ICT PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Lecturer : A. Maina

Lecture 2: The Project Management and

Information Technology Context
Refer to : Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Learning Objectives

 Define the systems view of project management and how it

applies to information technology (IT) projects
 Summarize organizations, including the four frames,
organizational structures, and organizational culture
 Explain why stakeholder management and top management
commitment are critical for a project’s success
 Distinguish between project and product life cycles
 Discuss the unique attributes and diverse nature of IT
projects
 Summarize recent trends affecting IT project management,
including globalization, outsourcing, virtual teams, and
agile project management

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Brainstorm discussion Question

 In today’s digital world, project

management increasingly relies on
technology. How do you think information
technology can improve decision-making in
projects?
 Can you think of an example where a
project’s success or failure was directly tied
to the use (or lack) of a specific IT tool or
system?
Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license
distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 A Systems View of Project
Management
 Projects must operate in a broad organizational
environment
 Project managers need to use systems thinking:
 Taking a holistic view of carrying out projects within the
context of the organization

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 What Is a Systems Approach?

 A systems approach emerged in the 1950s to describe a

holistic and analytical approach to management and
problem solving
 Three parts include:
 Systems philosophy: an overall model for thinking about
things as systems
 Systems analysis: problem-solving approach
 Systems management: address business, technological,
and organizational issues before making changes to
systems
(The Three-Sphere Model for Systems Management)

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
The Three-Sphere Model for Systems Management

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Advice for Young Professionals

• It’s difficult enough trying to understand the various technologies

an organization uses. How can you begin to understand the
business and organizational aspects?
• Make it a priority. Don’t just focus on the technology, no matter how
exciting it seems to you. Even if you take just a few minutes each day
learning about other aspects of the organization, that’s a start.
• Tell your boss or other people you work with that you want to understand
how the entire organization works. Ask important questions like how the
company makes money, who key customers are, what the priorities are
for the year, what meetings you can attend or documents you can read
to gain more knowledge, etc.
• Network, network, network! Find out which people inside or outside of
your organization can help you in developing a systems approach. You
might be surprised how quickly you can move up in your career once
you understand the big picture.

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Understanding Organizations

 Systems approach requires that project managers

always view their projects in the context of the larger
organization
 Organizational issues are often the most difficult part of
working on and managing projects
 Important for project managers to develop a better
understanding of people as well as organizations
 To improve the success rate of IT projects

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 The Four Frames of Organizations

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 What Went Wrong?

 In a paper titled “A Study in Project Failure,” two

researchers examined the success and failure of 214 IT
projects over an eight-year period in several European
countries
 The researchers found that only one in eight (12.5
percent) were considered successful in terms of
meeting scope, time, and cost goals
 The authors said that the culture within many
organizations is often to blame
 Among other things, people often do not discuss
important leadership, stakeholder, and risk
management issues
Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Organizational Structures (1 of 2)

 Three basic organizational structures

 Functional: functional managers report to the CEO
 Project: program managers report to the CEO
 Matrix: middle ground between functional and project
structures; personnel often report to two or more bosses;
structure can be weak, balanced, or strong matrix

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Organizational Structures (2 of 2)

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Organizational Culture (1 of 2)

 Organizational culture is a set of shared assumptions,

values, and behaviors that characterize the functioning
of an organization
 Many experts believe the underlying causes of many
companies’ problems are not the structure or staff, but
the culture

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Organizational Culture (2 of 2)
 Ten characteristics of organizational culture:
 Member identity*
 Group emphasis*
 People focus
 Unit integration*
 Control
 Risk tolerance*
 Reward criteria*
 Conflict tolerance*
 Means-ends orientation
 Open-systems focus*

 *Project work is most successful in an organizational culture where these items are
strong/high and other items are balanced.

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Focusing on Stakeholder
Needs
 Project managers must take time to identify,
understand, and manage relationships with all project
stakeholders
 Using the four frames of organizations can help meet
stakeholder needs and expectations
 Senior executives/top management are very important
stakeholders
 See Chapter 13, Project Stakeholder Management, for
more information

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Media Snapshot

 Prior to the 2014 football season, Microsoft paid the NFL

$400 million as part of a five-year deal to use their
Surface as “the official tablet of the NFL”
 All 32 NFL teams were involved, and the deal was
renewed for a sixth year in 2017
 Smooth transition?
 During week one of the season at least two television
announcers mistakenly referred to the tablets as iPads,
giving Apple unexpected exposure
 Microsoft also had to defend the use of tablets after the
New England Patriots stopped using them

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 The Importance of Top Management Commitment (1 of 2)

 People in top management positions are key

stakeholders in projects
 A very important factor in helping project managers
successfully lead projects is the level of commitment
and support they receive from top management
 Without top management commitment, many projects
will fail.
 Some projects have a senior manager called a champion
who acts as a key proponent for a project.

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 The Importance of Top Management Commitment (2 of 2)

 How top management can help project managers

 Providing adequate resources
 Approving unique project needs in a timely manner
 Getting cooperation from other parts of the organization
 Mentoring and coaching on leadership issues

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Best Practice

 IT governance addresses the authority and control for

key IT activities in organizations, including IT
infrastructure, IT use, and project management
 A lack of IT governance can be dangerous, as evidenced
by three well-publicized IT project failures in Australia
 Sydney Water’s customer relationship management system
 The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology’s academic
management system
 One.Tel’s billing system

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 The Need for Organizational
Commitment to Information Technology
 If the organization has a negative attitude toward IT, it
will be difficult for an IT project to succeed
 Having a Chief Information Officer (CIO) at a high level
in the organization helps IT projects
 Assigning non-IT people to IT projects also encourage
more commitment

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 The Need for Organizational Standards

 Standards and guidelines help project managers be

more effective
 Senior management can encourage
 the use of standard forms and software for project
management
 the development and use of guidelines for writing project
plans or providing status information
 the creation of a project management office or center of
excellence

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Project and Product Life Cycles

 It is good practice to divide projects into several phases

 Because projects operate as part of a system and involve
uncertainty
 The same can be said for developing products

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Project Life Cycle (1 of 2)

 A project life cycle is a collection of project phases that

defines
 what work will be performed in each phase
 what deliverables will be produced and when
 who is involved in each phase, and
 how management will control and approve work produced
in each phase
 A deliverable is a product or service produced or
provided as part of a project

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Project Life Cycle (2 of 2)

 In early phases of a project life cycle

 resource needs are usually lowest
 the level of uncertainty (risk) is highest
 project stakeholders have the greatest opportunity to
influence the project
 In middle phases of a project life cycle
 the certainty of completing a project improves
 more resources are needed
 The final phase of a project life cycle focuses on
 ensuring that project requirements were met
 the sponsor approves completion of the project

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Product Life Cycles (1 of 3)

 Products also have life cycles

 The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a
framework for describing the phases of developing
information systems
 Systems development projects can follow
 Predictive life cycle
 Iterative life cycle
 Incremental life cycle
 Adaptive life cycle
 Hybrid life cycle

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Each of these life cycle models offers distinct advantages and is suitable for different types of projects
depending on factors like flexibility, customer involvement, and the nature of the project
requirements.
 Product Life Cycles (2 of 3)

 Predictive Life Cycle Models

 Waterfall model: has well-defined, linear stages of systems
development and support
 Spiral model: shows that software is developed using an
iterative or spiral approach rather than a linear approach
 Prototyping model: used for developing prototypes to
clarify user requirements
 Rapid Application Development (RAD) model: used to
produce systems quickly without sacrificing quality

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Product Life Cycles (3 of 3)

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 The Importance of Project Phases
and Management Reviews

 A project should successfully pass through each of the

project phases in order to continue on to the next
 Management reviews, also called phase exits, phase
gate reviews, or kill points, should occur after each
phase to evaluate the project’s progress, likely success,
and continued compatibility with organizational goals
 It is unwise to wait until the end of project or product
phases to have management inputs
 Many projects are reviewed by management on a regular
basis

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 What Went Right?

 "The real improvement that I saw was in our ability toin the
words of Thomas Edisonknow when to stop beating a dead
horse.…Edison's key to success was that he failed fairly often; but
as he said, he could recognize a dead horse before it started to
smell...In information technology we ride dead horsesfailing
projectsa long time before we give up. But what we are seeing
now is that we are able to get off them; able to reduce cost
overrun and time overrun. That's where the major impact came on
the success rate.”*
 Many organizations, like Huntington Bancshares, Inc., use an
executive steering committee to help keep projects on track.
 Some projects still go on a long time before being killed, like
Blizzard’s Titan game project.

 *Cabanis, Jeannette, "'A Major Impact': The Standish Group's Jim

Johnson On Project Management and IT Project Success," PM
Network, PMI, Sep.1998, p. 7

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 The Context of Information Technology Projects

 Project context
 Has a critical impact on which product development life
cycle will be most effective for a particular software
development project
 Several issues unique to the IT industry have a critical
impact on managing IT projects

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 The Nature of IT Projects

 IT projects can be very diverse in terms of size,

complexity, products produced, application area, and
resource requirements
 The nature of software development projects is even
more diverse than hardware-oriented projects
 IT projects also support every possible industry and
business function

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Characteristics of IT Project
Team Members
 IT project team members often have diverse
backgrounds and skill sets
 Many companies purposely hire graduates with degrees
in other fields such as business, mathematics, or the
liberal arts to provide different perspectives on IT
projects
 Some IT projects require the skills of people in just a
few job functions
 But some require inputs from many or all of them

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Diverse Technologies

 IT projects use diverse technologies that change rapidly

 Differences in technical knowledge can make
communication between professionals challenging
 New technologies have also shortened the time frame
many businesses have to develop, produce, and
distribute new products and services

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Recent Trends Affecting
Information Technology Project
Management
 Globalization
 Outsourcing: Outsourcing is when an organization
acquires goods and/or sources from an outside source.
Offshoring is sometimes used to describe outsourcing
from another country
 Virtual teams: A virtual team is a group of individuals
who work across time and space using communication
technologies
 Agile project management

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Globalization

 Issues
 Communications
 Trust
 Common work practices
 Tools
 Suggestions
 Employ greater project discipline
 Think globally but act locally
 Consider collaboration over standardization
 Keep project momentum going
 Use newer tools and technology
Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Outsourcing

 Organizations remain competitive by using outsourcing

to their advantage, such as finding ways to reduce costs
 Practice can be unpopular on some countries
 Project managers should become more familiar with
many global and procurement issues

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Virtual Teams (1 of 2)

 Advantages
 Lowering costs because many virtual workers do not
require office space or support beyond their home offices
 Providing more expertise and flexibility or increasing
competitiveness and responsiveness by having team
members from across the globe working any time of day or
night
 Improving the work/life balance for team members by
eliminating fixed office hours and the need to travel to
work

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Virtual Teams (2 of 2)

 Disadvantages
 Isolating team members
 Increasing the potential for communications problems
 Reducing the ability for team members to network and
transfer information informally
 Increasing the dependence on technology to accomplish
work
 See text for a list of factors that help virtual teams
succeed, including team processes, trust/relationships,
leadership style, and team member selection

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Agile (1 of 2)

 Agile means being able to move quickly and easily, but

some people feel that project management, as they
have seen it used, does not allow people to work
quickly or easily
 Early software development projects often used a
waterfall approach
 As technology and businesses became more complex, the
approach was often difficult to use because requirements
were unknown or continuously changing
 Agile today means using an approach where
requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Agile (2 of 2)

 Manifesto for Agile Software Development

 In February 2001, a group of 17 people that called itself the Agile
Alliance developed and agreed on the Manifesto for Agile Software
Development, as follows:
 “We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it
and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
 Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
 Working software over comprehensive documentation
 Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
 Responding to change over following a plan”*

 *Agile Manifesto.

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Scrum (1 of 4)

 According to the Scrum Alliance, Scrum is the leading

agile development method for completing projects with
a complex, innovative scope of work.
 The term was coined in 1986 in a Harvard Business
Review study that compared high-performing, cross-
functional teams to the scrum formation used by rugby
teams.

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Scrum (2 of 4)

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Scrum (3 of 4)

 Kanban
 Technique that can be used in conjunction with Scrum
 Developed in Japan by Toyota Motor Corporation
 Uses visual cues to guide workflow
 Kanban cards show new work, work in progress, and work
completed

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Scrum (4 of 4)

 The PMBOK® Guide describes best practices for what

should be done to manage projects.
 Agile is a methodology that describes how to manage
projects.
 The Project Management Institute (PMI) recognized the
increased interest in Agile, and introduced a new
certification in 2011 called Agile Certified Practitioner
(ACP).
 Seasoned project managers understand that they have
always had the option of customizing how they run
projects, but that project management is not easy, even
when using Agile.
Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Chapter Summary
 Project managers need to take a systems approach when working
on projects
 Organizations have four different frames: structural, human
resources, political, and symbolic
 The structure and culture of an organization have strong
implications for project managers
 Projects should successfully pass through each phase of the
project life cycle
 Project managers need to consider several factors due to the
unique context of information technology projects
 Recent trends affecting IT project management include
globalization, outsourcing, virtual teams, and agile project
management

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain
product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Next lesson

 The Project Management and process

groups

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected
website for classroom use.
Any
Questions?

END