Information Technology (IT) projects are usually run by project managers who use processes such as scope, schedule, budget and quality management to get the job done. These skills are indeed prerequisite to success in completing a project, but other things are needed to deliver complex information technology projects in today’s fast-moving pressure cooker environment.
What do IT project managers need to do in order to be successful? This article examines key challenges to successful delivery of
Project teams are formed in organizations around the world each day. And most of those teams flounder unnecessarily for too long and some flounder forever). There is one simple practice that can improve the results of most any team, whether formed for a short project or as a new working unit. That practice is team chartering.
The team charter is a document that serves as both guidance and a roadmap for any team’s success. When used most effectively, this tool clarifies the purpose for the team's
Sometimes, a project manager must deal with a disgruntled client. They may be unhappy with one thing or many things, but if their feelings are strong enough to make a complaint then that complaint needs to be properly and fairly dealt with.
Unfortunately for project managers, complaints are not a rarity in the world of project management. It can seem very unfair to get criticism on a project when in the majority of cases a lot of hard work has gone into getting it successfully delivered. However
Over the course of the last several years, many organizations have decided to move their IT development offshore to reduce costs and increase competitiveness. Work has been sent to places such as India, China and Russia. The cost savings in these countries is considerable but the headline saving is only a small part of the equation. Running projects offshore is very different to running them at home.
Having spoken to many project managers over the past years, it has become clear that the same is
Managing a project can be daunting. Whether planning your wedding, developing a new website or building your dream house by the sea, you need to employ project management techniques to help you succeed. Here's a summary of the top 7 best practices at the heart of good project management which can help you to achieve project success.
Define the scope and objectives
Firstly, understand the project objectives. Suppose your boss asks you to organise a blood donor campaign, is the objective to get as
Managing a project using Agile methodology has become the latest in project fashion. Agile has a compelling argument: faster delivery of products, rapid turnaround on changes, minimal documentation. It is no surprise that many project managers are leaving behind the old traditional ways of managing projects and embracing the Agile route. However, using an Agile methodology is no guarantee of success. If you have adopted an Agile approach for your project and it is still beset by problems, here a
To keep key stakeholders onside and supportive of a project then all communication with them needs to be in a language and format designed to continue to engage them.
To do this you will need to identify the “consequences” of the project to them
In sales, you are taught to identify the Features, Functions and Benefits of a product to a customer, then to go sell them the Benefits. For Project Managers, this process needs to go one step further.
Beyond the Benefits, what are the “Consequences
Project management is an extremely powerful discipline and skill-set that can make significant improvements to a business. It achieves this through creating new products and services, improving how businesses do things and reducing the possible impact of future changes. In this article we'll look at the main objectives of project management and project managers.
The main objectives and principles behind good project management are as follows:
. Agree exactly what a project is meant to do and
One of the key objectives during the planning phase of all projects is to determine the scope. This entails reaching an agreement on what will be delivered as part of the project and what will be excluded. However, many project managers find themselves faced with change requests throughout the project long after the scope has been signed off by all parties.
There are two schools of thought when it comes to changes on projects. Some project managers are strict in their approach to change; they wi
In today’s fast-changing information economy, IT project governance has emerged as one of the most vital corporate responsibilities. The relentless pressure to innovate whilst simultaneously driving down costs means that organisations are increasingly ‘betting the farm’ on the successful development and deployment of new IT systems.
However, the business environment now evolves so quickly that the original assumptions on which projects were based can often become fatally undermined prior to the
Green Project Management is more than just the incorporation of using renewable energy resources in your project; it also has to be sustainable. The words green and sustainable must be interchangeable in a project for it to truly be of benefit to the environment, and future generations.
As a selling point to the stakeholders of a project, you must show them a financial reason in the business case for them to accept this new point of view. In most instances, the start up costs of going green is m
