merit event - successfully managing it projects
DESCRIPTION
Almost every IT investment or development within a business requires some form of project management procedures to be adhered to. The project management system to be deployed will be determined by a variety of factors ranging from the availability of in-house expertise through to the industry standard. Despite the multitude of Project Management methodologies available a staggering number (75%) of IT related projects still fail to achieve one or more of their stated aims or objectives. There have been many high profile examples, the Passport Office and the Criminal Investigations Bureau to name just two, where delays in IT projects have been blamed for major disruption to the delivery of services. So why do so many IT projects fail to achieve their expected outputs and what steps can Managers take to ensure their projects do not fail? These questions will form the basis for discussion at this MERIT/Chamber eBusiness Club seminar. Delegates attending this event will hear from a number of experienced Project Managers who have successfully managed IT related project of all sizes and scope. The key speaker at this event will be Joni Philips ¡V Managing Director Technology 2 Ltd - who herself has many years experience of managing a wide variety of IT projects throughout the world. The topics covered at the event will include: • The Project Manager¡¦s approach and how to build the right team • Project Planning & Monitoring • Risk Management • Total Quality Management These topics will be supported with real case study examples.TRANSCRIPT
Where do I begin?!
Structuring the Project? That sounds good!
• YOU plus
• Planning
• Teamwork
• Responsiveness
• Creativity
• Flexibility
• Communication
The Best Start-Off
The Project Life Cycle
• Business details
• Full specifications
• Development
• Testing
• Implementation plans
The Usual Project Life Cycle
• Sleepless nights
• Not sure what to do
• Problems and issues
• Not enough help
• More sleepless nights
Know your Allies
• Know who is affected.
• Know who is supportive.
• Know who isn’t supportive.
• Start to “win over” resistance.
• Build Brownie points.
Define the Project
• Ask the business “What are you trying the achieve?
• Don’t assume you know what they mean – they may not know what they mean themselves.
• Make sure your understanding is correct by reconfirming with the business.
The Budget
• Little extras add up
• Keep an eye on it
Be Aware of Project Constraints
• Budget
• Expertise
• Politics
• Third Party Suppliers
• Communication & Relationships
Drill-Down Methods
• Start with the Objectives and work down
• Keep walking through it, so you know you understand each part.
• Delegate – you don’t need to know the technical details inside and out.
Have a Plan, but be flexible
• To fail to plan is to plan to fail
• Keep in mind possible “Plan B”
• Better to deliver something than nothing
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Example Tools
• Don’t spend more time on the plan than the project
• Gantt Charts
• MSProject
Gantt Chart
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Identifying Milestones
• Are there any points that I can easily monitor progress by?
• These are the points to take another look at budgets.
Keep Communicating!
• Communicate as much as possible.
• Communicate what you need to.