Introduction to IT Project Management

1. Introduction to IT Project Management ITPM Module 1 Bhuvan Unhelkar, PhD, FACS UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN SYDNEY bhuvan@cit.uws.edu.au Mobile: 0413-821-454; Autumn, 2006

2. Module Outline • Introduction to Information Technology (IT) Project Management • Understanding various aspects of IT Project Management • Some Statistics on IT PM • ITPM Lifecycle and Variables • The Role of a Project Manager • CLASSROOM DISCUSSION… Bhuvan Unhelkar, 2006

3. Introduction What is IT Project Management?

4. Introduction • Opportunity to research & discuss the knowledge, values and skills of IT project management & consultancy • Covers preparing & presenting project proposals, project management, resource management, time management, communication skills, & evolving legal, ethical, & social responsibilities of IT professionals • Via the practical application of these findings students will develop project artefacts that will be of use to them within the industry. • Working in teams: plan & investigate a project, (preferably for a client,): prepare & present project proposals to a public forum. (Approved project proposals may be further pursued as part of IT Project Implementation or Computing Research Project A) Bhuvan Unhelkar, 2006

5. Understanding an IT Project • A project is a temporary endeavour to create a unique product or service.* • Typically, a piece of Software/Database • A Project has a start and (hopefully) a completion date • A project is outside of the normal operations of a business *IT Project Management: On Track from Start to Finish: Joseph Phillips Bhuvan Unhelkar, 2006

6. What is Project Management? Project Management is “the application of knowledge, skill, tools and techniques to project activities in order to meet project requirements”(PMI*, Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), 2000, p.6) *The Project Management Institute (PMI) is an international professional society. Web address is www.pmi.org Bhuvan Unhelkar, 2006

7. The Need to Understand Project Management • Project Management (PM) permeates all aspects of a Business • Not Just IT Projects, although they may be a major component of Projects in a business • Number of new IT Projects continues to increase • Very poor success rate for IT Project completions- Chaos Report(1995) found only 16.2% of all IT Projects were a success. 31% were cancelled before they were finished. Cost in US, $81 billion alone* *The Standish Group:”Chaos 2001: A Recipe for Success” • Recent Sydney Experience with Dock-side Software Bhuvan Unhelkar, 2006

8. Some Statistics related to PM • Over 16 million people see Project Management as their primary profession • $10 trillion of the World’s $40.7 trillion GDP is spent on various projects • US$2.3 trillion spent every year on projects: = ¼ of US GDP*PMI: The PMI Project Management Fact Book, 2001 Bhuvan Unhelkar, 2006

9. IT Project Management Includes.. • Development Management • Deployment Management • Release Management • Training Management • Incident Management • Test Management • Risk Management • Change Management • Configuration Management • Quality Management • Database Management • Service Level Management • Support Management • Outsourcing Management • Capacity Management • Financial Management • Security Management • People Management • Standards Management • Documents Management • Process Management • ….? Bhuvan Unhelkar, 2006

10. Generic IT Project Lifecycle Bhuvan Unhelkar, 2006

11. Bhuvan Unhelkar, 2006 Curry/Stanford(2005)

12. Scope Time Quality Cost CRITICAL PM VARIABLES Bhuvan Unhelkar, 2006 Curry/Stanford(2005)

13. Why use formal techniques? • Justification of work and changes • Improved tracking of critical variables • Identify tasks at differing levels of complexity • Decrease project costs • Everyone knows how they fit in • Improved client reporting • Opportunities to decrease development time/costs and increase productivity and reusability“If you fail to plan then plan to fail” Bhuvan Unhelkar, 2006

14. Project Manager • Accept Project Assignments & Responsibilities • Plan, monitor and control the Project through to completion • Deliverables Tracking & Change Management • Report to Program Director / Steering Committee • Balance time/cost/functionality Constraints • Identify Risks and Plan mitigation Strategies • Build and Motivate Project Team • Resource Identification, Recruitment and Replacement • Provide single and responsible Point Of Contact for the Team • Chair Project Meetings • Ensure adherence to Methodologies and Standards • Close the Project Bhuvan Unhelkar, 2006

15. Conclusions • Introduced IT Project Management • Roles and Responsibilities • Discussed Challenges to PM • Discussed Variables in IT Projects Bhuvan Unhelkar, 2006

16. NEXT STEPS… • Questions?? – • PLEEASE ASK IN CLASSROOM FORMAT • Need to Form Groups (4 students) • List Last Name, First Name, Student Number, Email/Phone • Make two copies – one for you and one for me. • Individual Assignment • Format / Topics provided on WebCT • Students from same group MUST write on SEPARATE topics • Classroom Discussions: • Background Papers need to be Read (on WebCT and also mentioned in Classroom) Bhuvan Unhelkar, 2006

17. Classroom Discussions Part of Individual Credit Topic: How it IT PM different to other Project Managements?