In this week’s discussion board, we learned about several project management tools and how they are used to facilitate the successful implementation of IT related projects. Additionally, we learned what happens when IT projects fall behind schedule, the reasons for the delays and if these reasons will hinder complex software implementations in the future. There are many types of project management tools. From proprietary licensed tools such as Smartsheet for Salesforce, Oracle Project Planning and Control and Microsoft Project and Portfolio Management; to theoretical project management tools such as Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), Gantt charts and Critical Path Method (CPM). All of these tools aim to streamline the planning, …show more content…
However, when IT projects fall behind schedule, these efficiencies can quickly evaporate and lead to cost overruns, glitches and bugs. (3) Due to their inherently complex nature, IT projects are susceptible to many types of failures; mainly caused by a lack or risk management and flexibility. Many of the risks present in IT projects are unrealistic goals; inaccurate estimates of needed resources; badly defined system requirements; poor reporting of the project’s status; poor communication between developers and users; adoption of immature technology; inability to cope with project complexity; sloppy developed practices; mismanagement of the project; stakeholder politics; and commercial pressures. (4) With so many potential risks, it is not surprising that IT projects that are completed on time, and on budget, are more the exception rather than the rule. Additionally, before IT projects begin, clear objectives and the allocation of time and resources need to be defined; all of which are usually lacking for one reason or another. The result is a high failure rate associated with IT projects overall, which puts a spot light on the need for organizations to improve their risk management abilities and design processes that will allow them the flexibility to reallocate resources when unexpected problems when they
What is the pressing need to have project management in IT projects? Two out of the three IT projects fail to make the final cut. [1] This article not only elucidates the need for an appropriate project management team but also puts forth what can go wrong if the organization is oblivious to the project management processes. About 88% of the classic mistakes are categorized as either people or process mistakes. Some common mistakes being poor estimation and scheduling, ineffective stakeholder management, and insufficient risk management. [2] The article also highlights the meta-retrospective of 99 IT projects and their analysis for project management making it clear how such aggregation of retrospective findings point out most common mistakes and help adopt best practices for effective project management.
In this report, we analysed and evaluate the project management of the case: The case, The PCNet Project (A): Project Risk Management in an IT integration Project. We had look into the project definition phase of the PCNet project and discuss some of the problems that emerged during the project in relation to project definition phase. We also evaluated the role of the PCNet project manager and discussed some of the core skillsets demanded by the job role. The risk management aspect of the PCNet project was also studied in our report. Lastly we made recommendations to address the dilemma faced by Jack Muller, the project manager for the PCNet project.
In this next part we will talk about a software management plan, and why that is important as far as a Linux based server. The importance of the software management plan is and will always be because of the dependencies of the application software, and the OS security dependence of the updates. For this I would recommend using yum to make sure that things are up to date. Yum is an open source command line that allows you to manage packages on the Linux operating system. I would also use Apache throughout a lot of the processes, because within Apache you can decide what gets installed along with setting the security for what the YUM application can go out and update. Along with the use of Apache we will also be using SSH which is secure shell.
There are tools that are used by project managers, one of which was developed by the United States Navy. Satterlee (2013), tell us about “a common tool used in project management is Program (or Project) Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). First developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it is used to represent and analyze tasks involved in a project” (p.234). Tools like this are essential to aid the project manager during the planning phase, when considering if the project can be completed under budget without jeopardizing the quality of work.
Which is requirements needed, after all the information the team will analyze to determine software requirements and generate a report. Then we move to the selection and design, this will occur when the team creates several designs and share with everyone on the project. We will identify any weakness, if we have any successful prototypes it should show how the software will operate. Implementation phase should proceed without any issues if there is any it must be correct during this time. A planned out schedule should allow for any unexpected incidents. When the implementation stage is complete we move to operation when our software has been designed and does what it was designed to do. We will do a review and evaluation which consist of performance, cost and
Solicit bids and then create the initial BUP based on bids from facilities including all additional hard and soft costs; we now call this making the “bones of the BUP.” This new process will bring you even closer to the details and we have found that by doing the early “math”, the ins and the outs of the project become second nature. Alexis, then does a BUP double check, and in the case of Amgen, creates the SOWs. For Amgen, BUPs must match SOWS (scope of work). Then, once we have an SOW, you will need to upload to Research Reporter.
Risks management is an important step during the process of a project. Failing to manage a risk may result in unforeseen event happening and a project’s failure. For example, with limited budget, an unforeseen event or an accident occurs in the middle of a project and this matter has not been considered and needs a big sum of expense, then the project may be stopped because of this unexpected event. We should know it is necessary to understand how to identify risks and assumptions based on the information. After identifying risks, it is important for project managers to set contingency plans to prevent and deal with these risks when they occur. Of course, several problems may happen during considering
Gray, C. F. & Larson, E. W. (2008). _Project Management: The Managerial Process_. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hills Companies, Inc.
In almost every business, project management is critically important. The critical path method (CPM) will provide a timeline for the project manager for when tasks should be completed. In addition, providing a deadline and the negative effects it will have on the following successors if not completed on time. These many task are interdepended. Therefore, the CPM provides the start and finishes times of the tasks, and identifies the few tasks on the critical path that the project manager should observe to determine which task needs the most attention. Already discovering and incorporating the details the task or assignments may require, CPM calculates all task times, which can be measured in hours, days, weeks, and months. For any unintended manually input errors, a warning message will be provided. Including an automatic successor generator, task numbering comment, and data validation, makes it easier on the project manager.
Such a big IT project involve a more detailed risk analysis, assessment and management. But it is evident that there were limited to no contingency or fallback plans for any major area of project like supplier and contractual process highlights the lack of fallback plans.
Some project planning tools are enumerated below. It is pertinent to mention that the effectiveness and appropriateness of each one is a function of the project stage and the users experience:
Project management is not only useful in the working environment, but it could also become great skills that can be used for all life projects that we do through out our life.
According to the project management Solution (2011) survey shows that “$74 million in projects are at risk each year in the average firm surveyed (37% of the total value of projects closed)”. And 22% software
Project management tools facilitate creating and maintaining project artifacts such as the project schedule and also help in doing complex analyses, for example, earned value management. They also help to link subprojects or activities within the project. The project management tools also help to guide and evaluate the various outputs of the project
Developing software systems is an expensive, and often a difficult process as software development projects are affected by a series of problems, such as poor management, cost and schedule overruns, poor quality software and under-motivated developers [1], [3]. Boehm suggested in 1991 that realistic schedule and budgets together with a continuing steam of changes in requirements are high risk factors for software development projects [2].