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ABC: An Introduction to IT Project Management

Only 29 percent of IT projects are completed on time and on budget. Here's some advice on how to improve your odds.

By Joseph Phillips

PAGE 3

• What are the basic principles of IT project management?
• Why do IT projects fail so often?
• How do I determine if a project is going to fail once it's in motion?
• When should a project be canceled?
• How can I ensure that my projects are successful?
• What are some common project-management methodologies, and which work best for various kinds of IT projects?
• Some companies have project-management offices. What's their purpose, and should I create one?
• How much authority should a project manager have?
• What certifications are available for project managers, and are they important?
• Our business moves very fast while our projects seem to move slowly. What strategies can we use to get our projects up to speed?
• Regulations, laws and standards are common in my industry. How will they impact my IT projects?
• I want to send my project managers through project-management training. What should I make sure they get out of it, and how do I know the training will be worthwhile?

How can I ensure that my projects are successful?

Organizations should create or adapt a standard approach to managing projects. Managers can quickly determine which ones are proceeding smoothly and which are not when all projects follow the same processes and approaches, and use the same metrics for measuring project performance. A standard approach to project management establishes ground rules and expectations for the project team. It also provides project managers, functional managers and the operational staff with a common language around project management that eases communication and helps ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Using a mishmash of project-management techniques makes it impossible for an organization to measure the success of its projects. And if they can't measure their projects, they can't determine which processes and methodologies are working and which ones need to be improved.

What are some common project-management methodologies, and which work best for various kinds of IT projects?

There are three leading approaches for managing IT projects. The first is based on traditional project management. It works with any IT project regardless of the technology involved or the duration of the project work.

The second approach is called Extreme Programming. It's sometimes abbreviated as XP (not to be confused with the Windows operating system.) Extreme Programming is a project-management approach designed specifically for software development. XP uses a software development model that involves the users, customers and programmers in four iterative phases: planning, coding, designing and testing.

Scrum is the final leader in IT project management. This approach, named after a rugby term, also uses iterations of planning, coding, executing and testing software. Scrum employs its own vernacular and has some rigid rules about meetings, hitting milestones and the duration of planning activities.

 

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