Project Management Definition and Solutions

• 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?

Regulations, laws and standards are common in my industry. How will they impact my IT projects?

Projects that must comply with laws and regulations require more up-front planning. For example, in the age of Sarbanes-Oxley, you have to do a lot more documentation when you're developing a new business application or implementing new supply chain software. When project managers consider the regulations that govern their industry, from manufacturing to health care, the regulations become project constraints and result in more overhead. Factoring laws and regulations into projects also expands their scope and adds to their costs.

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?

To get a good return on your investment, first identify what you want the project managers to know at the end of the project. Examine your projects and determine where the pain is. Are your projects failing in scheduling, planning, executing, communications? Everything? By determining where your projects need help, a project-management training provider can help your managers deliver better projects. There are plenty of off-the-shelf training solutions, but often an on-site class unique to your organization allows you to create a custom solution with more time focused on areas that need improvement and dismiss the areas your project managers have already mastered.

Joseph Phillips, PMP, Project+, is the director of education for Project Seminars. The author of numerous books on project management, Phillips has served as a project-management consultant for organizations creating project offices, maturity models and best practices. He can be contacted through jdp@projectseminars.com.