I T P r o j e c t M a n a g e m e n t :
T h i r d E d i t i o n
Student Manual
IT Project Management: Third Edition
VP and GM of Courseware: Michael SpringerSeries Product Managers: Caryl Bahner-Guhin, Charles G. Blum, and Adam A. Wilcox Series Designer: Adam A. Wilcox
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Introduction
Topic A:
About the manual
Topic B:
Setting your expectations Topic C:
Reviewing the course
Project management: context and processes
Topic A:Introduction to project management Topic B:
The project management profession Topic C:
The project management context Topic D:
An organizational view
Unit summary:
Project management: context and processes
Integration management
Topic A:
Project integration management Topic B:
Plan execution and change control Unit summary:
Integration management
Scope management
Topic A:Project initiation
Topic B:
Scope planning and scope statement
Topic C:
Scope verification and scope change control Unit summary:
Scope management
Time management
Topic A:
Schedules and activities Topic B:
Schedule development
Topic C:
Controlling changes to the project schedule Unit summary:
Time management
Cost management
Topic A:
Components and principles of cost management Topic B:
Resource planning
Topic C:
Cost estimating Topic D:
Cost budgeting Topic E:
Cost control
Unit summary:
Cost management
Quality management
Topic A:Quality planning Topic B:
Quality assurance Topic C:
Quality control
Unit summary:
Quality management
Human resource management
Topic A:Organizational fundamentals Topic B:
Staff acquisition
Topic C:
Team development
Topic D:
Using software to assist in human resource management Unit summary:
Human resource management
Communications management
Topic A:Communications planning Topic B:
Performance reporting
Unit summary:
Communications management
Topic A:
Risk management planning Topic B:
Risk identification
Topic C:
Qualitative risk analysis Topic D:
Quantitative risk analysis Topic E:
Risk response planning Topic F:
Risk monitoring and control Unit summary:
Risk management
Procurement management
Topic A:
Procurement planning and solicitation Topic B:
Source selection and contract management Unit summary:
Procurement management
Initiating, planning, and executing projects
Topic A:Initiation
Topic B:
Planning Topic C:
Execution
Unit summary:
Initiating, planning, and executing projects
Controlling and closing projects
Topic A:Control
Topic B:
Closure
Unit summary:
Controlling and closing projects
Suggested readings
Topic A:
Suggested readings
Course summary
Topic A:
Course summary
Topic B:
Continued learning after class
Glossary
Index
I T P r o j e c t M a n a g e m e n t :
T h i r d E d i t i o n
Introduction
After reading this introduction, you will know how to:
AUse Course Technology ILT manuals in general.
B
Use course objectives to properly set your expectations for
the course.
Topic A: About the manual
Course Technology ILT philosophy
We believe strongly in the instructor-led classroom. During class, focus on your instructor. Our manuals are designed and written to facilitate your interaction with your instructor, and not to call attention to manuals themselves.
We believe in the basic approach of setting expectations, delivering instruction, and providing summary and review afterwards. For this reason, lessons begin with objectives and end with summaries. We also provide overall course objectives and a course summary to provide both an introduction to and closure on the entire course.
Manual components
The manuals contain these major components: · Table of contents
· Introduction · Units
· Appendices (optional) · Course summary
· Quick reference (optional) · Glossary (optional) · Index
Each element is described below.
Table of contents
The table of contents acts as a learning roadmap.
Introduction
The introduction contains information about our training philosophy and our manual components, features, and conventions. It contains objective and setup information for the specific course.
Units
Units are the largest structural component of the course content. A unit begins with a title page that lists objectives for each major subdivision, or topic, within the unit. Within each topic, conceptual and explanatory information alternates with activities, which can be hands-on, question-and-answer, or a combination of both. Units conclude with a summary comprising one paragraph for each topic, and an independent practice activity or review questions section to help you reinforce the concepts and skills that you’ve learned.
The conceptual information takes the form of text paragraphs, exhibits, lists, and tables. The activities are structured in one or two columns. In two-column activities, the left column tells you what to do, while the right column provides explanations, descriptions, and graphics.
Appendices
An appendix is similar to a unit in that it contains objectives and conceptual explanations. However, an appendix does not include activities, a summary, an independent practice activity, or review questions.
Course summary
This section provides a text summary of the entire course. It is useful for providing closure at the end of the course. The course summary also indicates the next course in this series, if there is one, and lists additional resources you might find useful.
Quick reference
In computer software courses, the quick reference is an at-a-glance job aid summarizing some of the more common features of the software.
Glossary
The glossary provides definitions for all of the key terms used in this course.
Index
The index at the end of this manual makes it easy for you to find information about a particular software component, feature, or concept.
Manual conventions
We’ve tried to keep the number of elements and the types of formatting to a minimum in the manuals. We think this aids in clarity and makes the manuals more classically elegant looking. But there are some conventions and icons you should know about.
Convention
Description
Italic text In conceptual text, indicates a new term or feature. Bold text In unit summaries, indicates a key term or concept. In an
independent practice activity, indicates an explicit item that you select, choose, or type.
Code font Indicates code or syntax. Longer strings of ?
code will look ? like this.
In the hands-on activities, any code that’s too long to fit on a single line is divided into segments by one or more
continuation characters (?). This code should be entered as a continuous string of text.
Select bold item In the left column of hands-on activities, bold sans-serif text indicates an explicit item that you select, choose, or type. Keycaps like e Indicate a key on the keyboard you must press.
Activities
The activities are the most important parts of our manuals. Depending on the subject matter, an activity can have a one-column or two-column format.
Two-column format
In a typical two-column activity, the “Here’s how” column gives short instructions to you about what to do. The “Here’s why” column provides explanations, graphics, and clarifications. Here’s a sample: Do it!
A-1: Creating a commission formula
Here’s how
Here’s why
1 Open Sales This is an oversimplified sales compensation worksheet. It shows sales totals, commissions, and incentives for five sales reps.
2 Observe the contents of cell F4 The commission rate formulas use the name “C_Rate” instead of a value for the commission rate.
For these activities, we have provided a collection of data files designed to help you learn each skill in a real-world business context. As you work through the activities, you will modify and update
these files. Of course, you might make a mistake and, therefore, want to re-key the activity starting from scratch. To make it easy to start over, you will rename each data file at the end of the first activity in which the file is modified. Our convention for renaming files is to add the word “My” to the beginning of the file name. In the above activity, for example, a file called “Sales” is being used for the first time. At the end of this activity, you would save the file as “My sales,” thus leaving the “Sales” file unchanged. If you make a mistake, you can start over using the original “Sales” file. In some activities, however, it may not be practical to rename the data file. If you want to retry one of these activities, ask your instructor for a fresh copy of the original data file.
One-column format
The one-column format is typically used for question-and-answer activities. Here’s a sample: Do it!
A-2: Examining the elements of organizational structure
Questions and answers
1 Which of the following refers to the grouping of employees? A Staff division
B Centralization C Standardization D The extent of control
2 What are the advantages of having a wider extent of control?
Topic B: Setting your expectations
Properly setting your expectations is essential to your success. This topic will help you do that by providing a list of the objectives for the course.
Course objectives
These overall course objectives will give you an idea about what to expect from the course. It is also possible that they will help you see that this course is not the right one for you. If you think you either lack the prerequisite knowledge or already know most of the subject matter to be covered, you should let your instructor know that you think you are misplaced in the class.
After completing this course, you will know how to:
· Identify the elements of a project and project management framework, discuss project management as a profession, discuss and apply a systems approach to project management and project phases, and identify how organizational structures influence projects.
· Identify and discuss the processes involved in developing a project plan and discuss plan execution and change control.
· Identify the key elements of project scope management and tools for strategic planning and project selection during project initiation, identify the key elements of scope planning and a scope statement, and discuss scope verification and change control as they relate to project scope management.
· Define schedules and activities, identify activity sequencing, and discuss activity duration estimation, discuss schedule development with the help of Gantt charts, PERT, critical path analysis, and critical chain scheduling, and identify how to control changes to a project schedule and use software to manage time.
· Identify the components and principles of cost management, discuss the elements of resource planning, discuss cost estimation and identify the techniques used for it, discuss cost
budgeting and identify the techniques used it, and discuss cost control using EVA.
· Explain the processes of project quality management and describe quality planning, discuss quality assurance and its importance, and discuss quality control and identify the tools and techniques to implement it.
· Define the elements of organizational planning, discuss staff acquisition and explain how to negotiate successfully, discuss the development of successful teams and how to motivate them, and use software to assist in human resource management.
· Identify the key aspects of project communications planning and evaluate and measure the performance of a project.
· Discuss and classify project risks, identify risks and explain the use of risk identification tools, define and discuss qualitative risk analysis, discuss the steps involved in quantitative risk analysis, discuss risk response planning, and describe how to monitor and control risks. · Describe procurement planning, identify the tools and techniques used for procurement
planning, and describe solicitation planning and perform source selection, identify types of contracts, and describe contract administration and close-out.
· Discuss the early stages of the Northwest Airlines’ ResNet project in terms of project initiation, discuss planning a project and its application to the ResNet project, and discuss project execution and procurement of necessary resources.
· Discuss the ResNet project in terms of project control and describe project closure and explain the lessons learned from the ResNet project.
Topic C: Reviewing the course
This section explains what you’ll need to do in order to be able to review this course after class.
Setup instructions for reviewing the course
If you would like to use the PowerPoint presentations for this course, you will need to perform the following steps:
1 Download the PowerPoint presentations for the course to your computer. a Connect to www.courseilt.com/instructor_tools.html.
b Click the link for IT Project Management to display a page of course listings, and then click the link for Course ILT: IT Project Management, 3rd Edition.
c Click the link for downloading the PowerPoint files, and follow the instructions that appear on your screen.
U n i t 1
Project management: context and processes
Unit time: 90 Minutes
A
Identify the elements of a project and project management
framework.
B
Discuss project management as a profession.
CDiscuss and apply a systems approach to project
management and project phases.
D Identify how organizational structures influence projects.
Topic A: Introduction to project management
Explanation There has been renewed interest in project management. Until the 1980s, project management focused primarily on providing schedule and resource data to senior managers. This process of tracking a few key project parameters is still an important element, but project management now involves much more than what was believed originally. In the late 1990s, business environments became more complex than those of earlier decades. Today, new technologies have become a significant contributor to many businesses. Computer hardware, software, and networks and the use of interdisciplinary and global work teams have radically changed the work environment. These changes fueled the need for sophisticated and improved project management. Today’s corporations recognize the need to understand and use modern project management techniques to be successful. Many organizations claim that using project management techniques provides them benefits such as:
· Improved control of financial, physical, and human resources · Improved customer relations
· Shorter development time · Low costs
· High quality products and increased reliability · High profit margins
· Improved productivity
· Improved internal coordination · High worker morale
Project
Before we discuss project management, it is important that we first understand the meaning of the term project. A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to
accomplish a unique purpose. Projects normally involve several human resources from various areas performing interrelated activities. The project’s main sponsor is often interested in the effective use of resources to complete the project in an efficient and timely manner. The attributes described in the following table help to further define a project.
Project attribute
Description
Unique purpose Every project has a well-defined objective—a unique product, service, or result.
Temporary A project has a definite beginning and end. Require resources from
various areas
Resources include people, hardware, software, or other assets. Many projects are executed across departmental or
an IT collaboration project, human resources from technology, marketing, sales, distribution, and other areas of the company need to work together to ensure successful completion of the project. The project might also hire external consultants— product vendors and consulting companies—to provide input. Has a primary sponsor or
a customer
Most projects involve many interested parties, and a key sponsor. The project sponsor usually provides the direction and funding for the project. For example, if a project was initiated to provide direct product sales via the Internet, the head of sales might be the project sponsor. If a company needs to undertake several projects related to Internet technologies, then it might form a program. A program is a group of projects managed in a coordinated way. A program director provides leadership for these projects, and the sponsors might belong to several different business areas.
Uncertainty Because every project is unique, it is sometimes difficult to clearly define the project’s objectives, the duration of the project, or the cost. This uncertainty is one of the main reasons why project management is challenging, especially when projects involve new technologies.
Project managers
A project manager is the key to a project’s success. Project managers work with the project sponsors, the project team, and others involved in a project to ensure successful completion of the project.
Project constraints
Every project is constrained in different ways by its scope, time goals, and cost goals. These limitations are, sometimes, referred to in project management as the triple constraint. To create a successful project, scope, time, and cost must all be taken into consideration, and the project manager must balance these three constraints. To balance these, a project manager must consider the following issues:
· Scope. What is the project goal? Which unique product or service does the customer or sponsor expect from the project?
· Time. How long will it take to complete the project? What is the project’s schedule?
· Cost. What is the cost involved in completing the project?
Each area—scope, time, and cost—has a target at the beginning of a project. For example, an IT collaboration project might have an initial scope of producing a 50-page report and a 1-hour presentation on 30 different potential IT projects. The project scope might be further defined by providing a description of each potential project, an analysis of what other companies have
implemented for similar projects, a time and cost estimate, and assessments of the risk and potential payoff as high, medium, or low. The initial time estimate for this project might be 1 month, and the cost estimate might be $50,000. These expectations provide targets for the scope, time, and cost dimensions of the project.
Managing the triple constraint involves making trade-offs between scope, time, and cost goals. Because of the uncertain nature of projects and competition for resources, it’s rare that the scope, time, and cost plans will remain constant as originally predicted. The project’s sponsor, team members, or other interested parties might differ in their views of the project as it progresses. For instance, suppose the CEO has learned about the project and wants the project team to come up with at least 40 potential projects instead of 30. Should the project team try to accomplish this increase in scope without changing the cost and schedule goals? To make important decisions about scope, time, and cost goals, the project manager must negotiate with the project team and sponsor.
Although the triple constraint describes how the basic elements of a project—scope, time, and cost— are interrelated, other elements can also play significant roles. Quality is often a key factor in projects
as is customer or sponsor satisfaction. Some refer to the “quadruple” constraint of project management, including quality along with scope, time, and cost. Others believe that quality considerations, including customer satisfaction, must be inherent in setting a project’s scope, time, and cost goals.
How can you avoid the problems that occur when you meet scope, time, and cost goals, but do not ensure quality or meet customer requirements? The answer is good project management.
Do it!
A-1: Discussing projects
Questions and answers
1 What is a project?2 How is working on a project different from what most people do in their day-to-day jobs?
3 Give three examples each of activities that are projects and not projects.
4 Explain in your own words what the term “triple constraint” means.
5 Give an example of the triple constraint on a real project with which you are familiar.
Managing projects
Explanation Project management is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet project requirements.”1 Project managers strive to meet specific scope, time, cost, and quality goals of projects, and facilitate the entire process to meet the needs and expectations of the people involved or affected by the project’s activities.
Exhibit 1-1 provides a framework in which to understand project management. Key elements of this framework include the project stakeholders, project management knowledge areas, and project management tools and techniques.
Exhibit 1-1: Project management framework
project sponsor, project team, support staff, customers, users, suppliers, and even opponents of the project. People’s needs and expectations are important throughout the execution of a project. Successful project managers work on developing good
relationships with project stakeholders to ensure that the stakeholders’ needs and expectations are understood and met.
Knowledge areas describe the key competencies project managers must develop. The center of Exhibit 1-1 shows the nine knowledge areas of project management. These knowledge areas lead to specific project objectives:
· Scope management involves defining and managing the work required to successfully complete the project.
· Time management includes estimating how long it will take to complete the work, developing an acceptable project schedule, and ensuring timely completion of the project.
· Cost management consists of preparing and managing the project’s budget.
· Quality management ensures that the project will meet the stated or implied needs for which it was undertaken.
· Human resource management refers to making effective use of the resources hired for the project.
· Communications management involves generating, collecting, disseminating, and storing project information.
· Risk management includes identifying, analyzing, and responding to risks related to the project.
· Procurement management involves acquiring or procuring from outside the performing organization the goods and services needed for the project.
Project integration management, the ninth knowledge area, ensures that all project elements are properly coordinated so that project goals are achieved. This function affects and is affected by the other knowledge areas and includes making tradeoffs between competing or conflicting objectives. Project managers must have knowledge and skills in the nine areas.
Despite the advantages that project management offers, it might not guarantee success on all projects. Rather, it’s a very broad, often complex discipline. What works on one project might not work on another; therefore, it’s essential for project managers to continue to develop their knowledge and skills. The unique nature of projects and the challenges involved in managing them helps project managers hone their management skills.
Project management tools and techniques assist project managers and their teams in carrying out scope, time, cost, and quality management. Additional tools help project managers and teams carry out human resource, communications, risk, procurement, and integration management. For example, some popular time management tools and techniques include Gantt charts, network diagrams (sometimes referred to as PERT charts), and critical path analysis. Project management software is a tool that can facilitate management processes in all knowledge areas.
How project management relates to other disciplines
Much of the knowledge required to manage projects is unique to project management. However, to work effectively with specific industry groups and technologies, project managers must also gain knowledge and experience in general management and understand the project’s application areas. For example, project managers must understand general management areas, such as organizational behavior, financial analysis, and planning techniques. If a project involves sales force automation, the project manager needs to understand the sales process, sales automation software, and mobile
computing.
Exhibit 1-2 shows the relationships between project management, general management, and application areas.
Although being a project manager requires knowledge and experience in general management areas, the role of a project manager differs from the role of a corporate manager or an executive. What distinguishes project management from general or operations management is the nature of the projects. Because projects are unique and temporary, project managers must focus on integrating all the various activities required to complete the project successfully on time and within budget. In contrast, most tasks performed by a general manager or an operations manager are repetitive and ongoing day-to-day activities of an organization and do not require skills to balance scope, time, and cost factors.
General managers or operations managers also focus on a particular discipline or functional area. For example, a manager of an accounting department focuses on the discipline of accounting. If a project manager needs to manage an IT project for the accounting department, then he or she requires understanding of accounting as well as IT. However, the project manager’s main job would be to manage the project, not to perform accounting or IT functions.
Project management also requires knowledge of the particular industry or domain of the project. For example, this course focuses on IT projects—projects that involve computer hardware, computer software, and telecommunications technology. For a person with little or no knowledge in IT, it might be a challenge to manage a large IT project. Such a project manager might face problems while working with other managers and suppliers as well as with team members who have sound technical expertise in the required IT domains. New project managers will need to balance their time between acquiring IT knowledge and learning to become better project managers.
History of project management
It might be argued that the building of the Egyptian pyramids or the Great Wall of China can be considered examples of project management. However, most believe that the modern concept of project management began with the Manhattan Project, which the U.S. military led to develop the atomic bomb.
In fact, the military was the key industry behind the development of several project management techniques. In 1917, Henry Gantt developed the famous Gantt chart as a tool for scheduling work in job shops. Managers drew charts by hand to show tasks to be performed against a calendar timeline. This tool provided a standard format for planning and reviewing the work required for the completion of early military projects.
Today’s project managers still use the Gantt chart as the primary tool to communicate project schedule information but, with the aid of computers, they no longer need to draw charts manually. Exhibit 1-3 displays a Gantt chart for a building construction project. This version of the chart was created with Microsoft Project, the most widely used project management software on the market. Note that a Gantt chart illustrates, in a calendar format, the tasks that need to be done and the time, or duration, needed to perform these tasks. A Gantt chart can also display the actual time taken to complete tasks, which helps project managers measure performance.
Exhibit 1-3: Sample Gantt chart in Microsoft Project
Another type of graphical project representation is a network diagram. Network diagrams display a project as a flowchart. These diagrams help managers model the relationships among project tasks, which allow them to create realistic schedules.
Network diagrams were first used in 1958 for the Navy Polaris missile and submarine project. Exhibit 1-4 displays a network diagram created using Microsoft Project. Note that the diagram includes arrows that show the related tasks and the sequence in which tasks must be performed. The concept of determining relationships among tasks is key to improving project scheduling. This concept allows you to find and monitor the critical path—the series of tasks that dictates the completion date for the project.
Exhibit 1-4: Sample Network Diagram
management software products were very expensive and ran on mainframe computers. For example, Artemis was an early project management software product that helped managers analyze complex schedules for designing aircraft. A full-time person was often required to run the complicated software and expensive pen plotters were used to draw network diagrams and Gantt charts. As computer hardware developed, and software became user-friendly, project management software became less expensive, easier to use, and more popular. Today, many different industries use project management software on all types and sizes of projects. New software makes basic tools, such as Gantt charts and network diagrams, inexpensive, easy to create, and available for update.
In the latter part of the 20th century, people in every industry began to investigate and apply different aspects of project management to their projects. The sophistication and effectiveness with which project management tools are being applied and used today is influencing the way companies
conduct business, use resources, and respond to market requirements. The job title “project manager” can describe the role leading the construction of a new sports arena, planning a fund-raiser for a charitable organization, or managing the development of an electronic commerce application. All these examples illustrate one key point: no matter what industry, you need to understand and resolve problems if you are to be a project manager. A project manager’s real challenge is to understand the concepts of project management and determine the tools and techniques to be applied on specific projects.
Do it!
A-2: Discussing project management
Questions and answers
1 What are the key elements of the project management framework?
2 What are the knowledge areas required for project management?
3 How does project management differ from general management?
4 Why do you think so many IT projects are unsuccessful?
Topic B: The project management profession
Explanation As the year 2000 approached, there was unprecedented demand for other types of IT projects, such as projects meant to exploit Web-based applications, take advantage of fast telecommunication
technologies, and establish data warehousing capabilities. Experiencing the results of these demands, many companies adopted a far more rigorous approach to project management to improve the success rate of IT projects. A 2003 ComputerWorld article states that since 2000, money has gone elsewhere, leading to a lack of in-house IT project management skills.2 Consequently, there is an increasing need for people to learn more about IT and the skills and expertise required to be project managers of IT projects.
Project management careers
Most IT projects require human resources to work in various roles, and the key role is that of a project manager. Some project managers might start working in that role very early in their careers, but the general understanding is that to be a project manager, an aspirant requires several years of
experience and vast technical knowledge. Although this might be true for project managers required to handle large, complex, and expensive projects, many IT projects are led by not-so-experienced project managers.
There is a demand for efficient and competent project managers. The Project Management Institute (PMI), an international professional society for project managers, continues its fast-paced growth. At the beginning of 2001, the organization included over 70,000 members worldwide. Presently, there are in excess of 100,000 PMI members, with many others joining PMI to pursue the PMP
certification Membership. Statistics from PMI indicate that the Computers/Software/DP and IT industries are the top two industry areas among PMI members, with about 15,000 and 12,000 members, respectively, in each industry category.3
In the 1990s, many companies began developing project offices to enhance project management expertise in their organizations and create a formal career path for project managers. Many colleges, universities, and firms now offer courses related to various aspects of project management. The problems in managing projects, the publicity about project management, and the belief that it is a key role that maximally impacts projects are all contributing to the growth of this field.
In 2004, with the threat of offshore outsourcing of jobs, good project management is critical. In the ComputerWorld article “It’s IT’s Turn,” the author suggests that while outsourcing is likely to continue, we’re now able to identify which projects do and don’t make sense to outsource.4 This, combined with a transition in company focus from simple cost-cutting to revenue growth, will keep many critical projects in-house.
Project management certification
Professional certification is an important factor in recognizing and ensuring quality in a profession. PMI provides certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP) to individuals who document sufficient project experience, follow the PMI code of ethics, and demonstrate knowledge about project management by scoring high in a
comprehensive examination. Foote Partners LLC, an IT workforce research company, assesses the skills and pay of more than 35,000 IT professionals in over 1,800 North American and European companies. In a 2003 survey, the company found that the PMP certification provides the best bonuses for IT professionals, averaging 15% of base pay.
The number of aspirants earning certification in project management continues to be on the rise. In 1993, there were only about 1,000 certified project management professionals, whereas, by the end of 2000, the number had grown to approximately 28,000. In Jan 2004, the number was 73,263 PMP-certified professionals throughout the world.
As IT projects become more complex and global in nature, the need for people with demonstrated knowledge and skills in project management will continue to grow. Just as passing the CPA exam is a standard for accountants, passing the PMP exam is becoming a standard for project managers. Some companies are requiring that all project managers be PMP certified. Project management certification is also enabling professionals in the field to share a common base of knowledge. For example, any PMP can list, describe, and use the nine project management knowledge areas. Sharing a common base of knowledge is important because it helps advance the theory and practice of project management.
International Data Corporation conducted a study in 1995 (on behalf of Drake Prometric, the IBM Corporation, Lotus Development Corporation, and Microsoft) to learn whether a company’s IT support function was more productive when the staff included a high percentage of professionally certified employees. Certification was defined as including technical expertise in products, such as NT or Lotus Notes, or broader certification in areas such as data processing or project management. The study found that companies supporting certification tended to operate in more complex IT environments and were more efficient than companies not supporting certification.
Code of ethics
Professional ethics constitute an important element of all professions. PMI developed a project management professional code of ethics that all project managers must sign in order to become certified project management professionals. PMI states that it is vital for all PMPs to conduct their work in an ethical manner. Doing so helps the profession earn the confidence of the customers,
employers, employees, and project team members. The following list is excerpted from the code of ethics for the project management profession.
As professionals in the field of project management, PMI members pledge to uphold and abide by the following:
· I will maintain high standards of integrity and professional conduct. · I will accept responsibility for my actions.
· I will continually seek to enhance my professional capabilities. · I will practice with fairness and honesty.
· I will encourage others in the profession to act in an ethical and professional manner.5
Do it!
B-1: Discussing project management careers and certification
Questions and answers
1 List some advantages of joining a group such as the Project Management Institute.
2 What is PMP certification?
3 What is the code of ethics to be followed by PMPs?
Project management software
Explanation The project management and software development communities responded to the need to provide additional software to assist in managing projects. ALLPM.COM, an Internet site that publishes project management information and resources for IT professionals, provides information on more than 100 products that can help manage projects.6 Deciding on the project management software to be used is an important decision. This section provides a brief summary of the basic types of project management software and includes references for finding more information.
Many project managers use basic productivity software, such as Microsoft Word or Excel, to perform project management functions, such as determining project scope, time, and cost, assigning resources, and preparing project documentation. Project managers often use this software instead of specialized project management software because they are familiar with the productivity software. However, hundreds of different project management software tools provide specific functionality for managing projects. These project management tools can be divided into three general categories based on their functionality and price.
· Low-end tool. These tools provide basic project management features and cost less than $200 per user. They are recommended for small projects and
single users. Most of these tools allow users to create Gantt charts, a task they cannot perform by using current productivity software. For example, Milestones Simplicity by KIDASA Software, Inc. has a Schedule Setup Wizard interface that describes simple steps to produce a Gantt chart. For $49 per user, this tool also includes a large assortment of symbols, flexible formatting, an outlining utility, and an Internet Publishing Wizard.7 Another product, called “How’s it going?” was written in Microsoft Access 97 by LogicAbility. For $145 per individual user, this tool includes an online guide and templates for many project management deliverables; reports for project tracking, status reporting, and budgeting; time reporting and resource
management features; and scheduling features for creating Gantt charts and performing critical path analysis.8
· Midrange tools. A step up from low-end tools, midrange tools are designed to handle large and multiple projects and multiple users. All these tools can create Gantt charts and network diagrams and can assist in critical path analysis, resource allocation, project tracking, and status reporting. Prices range from about $200 to $500 per user. Several of these tools require additional server software for using workgroup features. Microsoft Project is still the most popular project management software. Microsoft Project Server 2003, a companion product, facilitates collaboration and communication of project information over a corporate intranet. Also, Microsoft Office InfoPath allows you to initiate projects in Project Server 2003. Other companies that sell midrange project management tools include Artemis, PlanView, Primavera, RightWare™ Inc, Providence Systems, and Welcom.
· High-end tools. Another category of project management software includes high-end tools, sometimes referred to as enterprise project management software. These tools provide robust capabilities to handle very large projects, dispersed workgroups, and enterprise functions that summarize and combine individual project information to provide an enterprise view of all projects. These products are licensed on a per-user basis. One example, the Advanced
Management Solutions (AMS) product AMS REALTIME interfaces with midrange tools, such as Microsoft Project and Primavera Project Planner. It also offers a complete suite of
application programming interfaces (APIs) to enable integration with other business
information systems.9 Several companies that provide midrange tools, including Microsoft, are also starting to offer enterprise versions of their software.
Do it!
B-2: Discussing project management software
Questions and answers
1 Why do project managers prefer to use productivity software instead of specialized project management software?
2 On what basis are project management tools divided into various categories? What are these categories of tools?
3 Make a list of the tools that you use in your organization for project management.
Topic C: The project management context
Explanation Many theories and concepts of project management are easy to understand. However, it might be difficult to implement them in real-life projects. Project managers must consider many different components when managing projects. This topic discusses two of these components: using a systems approach and following a project life cycle.
A systems approach
Organizations cannot run projects in isolation. Therefore, projects must operate within a broad organizational environment, and project managers need to consider projects within this broad organizational context. To handle complex situations effectively, project managers need to take a holistic view of a project and understand how it impacts the larger organization. Taking this type of holistic view is called systems thinking.
The term systems approach emerged in the 1950s to describe a holistic and analytical approach to solving complex problems that includes using a systems philosophy, systems analysis, and systems management. A systems philosophy is an overall model for thinking about things as systems. Systems are sets of interacting components working within an environment to fulfill a purpose. For example, the human body is a system composed of many subsystems, such as the brain, the skeletal system, the circulatory system, and the digestive system. Systems analysis is a problem-solving approach that requires defining the scope of the system to be studied, dividing it into components, and identifying and evaluating its problems, opportunities, constraints, and needs. The analyst then examines alternative solutions for improving the current
situation, identifies an optimum (or at least satisfactory) solution or action plan, and examines the plan against the entire system. Systems management addresses the business, technological, and organizational issues associated with making a change to a system.
Using a systems approach is critical to successful project management. Senior managers and project managers must identify key business, technological, and organizational issues related to each project so that they can identify and satisfy key stakeholders and take actions in the best interest of the organization.
Many IT professionals become enamored with the technology and day-to-day problem solving approach while working on information systems. They tend to ignore important business issues, such as does it make financial sense to adopt this new technology or should the software be developed in-house or purchased off-the-shelf? Using a more holistic approach helps project managers integrate business and organizational issues into their planning. It also helps them look at projects as a series of interrelated phases. By adopting this approach, you can do a better job of ensuring project success.
Do it!
C-1: Discussing systems approach
Questions and answers
1 What does it mean to take a systems view? How does taking a systems view apply to project management?
2 In what way(s) is a systems approach to project management beneficial? Who does it benefit?
Project phases and the project life cycle
Explanation Because projects operate as part of a system and involve uncertainty, it is a good practice to divide projects into several phases. A project life cycle is a collection of project phases, which might vary with the project or industry, but some general phases include concept, development, implementation, and close-out. The first two phases (concept and development) focus on planning and are often referred to as project feasibility. The last two phases (implementation and close-out) focus on delivering the products and are often referred to as project acquisition. A project must successfully complete each phase before moving on to the next. This project life cycle approach provides better management control and appropriate links to the ongoing operations of the organization.
Exhibit 1-5 provides a summary framework for the general phases of the project life cycle. In the concept phase of a project, managers describe the project briefly—that is, they create a high-level or summary plan for the project, which describes the need for the project and basic underlying concepts. They also develop a preliminary cost estimate in this first phase and an overview of the work
involved. Project work is usually defined in a work breakdown structure (WBS)—an outcome-oriented document that defines the total scope of the project. At the end of the concept phase, a committee is able to deliver a report and presentation on its findings. The report and presentation are examples of a deliverable—a product created as part of a project.
Exhibit 1-5: Phases of the project life cycle
After the concept phase is completed, the development phase begins. In this phase, the project team creates a detailed project plan, an accurate cost estimate, and a thorough WBS. This phased approach minimizes the time and money spent performing irrelevant tasks. A project idea must pass the
concept phase before evolving during the development phase.
The third phase of the project life cycle is called implementation. In this phase, the project team delivers the required products, creates a definitive or relatively accurate cost estimate, and provides performance reports to stakeholders. The bulk of a project team’s efforts and most of the money allocated for the project are spent during the implementation phase.
The last phase of the project life cycle is called close-out. In the close-out phase, all the work is completed and the customer confirms acceptance of the entire project. The project team documents its experiences on the project in a lessons-learned report. The project team might also want to share these lessons learned with other project teams that might be considering a similar project.
Project life cycles
You learned about various project phases developed by organizations while working on a project. Collectively, the project phases are known as the Project Life Cycle (PLC). Some of the common characteristics of the PLC are as follows:
· Cost and staffing levels are low at the beginning, higher toward the end, and decrease rapidly as a project heads toward its conclusion.
· The probability of successful completion is the lowest, and therefore, risk and uncertainty are the highest at the beginning. This probability of successful completion of a project increases as the project gains momentum.
· The ability of stakeholders to influence the final characteristics and the final cost of a project is high at the start and low at the end of the PLC.
Most IT professionals are familiar with the concept of a Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC), which is a framework for describing the phases involved in developing and maintaining information systems. Common names for these general phases are information systems planning, analysis, design, implementation, and support. Some popular models of a systems development life cycle include the waterfall model, the spiral model, the incremental release model, the Rapid Application Development (RAD) model, and the prototyping model.
· The spiral model was developed based on experience with various refinements of the waterfall model as applied to large government software projects. It recognizes that most software is developed using an iterative or spiral approach rather than a linear approach. · The incremental release model provides for progressive development of operational software,
with each release providing added capabilities.
· The RAD model, used to produce systems quickly without compromising quality, includes four phases—requirements planning, user design, construction, and cutover. RAD tools are available to facilitate rapid prototyping and code generation.
· The prototyping model is used to develop software prototypes to clarify user requirements for operational software.
These models are examples of product life cycles, and most introductory management information systems texts describe each of them in detail. The type of software and complexity of the information system being developed determines the model in use. Exhibit 1-6 shows Boehm’s famous spiral model of software development.10 The spiral model illustrates how complex the process of developing an information system can be.
Exhibit 1-6: Spiral model of software development
It is important not to confuse the project life cycle with the product life cycle. The project life cycle applies to all projects, regardless of the products being created. On the other hand, product life cycle models vary considerably based on the nature of the product being developed.
Most large IT products are developed as a series of projects. For example, the systems planning phase for a new information system can include a project to hire an external consulting firm to help identify and evaluate potential strategies for developing a particular business application, such as a new order processing system or a general ledger system. It can also include a project to develop, administer, and evaluate a survey of users’ opinions on the current information systems used for performing a business function in the organization. The systems analysis phase might include a project to create process models for specific business functions in the organization. It can also include a project to create data models of existing databases, related to the business function and application, in the company. The implementation phase might include a project to hire contract programmers to code a part of the system. The support phase might include a project to develop and run several training sessions for users of the new application. All these examples show that large IT projects are usually composed of several small projects.
When developing information systems, project management is a cross-life cycle activity that is performed in all the product phases of developing information systems. Because project management needs to occur during all phases of the systems development life cycle, it is critical for IT
professionals to understand and practice good project management skills.
Just as a project has a life cycle, so too does a product. IT projects help produce products, such as new software, hardware, networks, research reports, and training material on new systems.
Understanding the product life cycle is just as important to good project management as understanding the phases of the project life cycle.
The importance of project phases and management reviews
Given the complexity and importance of many IT projects and their resulting products, it is important that project managers spend time reviewing the progress of these projects. A project should successfully pass through each project phase before
continuing to the next. A management review should occur after each phase to evaluate progress, probable success, and continued compatibility with organizational goals. These management reviews, called phase exits or kill points, are essential for running projects as planned and determining if they should be continued, redirected, or terminated. Recall that projects are just one part of the entire system of an
organization. Changes in other parts of the organization might affect projects, and that might in turn, affect other departments of the organization. By breaking projects into phases, senior managers can make sure that the projects are compatible with the goals of the company.
Do it!
C-2: Discussing project phases and project life cycles
Questions and answers
1 What are the four phases of the project life cycle?
2 What is the difference between a project life cycle and a product life cycle?
3 What is a PLC? What is the importance of this approach?
4 What are the benefits of a management review?
Project management process groups
Explanation Project management consists of nine knowledge areas: integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resource, communications, risk, and procurement. Another important concept related to project management is the five project management process groups: initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing. It is important to understand each project management process group and how the groups relate to the nine knowledge areas.
Project management is an integrated endeavor so that decisions and actions taken in one knowledge area at a specific time affect other knowledge areas. Managing these interactions often requires making trade-offs among the project objectives of scope, time, and cost—the triple constraint of project management. A project manager might also need to make trade-offs between knowledge areas, such as between risk and human resources. As a consequence, you can view project
management as a number of interlinked processes. A process is a series of actions directed toward achieving a particular result. Project management process groups progress from initiating processes to planning, executing, controlling, and closing processes.
Initiating processes include actions to begin or end projects and project phases. Several tasks must be performed to initiate a project in the concept phase. You need to define the business need for the project and ensure that the project has a sponsor and project manager. Initiating processes take place during each phase of a project. For example, project managers and teams should examine the business need for the project during every phase of the project life cycle to determine if the project must be continued as planned.
Planning processes include devising and maintaining a workable model to meet the business need for which the project was undertaken. Project plans are created to define each knowledge area as it relates to the project at that point in time. For example, plans must be developed to define the scope of the project, the schedule for various project activities, the key team members responsible, the approximate costs, and the resources to be procured. To account for changing conditions on the project and in the organization, project teams often need to revise plans during each phase of the project life cycle.
Executing processes include coordinating between team members and other resources to carry out the project plans and develop the products or deliverables. Examples of executing processes include developing the project team, providing leadership, assuring project quality, disseminating information, procuring necessary resources, and delivering the work.
Controlling processes ensure that project objectives are met. The project manager and team member monitor and measure progress against plans and take corrective action, when required. A common controlling process is to conduct performance and status reviews. If changes are necessary, project
managers must identify, analyze, and manage the changes.
Closing processes include formalizing acceptance of the phase or project and bringing it to an end. Administrative activities are involved, such as archiving project files, documenting knowledge acquired, and receiving formal acceptance of work delivered as part of the phase or project.
Exhibit 1-7 shows the project management process groups and their inter-relationships in terms of typical level of activity, time frame, and overlap. Notice that the process groups are not discrete, one-time events. They occur at varying levels of intensity throughout each phase of a project. The level of activity and time and the length of each process group vary for every project. The executing
processes require the maximum resources and the largest amount of time, followed by planning. The initiating and closing processes are the shortest and require the least amount of resources and time. However, every project is unique, so there can be exceptions.
Exhibit 1-7: Overlap of process groups in a phase (source: PMBOK Guide, 2000, 31)
Each of the five project management process groups is characterized by the completion of specific tasks. During initiating processes for a new project, the organization recognizes that a new project exists. This is accomplished by completing a stakeholder analysis, requirements document, and feasibility study. These reports outline a project’s potential supporters and opponents, its definition, and its high-level goals, scope, deliverables, deadlines, and resources. The main outcome of the initiating process at the beginning phase is the creation of a project charter and the selection of a project manager.
Key outcome of the planning process includes completion of a work breakdown structure, project schedule, and project budget. Planning is especially important for IT projects. If you have worked on a large IT project involving new technology, you would know the saying “A dollar spent up front in planning is worth 100 dollars spent after the system is implemented.”
The executing process involves taking the actions necessary to ensure that the work described in the planning activities will be completed. The main outcome of this process is the delivery of the product of the project. For example, if an IT project involves providing new hardware, software, and training, the executing processes include leading the project team and other stakeholders to purchase the hardware, develop and test the software, and deliver and participate in training. This process group overlaps with all the other process groups and requires the maximum resources to be accomplished.
Controlling is the process of measuring progress towards the project objectives, monitoring deviation from the plan, and taking corrective action to match progress with the plan. The outcome of
controlling is a completed project that successfully delivers the agreed upon project scope within time, cost, and quality constraints. If changes need to be made to project objectives or plans, controlling processes ensure that they help meet stakeholder needs and expectations. Controlling processes overlap all the other process groups because changes can be made at any time.
During the closing processes, the project team works to gain acceptance of the end product and bring the phase or project to an end. Key outcomes include formal acceptance of the work and creation of closing documents, such as a project audit and a lessons-learned report.
You can map the main activities of each project management process group, which apply to an entire project or a phase of a project, into the nine project management knowledge areas. The following table provides a big picture of the relationships among the 39 project management activities, the time in which they are completed, and their corresponding knowledge areas. The activities listed in the table are the main processes for each knowledge area listed in the PMBOK Guide 2000. Notice that the majority of project management activities occur as part of the planning process group. To succeed at performing unique and new activities, project teams do adequate planning.
Knowledge
area Project process groups
Initiating Planning Executing Controlling Closing
Integration Project plan
development
Project plan execution
Overall change control
control
Time Activity definition Schedule control
Activity sequencing Activity duration estimating Schedule development Cost Resource planning Cost control Cost estimating Cost budgeting
Quality Quality planning Quality assurance Quality control
Human resources Organizational planning
Team development Staff acquisition
Knowledge
area Project process groups
Initiating Planning Executing Controlling Closing
Communications Communications planning Information distribution Performance reporting Administrative closure
Risk Risk identification Risk response
control Risk quantification Risk response development Procurement Procurement planning
Solicitation Contract
close-out
Solicitation planning Source selection
Contract administration
Do it!
C-3: Discussing project process groups
Questions and answers
1 What are the project management process groups?
2 On which processes should the most team members spend the maximum time?
3 How do the project management process groups differ from the processes with which most IT professionals are familiar? How are they similar? How are they related?
Topic D: An organizational view
Explanation The systems approach to project management requires that project managers always view their projects in the context of the organization. Organizational issues are often the most difficult part of managing projects. For example, many might believe that most projects fail for political reasons. Project managers frequently do not spend enough time identifying all the stakeholders involved in projects, especially the people opposed to the projects. To improve the success rate of their projects, it is important that project managers develop a better understanding of the personnel as well as organizations.
Organizations can be viewed as containing four different frames: structural, human resources, political, and symbolic.
· The structural frame describes how an organization is structured (as depicted in an organizational chart) and focuses on the roles and responsibilities of various groups toward meeting the goals and policies set by senior managers. This frame is rational and focuses on coordination and control. For example, a key issue in IT related to the structural frame is whether IT personnel should be centralized to one department or decentralized across several different departments.
· The human resources frame focuses on correlating the needs of an organization with those of its employees. This frame recognizes that there are often
mismatches between these two sides and works to resolve potential problems. For example, many projects might be more efficient for an organization if personnel worked 80 or more hours a week for several months. However, such a routine would most likely conflict with the personal lives of the employees. Important issues in IT related to this frame are the shortage of workers and the unrealistic schedules for many projects.
· The political frame addresses organizational and personal politics. Politics in organizations might take the form of competition between groups or individuals for power and leadership. The political frame assumes that organizations are coalitions composed of varied individuals and interest groups. Often important decisions need to be made based on the allocation of scarce resources.
Competition for scarce resources leads to conflicts and power tactics. Power obviously improves a group’s or an individual’s ability to use a situation to their advantage. Project managers must discourage politics and power games in their teams. Important issues in IT related to the political frame are power shifts from central functions to operating units or from functional managers to project managers.
· The symbolic frame focuses on symbols and meanings. What is most important about any event in an organization is not that it happened, but what it means. Was it a good sign that the CEO attended a kickoff meeting for a project or was it a threat? The company’s culture is also related to this frame. How do people dress? How many hours do they work? How do they run meetings? Important symbolic frame issues in IT are the interpretations of work in high-technology environments and the need for IT workers as either key partners in the business or a necessary cost.
Organizational structure
general classifications of organizational structure: functional, project, and matrix. Exhibit 1-8 displays these three structures. A functional organization is a hierarchical structure in which functional managers or vice presidents in specialties, such as engineering, manufacturing, IT, and human resources (HR), report to the chief executive officer (CEO). Their teams have specialized skills in their respective disciplines. For example, most colleges and universities have strong functional organizations. The faculty in the Business department teaches only business courses; the faculty in the History department teaches only history; the faculty in the Art department teaches only art, and so on.
A project organization also has a hierarchical structure, but instead of functional managers or vice presidents reporting to the CEO, project managers do so. Their teams have a range of skills required to complete their particular projects. Many large defense organizations use project structures. For example, major aircraft corporations usually have vice presidents in charge of each aircraft the corporation produces. Many consulting firms also follow a project organizational structure and hire resources to work on specific projects.
A matrix organization represents the middle ground between functional and project structures. Personnel often report to both a functional manager and one or more project managers. For example, IT personnel at 3M (and many other companies) often split their time between two or more projects, but they report to their manager in the IT department. Project managers in matrix organizations have teams from various functional areas working on their projects, as shown in Exhibit 1-8. Matrix structures can be strong, weak, or balanced, based on the amount of control exercised by the project managers.
Exhibit 1-8: Functional, project, and matrix organizational structures
Do it!
D-1: Discussing organizational structures
Questions and answers
1 What are the four frames of organizations?
2 What are the three general types of organizational structures?
3 Which type of organizational structure can be strong, weak, or balanced based on the amount of control exercised by the project managers?
Influence of an organizational structure on projects
Explanation The following table summarizes how organizational structure influences projects and project managers.11 Project managers are designated the maximum authority in a project organization and the least authority in a functional organization. It is important that project managers understand the structure of their organization. For example, in a functional organization, you are leading a project that requires strong support from several different functional areas, you should ask for sponsorship from the senior management. This sponsor should solicit support from all functional managers to ensure that they cooperate on the project and that qualified resources are available to work as needed. The project manager might also ask for allocation of additional budget to be able to pay for project-related trips, meetings, and training or to provide financial incentives to those supporting the project.
Project
