PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project Management of AT&T

Executive Summary

This paper examines the case study on project management implementation in AT&T and the success criteria and factors most frequently adopted. The paper also examines the results of a survey distributed to 200 managers of AT&T in United States that attempts to recognise the general characteristics of projects undertaken by them, the issues they encounter and their opinions on how AT&T can use project management to achieve greater efficiency and competitiveness. The focus on AT&T derives from their importance to the Irish economy with their capacity for generating employment and promoting innovation.

Table of Contents

Executive Summaryii

Introduction1

Projects3

Project Management4

Success Criteria and Success Factors5

PMBOK at AT&T9

PERT/Critical Path Method10

Open-source Projects11

Project Risk Management11

Improving the Management of Project Risk13

The reality of Projects and risk13

Improving Risk Identification and Capture15

Improving the Assessment and Understanding of Risk15

Improving the Management of Individual Risks16

Managing the Overall Process17

Improving Opportunity Management18

Project Management Processes18

Project Management & Leadership20

More leadership behaviours20

Final Thoughts20

References22

Project Management of AT&T

Introduction

Project management is a well-established discipline that defines in detail the tools and techniques that are required to define, plan, and implement any project. However, while many researchers have addressed the issues surrounding the management of projects within large firms (White and Fortune, 2002; Bryde, 2003), there has not been much published to date about the management of projects in small-to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Project management is a well-established well area of professional expertise and academic research aimed at encouraging improvement in a system (White and Fortune, 2002). Project management offers a systematic approach to all stages of a project by ensuring that every step is carefully planned, monitored, and measured. Although initially intended for application in AT&T with complex systems that require such a process (Baccarini, 1999), modern methods of project management can be adapted and altered to suit the needs of the smaller organisations.

This paper aims to develop an understanding of project management at AT&T and how they are managed within SMEs, what factors enhance project success and the perception of the potential of project management as a process. These findings will contribute to the development of a simplified approach to managing projects of AT&T.

To understand the current state of project management, it is important to briefly examine the history of project management. The study highlighted two specific theories, the first of which being the "rational, universal, deterministic model, emphasizing the planning and control dimensions of project management." With relation to the implementation of a project within the project management course, the study makes recommendations that have direct implications and justifies such an attempt. The study notes that "'real' projects and programs are much more complex, unpredictable and multidimensional than the rational, deterministic model which dominates the literature." The study also makes recommendations to enhance "new ways of thinking which relate to the actual complexity of projects, at all levels, focusing on the aspects such as: the ever-changing flux of events, the complexity of social interaction and human action, and the framing and reframing of projects and programs within an evolving array of social agenda, practices, stakeholder ...