Traditional project management breaks a defined systems project into a series of tasks with assigned resources, objectives, and time frame. This model works reasonably well for small projects with limited complexity. As projects grow in size and complexity with multiple deliverables, i.e., multiple desired results, traditional methods may not adequately address the uncertainties of today’s IT environment. The element of risk needs to be included in any realistic schedule for project completion and projected cost.

A comprehensive project management methodology must include risk management as an integral part of the overall process. Risk management addresses questions such as what happens if a vendor’s software release is late, or what if your best programmers leave the team? Some contingencies are remote. Others may be very likely. Your methodology must be able to anticipate and adapt.

One approach is to divide the project lifecycle into four phases: initiation, planning, execution, and closure. Each phase represents a subset of the project management procedures and milestones. Each phase is a distinct stage of the project life cycle and provides improved oversight and control of the project from beginning to end. Normally, the phases are sequential. But planning and execution may be recursive, depending on the nature of the deliverables A project phase can contain one or more key milestones, often evidenced by an item of tangible work product or significant event, such as a business proposal, database design, or the selection of a hardware platform. Milestones are progress markers representing the advancement of the overall project.

Procedures in this context define management processes within each phase that produce the key milestones. A procedure, in this context, is a set of actions within a project phase required to maintain control and advance the project.

Four Principles of Project Management

To understand the methodology, consider that every IT project can be thought to rest on four key principles: scope management, schedule management, cost management, and quality management. In the initiation phase, the guiding principle is scope management. Scope management is where project requirements and deliverables are documented in the business proposal and in statements of work. Scope information is further refined in the planning phase, where the actual work plan is developed.

In the planning phase, the two guiding principles are schedule management and cost management. Schedule management is achieved by devising a project plan that sets the time frames for the project, including schedules for interim deliverables, quality checks, status reporting, and final completion. The project plan is presented to the project sponsors for endorsement to ensure all aspects of the project are properly addressed.

During the planning phase, the project manager works with the project sponsors to identify the specific visibility information (e.g., organized communication, requirements) the project sponsor requires throughout the project life cycle. The goal of the communication process is to maintain constant visibility of the project’s progress, highlight key events, and eliminate surprises.

The project budget is also created during the planning phase. The project plan contains the cost factors of the project (billable hours, software and hardware purchases, time and materials expenses) and becomes part of the overall project baseline. The initial project budget provides a baseline, for which the project manager will be held accountable. The fourth principle, quality management, permeates the project. During the planning phase, project quality requirements are defined. Quality requirements are defined from the view of the project sponsor and are documented in the business proposal and in the statement of work. These requirements are also refined in the planning phase to ensure they are incorporated in the overall project plan. Figure 1 itemizes many of the planning documents that may be created during the planning phase.

The actual management of project deliverables occurs during the execution phase. During this phase, a change-control process is used to manage adjustments or additions to the project deliverables. Unauthorized scope-creep (i.e., functionality or features not specified in the authorizing statement of work) is controlled through change control methods. Project activity is tracked against the project plan to provide a comparison of actual-to-estimated progress. Regular variance analysis and reporting provides progress visibility and assures all negative plan deviations are addressed. During the execution phase, actual expenditures are tracked against the baseline budget to provide a comparison of actual-to-estimated costs.

Quality aspects are also tracked and measured throughout the execution phase and reported as part of the project status. Quality requirements are included in the acceptance criteria for each of the project deliverables, thus ensuring the customer that these requirements remain a high priority.

Implementing the Project Management Methodology

To better understand how this methodology would work for your projects, consider this chronological summary. The project begins with the initiation phase. During initiation, management will work with the project sponsors to understand the project’s justification and expected benefits. Initial expectations about the project’s deliverables, time frame, and quality are set and codified in formal documents, including proposals, contracts, and statements of work. The project sponsor may often develop other documents during the initiation phase, including a project business plan, feasibility studies, cost and benefit analysis, solicitation documents, and other material containing business requirements and specifications relevant to the project. A project manager should be selected during the initiation phase. The manager will be responsible for the completion and ultimate success of the project.

As shown in Figure 2 (page 34), the completion of the initiation phase is signaled by the completion and approval of the minimal set of project agreements (such as contracts or statements of work) and milestones.

The next phase, project planning, involves devising a workable approach to produce the project’s deliverables. The planning process describes the design of the solutions to be implemented and how the available technologies will be used in the solution.

Project planning is an iterative process, and requested changes, major issues, or design enhancements may require revisions to project scope, cost, schedule, or quality during project execution. Revisions to the project plan will occur and may run concurrent with (fast tracking) parts of the project that are under construction. As identified in Figure 3 (page 34), the completion of the project-planning phase is signaled by the completion of the baseline project plan and milestones.

The next phase, project execution, is where the actual work begins, and the project manager coordinates and directs the various technical and organizational efforts that create the project deliverables. The core activities of project execution comprise construction efforts (designing, programming, documenting) to build and assure quality of the deliverables. The project management efforts focus on reporting results, coaching the project team, and maintaining control of the functions necessary to keep the project on track with the baseline plan.

Figure 4 outlines the project-execution phase; it transitions to the closure phase when the project sponsor has formally accepted all project deliverables and milestones.

The closure phase should gain the sponsor’s agreement that the project is complete, trigger a review of lessons learned, and conclude project administration. During closure, the sponsor takes ownership of all remaining project deliverables and certifies the project as complete.

The sponsor, along with other appropriate project participants, is invited to comment on the project to help improve future projects. Finally, the project manager releases all remaining resources from the project and closes all project management tracking. Figure 5 outlines the closure phase milestones.

While closure ends the formal project, the sponsor may want maintenance and support for the new solution. This post-project support is separate and distinct from the project and should be tracked and managed separately.

Tips for Effective Project Management

What skills do you need to become a successful project manager? While management is both an art and a science, Figure 6 outlines some key factors that lead to project management success. Specific training in project management can be obtained through local colleges or professional IT organizations such as the Project Management Institute (PMI), Software Engineering Institute (SEI), and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). IBM-supported organizations such as COMMON and SHARE also have offerings.

If your project is high-profile or involves the commitment of significant resources, and you have reservations about overall project management competency in your organization, get help as well as training. There are consulting organizations with extensive expertise, competencies, and experience readily available. These organizations can do the whole job or provide support skills and direction. In any case, a good consulting organization can provide good mentoring, oversight, and auditing. The old adage “If it is worth doing, it is worth doing right” certainly applies to project management.

Taking Over an Existing Project

If you find yourself taking over an existing project, do not panic. Evaluate the situation carefully, verify the adequacy of the methodology, and determine the status of the project. You may need outside assistance to evaluate certain technical aspects (software and hardware suitability, projected performance capability, and anticipated performance requirements). If you still do not have a crystal-clear picture of exactly what needs to be done, again, get help. After you have a clear understanding of the status and a suitable project management methodology, you may need to renegotiate aspects of the project with management. You may need to reinitiate the entire project (or cancel it).

What to Do If You Get Behind

When progress falls behind schedule, review your methodology and your deliverables. Carefully review the project to date. Use hindsight to aid you. Be critical when assessing the factors that caused and contributed to the delays. What can be attributed to the failure to consider some variables in your risk management assessment? Determine the underlying causes of the delay and their financial ramifications. Use your methodology to craft a remedy, and your planning and management system should be a part of the process. Small, timely corrections can save wrenching changes later. Keep management informed of the impacts of delays and schedule changes. If you still are not confident about what to do, get help. Your supervisors, associates, and consulting firms can help you craft solutions. While your requests for assistance will be quickly forgotten, an expensive failure will be long remembered.

Figures 1 to 6 reprinted with permission from CIBER, Inc.’s Project Management Methodology.

Document / Report Description

Project Contract and Addendum A mutually binding agreement that defines management’s and the project sponsor’s obligations regarding performance, warranties, payments, liabilities, protections, and other aspects relevant to the project created in the initiation phase and modified as needed throughout the life of the project.

Statement of Work The statement of work articulates the work to be performed, the project deliverables, the project time frame, the budget, acceptance criteria, responsibilities, management responsibilities, and special terms not included in the project contract. The statement of work is created in the initiation phase and modified as needed throughout the life of the project.

Project Charter The charter states the goals and objectives of the project, the consequences of the team’s success and failure, and lists the members of the team and the stakeholder group. The project charter is created at the end of the planning phase and issued to all team members, sponsors, and stakeholders providing the authority to perform the project as planned.

Project Plan A formal, approved document used to guide both project execution and project control. The project plan documents planning assumptions and decisions, facilitates communication among stakeholders, and tracks approved scope, schedule, cost, and quality baselines. The project plan is created in the planning phase and updated regularly, according to an agreed schedule, with current project activity and approved changes.

Risk Control Log A document that tracks events that may negatively affect the project. Prepared during the planning phase, the log lists risk events, the probability of occurrence, the impact to the project, the timing of the event, and the specified risk mitigation strategy. The log is updated throughout the project life cycle to capture new risks and modify the factors of documented risks as they change over time.

Issues Control Log A document that tracks events that have or will occur and affect the project. Prepared during the execution phase and updated throughout the project, the log lists events, the impact to the project, the timing of the event, and the specified action to be taken to dispatch the issue.

Change Control Log Change notices are formal notifications created during the execution phase and document that some aspect of the project’s scope, schedule, budget, or level of quality requires change. A change log tracks change notices that have been submitted and documents the impact to the project. The log also tracks the approval status for each notice and the notice’s final disposition.

Project Status Reports A document that is produced regularly throughout the project according to a schedule defined in the planning phase.

The report will communicate progress of the project, a summary of risk, issue and change control events and a variance analysis of schedule and cost actuals-to-estimates.

Deliverables Acceptance Report A document that formalizes the customer’s acceptance for each deliverable of the project. The report describes each deliverable, compares it with the description contained in the statement of work, documents all variances from the original requirement, and captures the customer’s acceptance/rejection and all comments. The report is created in the execution phase for each deliverable defined in the statement of work.

Project Financial Report A document that is produced regularly throughout the project according to a schedule defined in the planning phase.

The report will communicate the budget and actual expenditures of the project, describe all variances, and display the status of work to be billed, invoices issued, and payments received.

Project Book A collection of all relevant documents of the engagement that have been produced throughout its life cycle. The project book includes copies of all of the project management documentation mentioned above and final copies of project deliverables such as user’s guides, systems documentation, and screen layouts.

Figure 1: Many planning documents are created during a project’s life cycle.

KEY MILESTONES
TASKS

• Delivery of the business proposal Discovering sponsor and
• Award of the project project requirements,
• Selection of the project manager alternative solutions, and
• Authorization to begin work partnership arrangements.
• Kick-off of the project

Proposing business solutions codified in formal documents: proposals, contracts, and statements of work. For major or at-risk projects, elements of the detailing procedure in the project planning phase must be completed.

Agreeing to formal business relationships, project leadership, and work effort outcomes.

Figure 2: The end of the initiation phase is signaled by the completion and approval of the project agreements and milestones.

KEY MILESTONES
TASKS

• Submittal of the baseline project plan Detailing the work efforts:
• Endorsement of the baseline plan defining the schedule, cost,
• Kick-off of the project quality, and scope at a task level.

Assigning project work, authority, and responsibility to organizations and specific individuals.

Endorsing a baseline plan as the reference for quality and control of the project throughout the rest of the life cycle.

Figure 3: The project planning phase ends with the completion of the baseline project plan and milestones.

KEY MILESTONES
TASKS

• Completion and acceptance Regulating project dynamics of each deliverable through change control and
• Approval of time, cost, quality, issues management and scope change procedures.

Assuring overall project time, cost quality, and scope commitments are met.

Communicating status and project progress continuously to all sponsors, stakeholders, and team members.

Coaching project team members in performance using motivation and goal orientation.

Figure 4: The project execution phase transitions to the closure phase when the customer accepts all project deliverables and milestones.

KEY MILESTONES
TASKS

• Completion of project agreements Accepting project deliverables
• Archival of project history and gaining sign-off for the
• Release of resources project.
• Receipt of final payment

Learning from the experience and sharing that information with other associates.

Closing the engagement, financials, and administrative duties.

Figure 5: Project closure is measured by these milestones.

1. Business Administration Skills—Including strategic management skills are necessary to establish and launch IT projects.

2. Customer Focus—Enables the project manager to recognize the project sponsor’s contribution to the project’s success.

3. Communication Skills—Enable the project manager to convey information in a clear, concise, understandable manner.

4. Leadership Skills—Enable the project manager to establish a shared sense of direction, set goals, manage expectations of stakeholders, and work through conflict in a positive manner.

5. Operations Management Skills—Enable the project manager to use tactical approaches to supervise and control IT projects.

6. Personal Effectiveness—Permits a project manager to leverage personal abilities to improve project success.

7. Planning Skills—Including the ability to forecast an environment and establish a course of action to accomplish predefined objectives.

8. Quality Management Skills—Ensure that project deliverables meet reliability and functionality requirements through accurate assessment and measurement.

9. Team Development Skills—Enhance the knowledge and abilities of team members and the group to optimize project performance.

10. Technical Knowledge—Enables the project manager to apply a broad understanding of the IT industry and computer science to expedite technical problem-solving and leverage technical resources effectively.

Figure 6: These management skills are vital for successful project management.