IT Project Management
By Amna Altaf (Department of Information Systems, University of
Management and Technology)
Difference b\w project, program and portfolio
• Project - Project is a temporary endeavor to create a unique product,
service, or result.
• Program - A group of related projects, subprograms, and program
activities managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits not
available from managing them individually.
• Portfolio - A portfolio is a collection of Project, programs, sub
portfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic
objectives.
Interactions / Stakeholders
• As a PM, who do you interact with?
• Project Stakeholders
• Project sponsor
• The project sponsor is an individual (often a manager or executive)
with overall accountability for the project. He or she is primarily
concerned with ensuring that the project delivers the agreed upon
benefits.
• Customers
• Contractors
• There are times when organizations don’t have the expertise or
resources available in-house, and work is farmed out to contractors
or subcontractors.
Interactions / Stakeholders
• Functional managers
• A functional manager is a person who has management authority over an
organizational unit.
• such as a department—within a business, company, or other organization. ...
• A general manager is responsible for all areas and oversees all of the firm's
functions and day-to-day business operations.
Project and Program Managers
• Project managers
Work with project sponsors, project teams, and other people involved
in projects to meet project goals.
• Program managers
Oversee programs and often act as bosses for project managers.
Figure 1-2. Project Management Framework
Nine Project Management Knowledge Areas
• Knowledge areas describe the key competencies that project
managers must develop.
• Four core knowledge areas lead to specific project objectives (scope, time,
cost, and quality).
• Four facilitating knowledge areas are the means through which the project
objectives are achieved (human resources, communication, risk, and
procurement management).
• All knowledge areas are important!
Project Management Tools and Techniques
• Project management tools and techniques assist project managers
and their teams in various aspects of project management.
• Specific tools and techniques include:
• Project charters, scope statements, and WBS (scope).
• Gantt charts, critical path analysis, scheduling (time).
• Cost estimates (cost).
Figure 1-4. Sample Gantt Chart
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Project Charter
• The purpose of the project charter is to document:
• Reasons for undertaking the project
• Objectives of the project
• Directions concerning the solution
• Identities of the main stakeholders
• Risks identified
• High level budget and spending authority
Critical Path analysis
• The critical path is the sequence of activities with the longest duration. A
delay in any of these activities will result in a delay for the whole project.
• For each path, add the duration of each node to determine it's total
duration. The critical path is the one with the longest duration.
The Role of the Project Manager
• Job descriptions vary, but most include responsibilities such as
planning, scheduling, coordinating, and working with people to
achieve project goals.
• Remember that 97 percent of successful projects were led by
experienced project managers.
Project Management Compared to Project
Portfolio Management
Different Skills Needed in Different Situations
• Large projects: leadership, relevant prior experience, planning,
people skills, verbal communication, and team-building skills were
most important
• High uncertainty projects: risk management, expectation
management, leadership, people skills, and planning skills were most
important
• Very novel projects: leadership, people skills, having vision and goals,
self confidence, expectations management, and listening skills were
most important
Project Management Software
• There are hundreds of different products to assist in performing project
management
• Three main categories of tools:
• Low-end tools: handle single or smaller projects well
• Most of these tools allow users to create Gantt charts.
Project Management Software
• Midrange tools: handle multiple projects and users
• All of these tools can produce Gantt charts and network diagrams,
and can assist in critical path analysis, resource allocation, project
tracking, status reporting, and so on.
• High-end tools: also called enterprise project management
software.
• These tools provide capabilities to handle very large projects i.e.
portfolio management functions.
The Project Management Profession
• Professional societies such as the Project Management Institute (PMI)
have grown significantly.
• There are specific interest groups in many areas, such as engineering,
financial services, health care, and IT.
• Project management research and certification programs continue to
grow.
Project Management Certification
• PMI provides certification as a Project Management Professional
(PMP).
• The number of people earning PMP certification is increasing quickly.
Assignment
• Search PM tools (Minimum 5)
• Write down examples of low-end tools, mid-range tools and high-
end tools.
• Write down any 3 detailed examples if IT Projects.
