|
|
Project Management Definitions:Project: A project is an undertaking requiring concerted effort. In project management circles, a project is usually defined as a temporary effort. Project
management: BASICS:
Triple Constraint | five different processes
| core competencies | Competing
Projects Criteria | Why projects Fail System Design - The five major components of a system design are: User Interface, Data Design, Process Design, Communications and Human Capital |
Systems Analysis
|
THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROJECT MANAGEMENT LITTLE RED BOOK - draft (pdf format) - click here PROJECT MANAGEMENT TRUISMS Creating a Project Management Communications Plan - click here
Project management. According to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge —2000 Edition, [Project Management Institute (PMI®) December 2000], project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to a broad range of activities in order to meet the requirements of the particular project. PMI further outlines five different processes and core competencies required for effective project management - see figure below
|
 |
 |
| Original Project Scope | An expedited Project may require changes in Scope, performance and or cost - something has to give |
Technology feasibility
The assessment is based on an outline design of system requirements in terms of Input, Processes, Output, Fields, Programs, and Procedures. This can be quantified in terms of volumes of data, trends, frequency of updating, etc. in order to estimate whether the new system will perform adequately or not. This means that feasibility is the study of the based in outline.
Economic analysis is the most frequently used method for evaluating the effectiveness of a new system. More commonly known as cost/benefit analysis, the procedure is to determine the benefits and savings that are expected from a candidate system and compare them with costs. If benefits outweigh costs, then the decision is made to design and implement the system.
Activity Based or Cost Based Study: It is important to identify cost and benefit factors. Cost and benefits can be categorized into the following categories. Basically it is an analysis of the costs to be incurred in the system and benefits derivable out of the system. In a broad sense the costs can be divided into two types 1. Development costs 2. Operating costs
Time Based Study: Contrast to the manual system management can generate any report just by the click of a mouse
Legal feasibility
Determines whether the proposed system conflicts with legal requirements, e.g. a data processing system must comply with the local Data Protection Acts.
Is a measure of how well a proposed system solves the problems, and takes advantages of the opportunities identified during scope definition and how it satisfies the requirements identified in the requirements analysis phase of system development.
A project will fail if it takes too long to be completed before it is useful. Typically this means estimating how long the system will take to develop, and if it can be completed in a given time period using some methods like payback period. Schedule feasibility is a measure of how reasonable the project timetable is. Given our technical expertise, are the project deadlines reasonable? Some projects are initiated with specific deadlines. You need to determine whether the deadlines are mandatory or desirable.
Misc feasibility
issues
Market and real estate feasibility
Market Feasibility Study typically involves testing geographic locations for a real estate development project, and usually involves parcels of real estate land. Developers often conduct market studies to determine the best location within a jurisdiction, and to test alternative land uses for a given parcels. Jurisdictions often require developers to complete feasibility studies before they will approve a permit application for retail, commercial, industrial, manufacturing, housing, office or mixed-use project. Market Feasibility takes into account the importance of the business in the selected area.
Resource feasibility
This involves questions such as how much time is available to build the new system, when it can be built, whether it interferes with normal business operations, type and amount of resources required, dependencies, etc. Contingency and mitigation plans should also be stated here.
Cultural feasibility
In this stage, the project's alternatives are evaluated for their impact on the local and general culture. For example, environmental factors need to be considered and these factors are to be well known. Further an enterprise's own culture can clash with the results of the project.
According
to a study published by the Standish
Group roughly 50% of all projects costing over $1 million dollars, fail to
fully meet the scope of the project as defined by the triple
constraint, mostly due for failure to establish SMART (Specific,
Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound) goals.
Surprisingly however, at the top of the list is failure to involve users
and lack of executive management support. Below
is a summary of reasons why projects fail.
User
Involvement
19%
Executive
Management Support
16%
Clear
Requirements
15%
Proper
Planning
11%
Realistic
Expectations
10%
Smaller
Project Milestones
9%
Competent
Staff
8%
Ownership
6%
Clear Vision and Objectives 3%
Hardworking,
Focus Staff
3%
Project
Management World Today
www.pmforum.org
This is an on-line publication that contains notices, reports, news and
information related to project management from around the world.
International
Project Management Association
www.ipma.ch
The IPMA is a nonprofit organization based in the U.K. It promotes PM through
its global membership network of national PM associations.
Project
Management Center
www.infogoal.com/pmc/pmchome.htm
This site is dedicated to those with an investment in PM. The site brings
information together to cut back on Web cruising and provides practical help. It
offers the latest news, articles, software, case studies, links, etc.
PMBoulevard
www.pmboulevard.com/home.jsp
This PM Community connects you to others facing the same PM challenges you do
every day. You can share ideas, compare notes, ask for help, find out the latest
news, purchase materials and access other relevant project management sites.
ProjectZone
www.projectzone.com
The ProjectZone is a community of technology project leaders discovering,
learning, inventing, and teaching each other better ways to lead and manage
teams and projects. The material on this site is written by project leaders for
project leaders as a volunteer effort, and reflects their experiences and
opinions.
NewGrange
Center for Project Management
www.newgrange.org
The NewGrange Center for Project Management was started in early 1997 as a
nonprofit professional organization. Its mission is to further the discussion of
project management as a professional discipline. The focus is a hands-on,
practical approach to project management to determine what really works, why it
works, and how to replicate it consistently.
The
Project Manager's Resource Center
www.allpm.com
ALLPM is a site for Information Technology (IT) project management information
and resources. It is a clearinghouse of discussion forums, resource links,
conference and seminar listings, news releases, contract awards and more.
Project-Manager
www.project-manager.com
This site is an online guide for anyone who must plan, implement and complete a
commercial project. Project-Manager is a learning experience. Here you can get
professional advice. Upgrade personal skills. Exchange ideas. Above all, get
your project up and running on time and within budget. The site also has links
to various Product Depots where you may source equipment, machinery and
supplies.
This
Gartner presentation offers help with planning for the IS department of the
future.
Download
this plan for staffing your IT department
RFQ
template for professional services automation (PSA) software, can help you
diagnose your clients' PSA software needs, estimate costs, and prepare the way
for implementation. Download
this RFQ template for PSA software
End-user
computing best practices
– Tech Republic
This
report outlines key best practices for equipment standardization, lockdown,
asset management and policies enforcement
Gartner
Institute Presentation: Build master IT project managers
- Tech Republic
Are
you preparing to document the details of your infrastructure and procedures?
This workbook download will give you a head start on entering and organizing the
information you need.
IT
glossary explains computer terms in basic English
Use
this list of basic hardware and software terms in your introductory classes to
help new users master the fundamentals of computing
Project
management advice—free for the listening
, Apr 24, 2001, Jerry Loza
Thirty
percent of all IT projects fail. That is one of the opening considerations
included in a great audio program being offered to TechRepublic members by Audible.com
for free. The Essentials of Project Management, which is a part of the Gartner
Group Talking Technology series, is a 42-minute program available over the
Internet
IT
Project Management Research Findings
Ted
Smith, TechRepublic's vice president of community research projects, recently
gave this presentation of TechRepublic's research methods and our latest
research on project management. Download his PowerPoint presentation
Tech
Republics Project Defintiion Template
Description: Meeting
project deadlines is of utmost importance to a project management consultant,
but proper planning can produce the right result. Download TechRepublic
columnist Tom Mochal's project definition template to guide you through the
planning stages…Download
Now!
Keep
track of problems with project issues log
– Tech Republic
Download
this project issues log so that you can keep track of problems and make sure
that they are resolved quickly—before they destroy your project.
Creating a communications plan
There
can be many types of customers, users, vendors, managers, and stakeholders.
First, determine what people or groups of people you want to include in the
Communications Plan.
For each of the stakeholders identified
above, determine their communication needs. For instance, certain managers will
need ongoing status information. Steering committee members need ongoing status
reports, plus a dialog on strategy and vision. Your users might need awareness
communication, mentoring, question-and-answer sheets, promotional information to
build enthusiasm, etc. Especially on large projects, the project team should be
creative in determining how, what, to whom, where, and how frequently the
communication takes place.
Project communication can take many
shapes and forms. In this step, brainstorm how you will fulfill the
communication needs for each stakeholder. When possible, look for types of
communication that can cover more than one stakeholder's needs.
Mandatory:
These types of communication are required by your company, your industry, or by
law. This information is pushed to recipients. The following are some examples
of this type of communication:
·
Project status reports
·
Regular status updates via voicemail
·
Status meetings
·
Meetings with steering committee
·
Regular conference calls and videoconferences with remote
stakeholders
·
Government-required reports and other information
·
Financial reporting, such as budget vs. actuals, or any other
required financial information
Informational:
This is information that people want to know or that they may need to know to do
their jobs. This information is made available for people to read but requires
them to take the initiative or pull the communication for themselves. Following
are some examples:
·
Awareness-building sessions that people are invited to attend
(These are not meant as training, just to build awareness of the project.)
·
Project paper-based deliverables placed in a common
repository, directory, or library that people can access
·
Project information available on a Web site
Marketing:
These forms of communication are designed to build buy-in and enthusiasm for the
project and its deliverables. This information is also pushed to the recipients.
Here are some examples:
·
Project newsletters, with positive marketing spin
·
Meeting one-on-one with key stakeholders on an ongoing basis
·
Traveling road shows to various locations and departments to
explain the project and its benefits
·
Testimonials from others about the value that was provided
·
Contests with simple prizes to build excitement
·
Project acronyms and slogans to portray positive images of
the project
·
Project countdown until live date
·
Informal (but purposeful) walking around to "talk
up" the project to team members, users, and stakeholders
·
Celebrations to bring visibility to the completion of major
milestones
·
Project memorabilia with project name or image portrayed,
such as pins, pencils, Frisbees, cups, T-shirts, etc.
·
Publicizing accomplishments
Determine the effort required
Determine how much effort is required
for each of the communication ideas the project team has come up with. If the
communication is ongoing, estimate the effort over a one-month period. For
instance, a status report might only take one hour to create, but it might be
needed twice a month. Then, of course, the total effort would be two hours.
Prioritize the communication options
Some communication activities provide
more value than others. In a previous exercise, you brainstormed lists of
communication options. Now you need to prioritize the items to determine which
provide the most value for the least cost. If a communication activity takes a
lot of time and provides little or marginal communication value, it should be
discarded. If a communication option takes little effort and provides a lot of
value, it should be included in the final Communication Plan. Of course, if a
communication activity is mandatory, it should be included no matter what the
cost. If a mandatory activity is time-consuming, you may be able to negotiate
with the stakeholders to find a less-intensive alternative.
ABC Project
Communication Plan
|
Deliverable/Description |
Type |
Target Audience(s) |
Delivery Method |
Delivery Frequency |
Who Responsible? |
|
Status Reports |
Mandatory |
Sponsor |
Paper Status Report Template
e-mailed to audience |
Monthly |
Project Manager |
|
Local Awareness-Building Sessions |
Informational |
Local user community |
Stand-up presentations |
Schedule twice weekly until
all users covered. |
Lead Analyst |
|
Remote Awareness-Building Sessions |
Informational |
Remote user community |
Webcast presentations |
Hold sessions three times a
week until all users covered. |
Lead Analyst |
|
Project Pins |
Marketing |
All users, customers, and
stakeholders |
Hand out to those that attend
the awareness presentations. Send pin in intercompany mail
to those that attend Webcasts. |
Same frequency as awareness
sessions |
Terry Allen – Project
Administrator |
|
MLA Style @WEBO,
day, month, year APA Style Retrieved day, month, year, from http://www.atwebo.com/page.htm <a href=http://www.atwebo.com/page_.htm>page_title</a>
Send mail to webperson@atwebo.com with questions or
comments about this web site.
|
