INTRODUCTION TO
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
INTRODUCTION
The world as a whole spends nearly $10
trillion of its $40.7 trillion gross product on
projects of all kinds
More than 16 million people regard project
management as their profession
The overall information and communications
technology market grew by 6 percent to
almost $3 trillion in 2010
Information Systems Project Management 2
MOTIVATION FOR STUDYING
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
IT Projects have a terrible track record, as described
in the “What Went Wrong?”
Information Systems Project Management 3
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
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WHAT IS A PROJECT?
A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to
create a unique product, service, or result” (PMBOK®
Guide, Fifth Edition, 2012)
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Information Systems Project Management
PROJECT ATTRIBUTES
A project
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
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involves uncertainty
PROJECT AND
PROGRAM MANAGERS
Project managers work with project
sponsors, project team, and other people
involved in a project to meet project
goals
Program: group of related projects
managed in a coordinated way to obtain
benefits and control not available from
managing them individually (PMBOK®
Guide, Fifth Edition, 2012)
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PROGRAM AND PROJECT
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
A program is “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, 2012)
A program manager provides leadership
and direction for the project managers
heading the projects within the program
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PROJECT PORTFOLIO
MANAGEMENT
Organizations group and
manage projects and
programs as a portfolio
of investments that
contribute to the entire
enterprise’s success
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SAMPLE PROJECT
PORTFOLIO APPROACH
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT
OFFICES
A Project Management Office (PMO)
is an organizational group responsible for
coordinating the project management
function throughout an organization
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THE TRIPLE CONSTRAINT
OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
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WHAT IS PROJECT
MANAGEMENT?
“the application of knowledge, skills, tools
and techniques to project activities to meet
project requirements” (PMBOK® Guide, Fourth
Edition, 2012)
Stakeholders Core Functions
Information Systems Project Management
Facilitating 13
Functions
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
KNOWLEDGE AREAS
Knowledge areas describe the key
competencies that project managers
must develop
Core Functions
Facilitating Functions
Integration Function
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS AND
TECHNIQUES
Project management tools and
techniques assist project managers and
their teams in various aspects of project
management
network diagram
Gantt chart
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What Went Right?
Improved Project
Performance
40%
35%
30% 37%
31%
25%
20% 1994
21% 2010
15%
10% 16%
5%
0%
Successful IT Failed
WHY THE
IMPROVEMENTS?
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PROJECT SUCCESS
There are several ways to define
project success:
Triple Constraint
Customer/Sponsor Satisfaction
The results of the project met its main
objective
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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
*The Standish Group, “CHAOS Activity News” (August 2011). 18
Information Systems Project Management
THE ROLE OF THE PROJECT
MANAGER
Job descriptions vary, but most include
responsibilities like planning, scheduling,
coordinating, and working with people to
achieve project goals
Remember that 97% of successful
projects were led by experienced project
managers, who can often help influence
success factors
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SUGGESTED SKILLS FOR
PROJECT MANAGERS
The Project Management Body of
Knowledge
Application area knowledge, standards, and
regulations
Project environment knowledge
General management knowledge and skills
Soft skills or human relations skills
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TEN MOST IMPORTANT SKILLS AND
COMPETENCIES FOR PROJECT
MANAGERS
1. People skills
2. Leadership
3. Listening
4. Integrity, ethical behavior, consistent
5. Strong at building trust
6. Verbal communication
7. Strong at building teams
8. Conflict resolution, conflict management
9. Critical thinking, problem solving
10. Understands, balances priorities
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CAREERS FOR IT PROJECT
MANAGERS
In a 2012 survey, IT
Total
Curre
nt
Gro
wt
h
executives listed the
Job Categories
Empl
oyees
Ra
nk
“nine hottest skills”
they planned to hire for
Rank
in 2013
Big Data / Analyst 6 1
Business/Systems 3 3
Analyst (tie)
Project management
Database Admin / 7 3 (tie)
Analyst
5 5
Networks / Security
Project 4 2
was second only to
Management
Software 2 6 programming and
Development
Other IT 1 7 application
development
Skills( Primarily
Help Desk)
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THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT
PROFESSION
The profession of project management is
growing at a very rapid pace
It is helpful to understand the history of
the field, the role of professional
societies like the Project Management
Institute, and the growth in project
management software
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT
CERTIFICATION
The Project Management Institute (PMI) is
an international professional society for
project managers with 380,000 members
worldwide in 2012
Project Management Professional (PMP) has
documented sufficient project experience, agreed
to follow a code of ethics, and passed the PMP
exam
Certified Associate in PM (CAPM) is achievable
with less experience
CompTIA offers another certification option
CompTIA Project+ has less requirements but is
not
Information as
Systems Projectwell
Managementrecognized as PMP 24
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
SOFTWARE
There are hundreds of different products to
assist in performing project management
Three main categories of tools:
Low-end tools
Midrange tools
High-end tools
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT
SOFTWARE
Various software includes:
BaseCamp
Clarizen
Collabtive (open source)
dotProject (open source)
OneDesk
Genius Inside
PlanBox
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