Information Technology Project
Management
Index
Chapter 1: The Nature of Information Technology Projects...............................................................4
1.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................4
1.2 What is a project?.....................................................................................................................4
1.3 What is project management?.................................................................................................5
1.4 The state of IT project management.........................................................................................6
Chapter 2: Project Methodologies and Processes..............................................................................8
2.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................8
2.2 The project life cycle.................................................................................................................8
2.3 The project management body of knowledge (PMBOK)...........................................................9
2.4 Project Processes....................................................................................................................10
2.5 PRINCE2..................................................................................................................................10
2.6 The systems development life cycle (SDLC)............................................................................12
2.7 Learning cycles and lessons learned.......................................................................................14
Chapter 3: Measurable Organizational Value and the Business Case...............................................16
3.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................16
3.2 Measurable organizational value (MOV)................................................................................16
3.3 The business case...................................................................................................................17
3.4 Project selection and approval...............................................................................................19
Chapter 5: Project Planning: Scope and the Work Breakdown Structure.........................................20
5.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................20
5.2 The triple constraint...............................................................................................................20
5.3 Defining and managing project scope.....................................................................................20
5.4 Validate scope.........................................................................................................................23
5.5 Control scope..........................................................................................................................23
5.6 The work breakdown structure (WBS)....................................................................................23
5.7 Project estimation...................................................................................................................24
Chapter 6: Project Planning: The Schedule and Budget....................................................................26
6.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................26
6.2 Developing the project schedule............................................................................................26
6.3 Project management software tools.......................................................................................28
1
, 6.4 Developing the project budget...............................................................................................28
6.5 The baseline plan....................................................................................................................29
6.6 The kick-off meeting...............................................................................................................29
Chapter 7: Managing Project Risk.....................................................................................................30
7.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................30
7.2 Create a risk plan....................................................................................................................31
7.3 Identify risk.............................................................................................................................31
7.4 Analyse risk.............................................................................................................................32
7.3 Develop risk strategies............................................................................................................34
7.4 Monitor and control risk.........................................................................................................34
7.5 Respond and evaluate response to risk..................................................................................34
Chapter 8: Managing project stakeholder and communication.......................................................35
8.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................35
8.2 Stakeholder analysis...............................................................................................................35
8.3 Monitoring and controlling the project..................................................................................35
8.4 The project communications plan..........................................................................................35
8.5 Project metrics........................................................................................................................36
8.6 Reporting performance and progress.....................................................................................37
8.7 Information Distribution.........................................................................................................37
Chapter 9: Managing Project Quality................................................................................................38
9.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................38
9.2 Quality philosophies...............................................................................................................38
9.3 Process capability and maturity..............................................................................................39
9.4 The project quality management plan....................................................................................40
Chapter 10: Leading the project team..............................................................................................43
10.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................43
10.2 Project leadership.................................................................................................................43
10.3 Ethics and leadership............................................................................................................45
10.4 Teams and leadership...........................................................................................................46
10.5 Multicultural projects...........................................................................................................47
Chapter 11: Managing organizational change, resistance and conflict.............................................48
11.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................48
11.2 The nature of change............................................................................................................48
11.3 The change management plan..............................................................................................49
11.4 Dealing with resistance and conflict.....................................................................................51
Chapter 12: Project completion........................................................................................................53
2
, 12.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................53
12.2 Product release or system implementation..........................................................................53
12.3 Project closure......................................................................................................................54
12.4 Project evaluation.................................................................................................................55
Important pp slides...............................................................................................................................57
Exam questions.....................................................................................................................................60
Conclusions...........................................................................................................................................61
Articles..................................................................................................................................................62
Article 1 (L1): Embracing Agile (D. K. Rigby, J. Sutherland & H. Takeuchi)........................................62
Get everyone on the same page...................................................................................................64
Don’t change structures right away; change roles instead...........................................................64
Article 2 (L2): No silver bullet – essence and accident in software engineering (F. P. Brooks).........66
Article 3 (L2): A spiral model of software development and enhancement (B. W. Boehm)..............68
Article 4 (L3): The use of decision criteria in selecting information systems / technology
investments (J. Bacon)......................................................................................................................73
Article 5 (L4): Policy analysis and decision making in a network: how to improve the quality of
analysis and the impact on decision making. (H. De Bruijn & E. Ten Heuvelhof)..............................75
Article 6 (L4): What to do when Stakeholders matter (J. M. Bryson)................................................77
Article 7 (L5): Agile project management (T. Byba, N. B. Moe & T. Bingsoyr)...................................79
Article 8 (L5): Continuous software engineering: A roadmap and agenda (B. Fitzgerald, K. Stol).....84
Article 9 (L6): Teamwork quality and project success in software development: A survey of agile
development teams (Y. Lindsjørn, D. I. K. Sjøberg, T. Dingsøyr, G. R. Bergersen & T. Dybå)............86
Article 10 (L6): Same article as 8 - Continuous Software Engineering: A roadmap and agenda.......87
Article 11 (L8): The space shuttle Challenger disaster: A study in organizational ethics...................88
3
, Chapter 1: The Nature of Information Technology Projects
Chapter objectives:
Why IT projects are organizational investments.
Why projects are planned organizational change and why they must align with the
organization’s business strategy.
Define a project and describe the attributes.
Define the discipline project management.
Understand the relationship among project portfolios, programs and projects.
Understand how the disciplines of IT and project management have evolved together and
have led to how projects are manged today.
Understand the current state of IT project management.
Understand why some projects fail and how to improve the likelihood of success.
1.1 Introduction
Information technology (IT) projects are organizational events, it commits time, money and resources
and has an expectation of receiving something of value in return. Projects are planned organizational
changes/means for achieving a chosen strategy.
IT projects enable the integration of technology in new products, services or processes that can
change existing relationships between an organization and its customers or suppliers, as well as
among the people within the organization.
1.2 What is a project?
Project: a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.
Project manager: the person assigned by the performing organization to lead the team that is
responsible for achieving the project objectives.
Common project attributes
Time frame: Definite beginning and end. A project ends when all the promised work is
completed and the organization’s expectations are met, or it can be terminated when the work
or expectations cannot be met.
Purpose: A project must have a clear goal that defines the value of the project to the
organization. This is important for setting expectations, defining the work to be done, setting
direction for the project team, developing schedule and budget and when complete to evaluate
its overall success.
Ownership: A project can have many stakeholders.
o Projects undertaken within an organization support internal customers. E.g. high-level
manager is often called a sponsor.
o External projects developed by third parties support external customers, called clients.
Resources: Resources provide a means for achieving the project’s goal and completing the work,
they can be a constraint as most organizational resources are limited. Resources include time,
money, people, facilities and technology.
Project Roles: Projects require people with skill sets that include both technical and nontechnical
(soft) skills. Amount technical skills required is determined by the product, service or systems
that is to be built or implemented.
4
Management
Index
Chapter 1: The Nature of Information Technology Projects...............................................................4
1.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................4
1.2 What is a project?.....................................................................................................................4
1.3 What is project management?.................................................................................................5
1.4 The state of IT project management.........................................................................................6
Chapter 2: Project Methodologies and Processes..............................................................................8
2.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................8
2.2 The project life cycle.................................................................................................................8
2.3 The project management body of knowledge (PMBOK)...........................................................9
2.4 Project Processes....................................................................................................................10
2.5 PRINCE2..................................................................................................................................10
2.6 The systems development life cycle (SDLC)............................................................................12
2.7 Learning cycles and lessons learned.......................................................................................14
Chapter 3: Measurable Organizational Value and the Business Case...............................................16
3.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................16
3.2 Measurable organizational value (MOV)................................................................................16
3.3 The business case...................................................................................................................17
3.4 Project selection and approval...............................................................................................19
Chapter 5: Project Planning: Scope and the Work Breakdown Structure.........................................20
5.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................20
5.2 The triple constraint...............................................................................................................20
5.3 Defining and managing project scope.....................................................................................20
5.4 Validate scope.........................................................................................................................23
5.5 Control scope..........................................................................................................................23
5.6 The work breakdown structure (WBS)....................................................................................23
5.7 Project estimation...................................................................................................................24
Chapter 6: Project Planning: The Schedule and Budget....................................................................26
6.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................26
6.2 Developing the project schedule............................................................................................26
6.3 Project management software tools.......................................................................................28
1
, 6.4 Developing the project budget...............................................................................................28
6.5 The baseline plan....................................................................................................................29
6.6 The kick-off meeting...............................................................................................................29
Chapter 7: Managing Project Risk.....................................................................................................30
7.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................30
7.2 Create a risk plan....................................................................................................................31
7.3 Identify risk.............................................................................................................................31
7.4 Analyse risk.............................................................................................................................32
7.3 Develop risk strategies............................................................................................................34
7.4 Monitor and control risk.........................................................................................................34
7.5 Respond and evaluate response to risk..................................................................................34
Chapter 8: Managing project stakeholder and communication.......................................................35
8.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................35
8.2 Stakeholder analysis...............................................................................................................35
8.3 Monitoring and controlling the project..................................................................................35
8.4 The project communications plan..........................................................................................35
8.5 Project metrics........................................................................................................................36
8.6 Reporting performance and progress.....................................................................................37
8.7 Information Distribution.........................................................................................................37
Chapter 9: Managing Project Quality................................................................................................38
9.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................38
9.2 Quality philosophies...............................................................................................................38
9.3 Process capability and maturity..............................................................................................39
9.4 The project quality management plan....................................................................................40
Chapter 10: Leading the project team..............................................................................................43
10.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................43
10.2 Project leadership.................................................................................................................43
10.3 Ethics and leadership............................................................................................................45
10.4 Teams and leadership...........................................................................................................46
10.5 Multicultural projects...........................................................................................................47
Chapter 11: Managing organizational change, resistance and conflict.............................................48
11.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................48
11.2 The nature of change............................................................................................................48
11.3 The change management plan..............................................................................................49
11.4 Dealing with resistance and conflict.....................................................................................51
Chapter 12: Project completion........................................................................................................53
2
, 12.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................53
12.2 Product release or system implementation..........................................................................53
12.3 Project closure......................................................................................................................54
12.4 Project evaluation.................................................................................................................55
Important pp slides...............................................................................................................................57
Exam questions.....................................................................................................................................60
Conclusions...........................................................................................................................................61
Articles..................................................................................................................................................62
Article 1 (L1): Embracing Agile (D. K. Rigby, J. Sutherland & H. Takeuchi)........................................62
Get everyone on the same page...................................................................................................64
Don’t change structures right away; change roles instead...........................................................64
Article 2 (L2): No silver bullet – essence and accident in software engineering (F. P. Brooks).........66
Article 3 (L2): A spiral model of software development and enhancement (B. W. Boehm)..............68
Article 4 (L3): The use of decision criteria in selecting information systems / technology
investments (J. Bacon)......................................................................................................................73
Article 5 (L4): Policy analysis and decision making in a network: how to improve the quality of
analysis and the impact on decision making. (H. De Bruijn & E. Ten Heuvelhof)..............................75
Article 6 (L4): What to do when Stakeholders matter (J. M. Bryson)................................................77
Article 7 (L5): Agile project management (T. Byba, N. B. Moe & T. Bingsoyr)...................................79
Article 8 (L5): Continuous software engineering: A roadmap and agenda (B. Fitzgerald, K. Stol).....84
Article 9 (L6): Teamwork quality and project success in software development: A survey of agile
development teams (Y. Lindsjørn, D. I. K. Sjøberg, T. Dingsøyr, G. R. Bergersen & T. Dybå)............86
Article 10 (L6): Same article as 8 - Continuous Software Engineering: A roadmap and agenda.......87
Article 11 (L8): The space shuttle Challenger disaster: A study in organizational ethics...................88
3
, Chapter 1: The Nature of Information Technology Projects
Chapter objectives:
Why IT projects are organizational investments.
Why projects are planned organizational change and why they must align with the
organization’s business strategy.
Define a project and describe the attributes.
Define the discipline project management.
Understand the relationship among project portfolios, programs and projects.
Understand how the disciplines of IT and project management have evolved together and
have led to how projects are manged today.
Understand the current state of IT project management.
Understand why some projects fail and how to improve the likelihood of success.
1.1 Introduction
Information technology (IT) projects are organizational events, it commits time, money and resources
and has an expectation of receiving something of value in return. Projects are planned organizational
changes/means for achieving a chosen strategy.
IT projects enable the integration of technology in new products, services or processes that can
change existing relationships between an organization and its customers or suppliers, as well as
among the people within the organization.
1.2 What is a project?
Project: a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.
Project manager: the person assigned by the performing organization to lead the team that is
responsible for achieving the project objectives.
Common project attributes
Time frame: Definite beginning and end. A project ends when all the promised work is
completed and the organization’s expectations are met, or it can be terminated when the work
or expectations cannot be met.
Purpose: A project must have a clear goal that defines the value of the project to the
organization. This is important for setting expectations, defining the work to be done, setting
direction for the project team, developing schedule and budget and when complete to evaluate
its overall success.
Ownership: A project can have many stakeholders.
o Projects undertaken within an organization support internal customers. E.g. high-level
manager is often called a sponsor.
o External projects developed by third parties support external customers, called clients.
Resources: Resources provide a means for achieving the project’s goal and completing the work,
they can be a constraint as most organizational resources are limited. Resources include time,
money, people, facilities and technology.
Project Roles: Projects require people with skill sets that include both technical and nontechnical
(soft) skills. Amount technical skills required is determined by the product, service or systems
that is to be built or implemented.
4
