What PM methodology should an IT company use and why
Abstract
This paper documents Project Management Best Practices specific to the Information Technology sector. The paper is the culmination of research efforts [between January & April 2003] performed by diverse industry practitioners as part of their individual academic pursuits in Project Management, Business Administration, and Continuing Education Graduate Programs at the University of Calgary. The research team gathered information through an extensive interview process that involved eighteen Project Management professionals from various industries within the IT sector (including telecommunications, construction, software/hardware, and finance). These project management professionals were in various levels of management (project managers, directors, and senior executives) and were also part of projects that spanned the globe (including Canada, USA, Asia and the Middle East). The purpose of this paper is to communicate Project Management practices in use today, the advantages and consequences of such practices, and the skills sets that must be explored in an effort to contribute to the progressive evolution of Project Management. In this study we try to explore the concept of “Information technology project management” in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on “Information technology project management” and its relation with “project management”. The research also analyzes many aspects of “Information technology project management” and tries to gauge its effect on “project management”. Finally the research describes various factors which are responsible for “Information technology project management” and tries to describe the overall effect of “Information technology project management” on “project management”.
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT2
DECLARATION3
ABSTRACT4
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION8
Purpose8
What is Project Management?8
What are Best Practices?8
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW9
Project Management Taxonomy9
Theory & Background9
Project Selection and Reselection9
Planning and Scheduling9
Project Controls10
Commissioning12
Stakeholder Management12
Figure 1: Stakeholder Groups13
Project Teams and Organization13
Procurement and Contracting14
Identification and Assessment of PM Practices and Concepts15
Project Selection and Reselection15
Planning and Scheduling16
Risk Management16
Project Controls17
Commissioning18
Stakeholder Management19
Project Teams and Organization20
Procurement and Contracting21
General Background22
Background of Respondents22
Best Practices23
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY25
Methodology25
Background to Individual Sections25
Consolidation of Individual Reports26
CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS28
Organizational Practices28
Knowledge Management28
Continuous Improvement29
Figure 2: Continuous Improvement Cycle30
Corporate Policies and Governance30
Scalability of Practices31
Cross Functional Teams33
Edification33
Team Practices33
Focus33
Team Members34
Team Processes: Front-end Planning34
Team Life35
Good Communications35
Risk Registration and Documentation36
Individual Practices36
Figure 3: Onion Model37
Personal Processes37
SAP (Sociology / Anthropology / Psychology) Implementation38
Figure 4: Cognitive Dissonance41
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION42
Conclusions and Recommendations42
REFERENCES43
Chapter 1: Introduction
Purpose
The purpose of this report is to identify skills set which help formulate and execute best practices in IT Project Management. These best practices are the culmination of individual survey results, personal experiences, academic lectures and literature review. This report will help to identify the best project management methodologies available for an IT company.
What is Project Management?
Project Management is a set of tools, processes, and competencies utilized by people in order to enhance an organization's services and practices.
What are Best Practices?
Best practices are those strategies, activities, or approaches that have been shown through research and evaluation to be effective in a given discipline, area of study, or application (Tech, 2004).
Introduction
The research paper is on the project management in the information systems and information technology . This paper will be related to information systems and the topic has been choosen ...