to provide strong justification for many IT projects, but everyone agrees they have a high value "It is better to measure gold roughly than to count pennies precisely" Three important criteria for projects: There is a need for the project There are funds available There's a strong will to make the project succeed

Capitalizing on Product, Business, and Application Area Knowledge

It is often helpful for IT project managers to have prior technical experience On small projects, the project manager may be required to perform some of the technical work or mentor team members to complete the projects On large projects, the project manager must understand the business and application area of the project

describe the key competencies that project managers must develop

Knowledge areas

Ethics

Loosely defined, is a set of principles that guide our decision making based on personal values of what is "right" and "wrong"

Meetings

Meetings allow people to develop relationships, pick up on important body language or tone of voice, and have a dialogue to help resolve problems.

Ten Characteristics of Organizational Culture

Member identity* Group emphasis* People focus Unit integration* Control Risk tolerance* Reward criteria* Conflict tolerance* Means-ends orientation Open-systems focus*

Project Integration Management Processes, Part 2

Monitoring and controlling project work involves overseeing activities to meet the performance objectives of the project Performing integrated change control involves identifying, evaluating, and managing changes throughout the project life cycle. Closing the project or phase involves finalizing all activities to formally close the project or phase.

Closing

Not different from PMBOK® Guide Focus is still on acceptance of deliverables and reflection Different: The retrospective is similar to a lessons-learned report, but it focuses on a shorter period of time. It is intended to answer two fundamental questions: What went well during the last sprint that we should continue doing? What could we do differently to improve the product or process?

Ten Most Important Skills and Competencies for Project Managers

People skills Leadership Listening Integrity, ethical behavior, consistent Strong at building trust Verbal communication Strong at building teams Conflict resolution, conflict management Critical thinking, problem solving Understands, balances priorities

Scrum Artifacts

Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Burndown Charts

Scrum Roles

Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Team.

group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually (PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, 2013)

Program

PMI provides certification as a

Project Management Professional (PMP)

assist project managers and their teams in various aspects of project management

Project management tools and techniques

work with project sponsors, project team, and other people involved in a project to meet project goals?

Project managers

Providing Leadership and a Supportive Culture

Project managers must lead by example to demonstrate the importance of creating and then following good project plans Organizational culture can help project execution by providing guidelines and templates tracking performance based on plans Project managers may still need to break the rules to meet project goals, and senior managers must support those actions

Inputs for Developing a Project Charter

Project statement of work Business case Agreements Enterprise environmental factors Organizational process assets

What the Winners Do...

Recent research findings show that companies that excel in project delivery capability: Use an integrated project management toolbox (use standard/advanced PM tools, lots of templates) Grow project leaders, emphasizing business and soft skills Develop a streamlined project delivery process Measure project health using metrics, like customer satisfaction or return on investment

What is the triple constraint?

Scope goal, Cost goal, and Time goal.

Burndown Chart

Shows the cumulative work remaining in a sprint on a day-by-day basis

History of Project Management

Some people argue that building the Egyptian pyramids was a project, as was building the Great Wall of China Most people consider the Manhattan Project to be the first project to use "modern" project management This three-year, $2 billion (in 1946 dollars) project had a separate project manager and a technical manager

Scrum Ceremonies

Sprint planning Sprint review Sprint retrospective Daily scrum meeting

What are the people involved in or affected by project activities?

Stakeholders

Who are stakeholders?

Stakeholders are persons or organizations whose interests may be positively or negatively affected by the performance or completion of the project. Stakeholders include project team as well. the project sponsor the project manager the project team support staff customers users suppliers opponents to the project

Need for Organizational Standards

Standards and guidelines help project managers be more effective

Kanban

Technique that can be used in conjunction with scrum Developed in Japan by Toyota Motor Corporation Uses visual cues to guide workflow Kanban cards show new work, work in progress, and work completed

Agile, the PMBOK® Guide, and a New Certification

The PMBOK® Guide describes best practices for what should be done to manage projects. Agile is a methodology that describes how to manage projects. The Project Management Institute (PMI) recognized the increased interest in Agile, and introduced a new certification in 2011 called Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP). Seasoned project managers understand that they have always had the option of customizing how they run projects, but that project management is not easy, even when using Agile.

Sprint Backlog

The highest-priority items from the product backlog to be completed in a sprint

Scrum

The leading agile development methodology for completing projects with a complex, innovative scope of work

Product Owner

The person responsible for the business value of the project and for deciding what work to do and in what order when using a Scrum method

ScrumMaster:

The person who ensures that the team is productive, facilitates the daily Scrum, enables close cooperation across all roles and functions, and removes barriers that prevent the team from being effective.

Stakeholder Management

The project management knowledge area that focuses on the management and engagement of the project stakeholders. There are four processes in this knowledge area: identify stakeholders, plan stakeholder management, manage stakeholder engagement, and Monitor Stakeholder Engagement.

usually provides the direction and funding for the project

The project sponsor

Project Planning

The second phase of the project management process that focuses on defining clear, discrete activities and the work needed to complete each activity within a single project. Key outputs included in the JWD project include: A team contract A project scope statement A work breakdown structure (WBS) A project schedule, in the form of a Gantt chart with all dependencies and resources entered A list of prioritized risks (part of a risk register)

Project management information systems

There are hundreds of project management software products available on the market today, and many organizations are moving toward powerful enterprise project management systems that are accessible via the Internet

Project Success

There are several ways to define project success: The project met scope, time, and cost goals The project satisfied the customer/sponsor The results of the project met its main objective, such as making or saving a certain amount of money, providing a good return on investment, or simply making the sponsors happy

Closing Projects or Phases

To close a project or phase, you must finalize all activities and transfer the completed or cancelled work to the appropriate people Main outputs include Final product, service, or result transition Organizational process asset updates

Product Backlog

User story templates, samples, and point person WBS templates, samples, and point person Project schedule templates, samples, and point person Ability to change customers for some intranet products and services Ability to collect user suggestions Business case templates, samples, and point person Ask the Expert feature Stakeholder management strategy templates, samples, and point person

Sprint Backlog

User story templates, samples, and point person WBS templates, samples, and point person Project schedule templates, samples, and point person Ability to charge customers for some intranet products and services Ability to collect user suggestions

Project Executing

Usually takes the most time and resources to perform project execution

Developing a Project Charter

Working with stakeholders to create the document that formally authorizes a project.

Change Control System

a formal, documented process that describes when and how official project documents may be changed

SWOT analysis

a planning tool used to analyze an organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

A ______ is a document that formally recognizes the existence of a project and provides direction on the project's objectives and management. a. project charter b. contract c. business case d. project management plan

a project charter

________ensures that the descriptions of the project's products are correct and complete. a. configuration management b. integrated change control c. integration management d. A change control board

a. Configuration management

Which of the following processes is not par of the project integration management? a. developing the project business case b. developing the project charter c. developing the project management plan d. closing the project or phase

a. Developing the project business case

__________ is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements a. Project management b. program management c. Project portfolio management d. Requirements management

a. project management

Project portfolio management addresses ____ goals of organization, while project management addresses ______ goals. a. strategic, tactical b. tactical, strategic c. internal, external d. external, internal

a. strategic, tactical

Systems management

address business, technological, and organizational issues before making changes to systems

Systems philosophy

an overall model for thinking about things as systems

Net Present Value Analysis

analysis is a method of calculating the expected net monetary gain or loss from a project by discounting all expected future cash inflows and outflows to the present point in time Projects with a positive NPV should be considered if financial value is a key criterion The higher the NPV, the better

A new government law requires an organization to report data in a new way. Which of the following categories would include a new information system project to provide this data? a. Problem b. opportunity c. directive d. regulation

b. Opportunity

Which of the following is not a suggestion for performing integrated change control? a. use good configuration management b. minimize change c. establish a formal change control system d. view project management as a process of constant communication and negotiation.

b. minimize change

Which of the following is not a best practice for new product development projects? a. aligning projects and resources with business strategy b. selecting projects that will take less than two years to provide payback c. focusing on customer needs in identifying projects d. assigning a project manager to lead projects

b. selecting projects that will take less than two years to provide payback

if estimates for total discounted benefits for a project are $120,000 and total discounted costs are $100,000, what is the estimated return on investment (ROI)? a. $20,000 b.$120,000 c. 20 percent d. 120 percent

c. 20 percent

What tool and technique is used for all processes of project integration management? a. project management software b. templates c. expert judgement d. all of the above

c. Expert Judgement

A ________________________ is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. a. program b. process c. project d. portfolio

c. Project

Which of the following is not part of the triple constraint of project management? a. meeting scope goals b. meeting time goals c. meeting communications goals. d. meeting cost goals.

c. meeting communication goals

Internal rate of return (IRR)

can by calculated by finding the discount rate that makes the NPV equal to zero

Phases of the Traditional Project Life Cycle

concept, development, implementation, close-out

what is the last step in the four-stage planning process for selecting IT projects? a. IT Strategy planning b. business area analysis c. mind mapping d. resource allocation

d. Business area analysis

which of the following items is not normally included in a project charter? a. the name of the project manager b. budget information c. stakeholder signatures d. a Gantt chart

d. Gantt chart

A manager

deals with the day-to-day details of meeting specific goals

standard

describes what should be done

categorizing IT projects

does the project provide a response to a problem, opportunity, or directive time or date to be completed by overall priority

Configuration Management

ensures that the descriptions of the project's products are correct and complete

Functional:

functional managers report to the CEO

Portfolio managers

help their organizations make wise investment decisions by helping to select and analyze projects from a strategic perspective

The project management process groups include

initiating processes planning processes executing processes monitoring and controlling processes closing processes

Directing and managing project work

involves carrying out the project management plan by performing the activities included in it

Strategic Planning

involves determining long-term objectives, predicting future trends, and projecting the need for new products and services

Performing Integrated Change Control

involves identifying, evaluating, and managing changes throughout the project life cycle

Monitoring and Controlling Project Work

involves overseeing activities to meet the performance objectives of the project

best practice

is "an optimal way recognized by industry to achieve a stated goal or objective"*

project management plan

is a document used to coordinate all project planning documents and help guide a project's execution and control Plans created in the other knowledge areas are subsidiary parts of the overall project management plan

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

is a framework for describing the phases involved in developing and maintaining information systems

virtual teams

is a group of individuals who work across time and space using communication technologies

Balanced Scorecard

is a methodology that converts an organization's value drivers, such as customer service, innovation, operational efficiency, and financial performance, to a series of defined metrics

Project Management Office (PMO)

is an organizational group responsible for coordinating the project management function throughout an organization

Return on investment (ROI)

is calculated by subtracting the project costs from the benefits and then dividing by the costs ROI = (total discounted benefits - total discounted costs) / discounted costs

baseline

is the approved project management plan plus approved changes

Outsourcing

is when an organization acquires goods and/or sources from an outside source.

Management reviews, called phase exits or ____________________, are very important for keeping projects on track and determining if they should be continued, redirected, or terminated.

kill points

Matrix

middle ground between functional and project structures; personnel often report to two or more bosses; structure can be weak, balanced, or strong matrix

As part of project portfolio management

organizations group and manage projects and programs as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise's success

systems analysis

problem-solving approach

project

program managers report to the CEO

What are the 10 knowledge areas?

project integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resource, communications, risk, procurement, and stakeholder management

Program Manager (PM)

provides leadership and direction for the project managers heading the projects within the program

Adaptive Software Development (ASD) life cycle

requirements cannot be clearly expressed, projects are mission driven and component based, using time-based cycles to meet target dates

systems thinking

the ability to see both the distinct elements of a system or situation and the complex and changing interaction among those elements and taking a holistic view of carrying out projects within the context of the organization. Three parts include: Systems philosophy: an overall model for thinking about things as systems Systems analysis: problem-solving approach Systems management: address business, technological, and organizational issues before making changes to systems

Payback Period

the amount of time required for an investment to generate cash flows sufficient to recover its initial cost

Offshoring

the relocation of business processes and services to a lower-cost foreign location particularly white-collar, technical, professional, and clerical services. is sometimes used to describe outsourcing from another country

Predictive Life Cycle

the scope of the project can be clearly articulated and the schedule and cost can be predicted

Critical Path

the sequence of activities in a project that is expected to take the longest to complete

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

Organizational process assets

which include formal and informal plans, policies, procedures, guidelines, information systems, financial systems, management systems, lessons learned, and historical information

sprint

which normally lasts 2-4 weeks

champion

who acts as a key proponent for a project

Tools already extensively used that have been found to improve project importance include

◦Progress reports ◦Kick-off meetings ◦Gantt charts ◦Change requests

What specific tools help project managers?

◦Project charter, scope statement, and WBS (scope) ◦Gantt charts, network diagrams, critical path analysis, critical chain scheduling (time) ◦Cost estimates and earned value management (cost)

What are the project Attributes?

◦has a unique purpose ◦is temporary ◦is developed using progressive elaboration ◦requires resources, often from various areas ◦should have a primary customer or sponsor The project sponsor usually provides the direction and funding for the project involves uncertainty