© 2008 Prentice Hall1-1 Introduction to Project Management Chapter 1 Introduction Information Systems Project Management: A Process and Team Approach, 1e Fuller/Valacich/George

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-2 What is a Project? “A planned undertaking of related activities to reach an objective that has a beginning and an end.” * * Project Management Institute

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-3 What is a P roject? A project has a definable beginning and completion A project is composed of primarily non-routine tasks A project has a quantifiable risk A project has a finite budget A project has a unique scope and plan that needs to evolve or at least be continuously validated A project has a final output. A project is not a process: –A Process is a loop without a definable end specified within the process. –A process has a static plan. –A process has little risk.

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-4 Project Management Institute (PMI) An association designed to bring together project management professionals and systematically capture project management knowledge Publishes the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) –The PMBOK is a collection of processes and knowledge areas generally accepted as best practice within the project management discipline

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-5 Project Environment One to many individuals involved Time to completion can range from days to years

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-6 Projects Temporary (have a specific beginning and end) Organizational projects are prioritized for consideration and selection Projects require senior management support Projects are lead by a project manager Project members often come and go

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-7 Which of the following are projects? Why? 1.Researching on whether stock chart analysis works 2.Organizing a house warming party 3.Attending a university lecture 4.A university assignment 5.A university course final examination 6.A university degree 7.Producing an edition of a newspaper

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-8 Solution to number 1 This is a one time assignment, the task is establish a single fact. Does this process of stock market analysis work? The function would be to collect an assortment of chart analysis’s and compare to what actually happened. If they match the process works, if they do not match the process not functional. So the assignment has definitive begin and end, and a final deliverable. So this is a project.

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-9 Solution to number 3 and 6 (3) This task is ongoing, each attendance task is an almost exact mirror of the attendance before. There is little planning needed each time you go to a lecture as it should be routine, and therefore small risk. It is more a process than a project! (6) The function of getting a degree is quite straight forward. All that is required is for you to just pass a bunch of subjects and the rest takes care of itself. In Project Management this is know as a program. A program is a group of projects. So by definition this is a very simple Project and could be arguably a process.

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-10 Solution to number 7 Newspapers are produced to a very well defined format, and have a very clear mechanism to create each edition. Though each article does take some planning the task should be routine. The closer a task is to a process the more efficient and therefore cost effective it is. Newspapers are very low margin business, and therefore would strive to make the task as close to a process as possible.

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-11 Stakeholders of a Project Project Sponsor –Provides executive support Project Manager –Leads and manages the project Project Team Members –Provide technical and support expertise Organization Employees –Those that are directly or indirectly affected by the proposed project Community –Competitors and business partners impacted by the project outcome

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-12 Project Manager A person with a diverse set of skills – management, leadership, technical, conflict management, and customer relationship – who is responsible for initiating, planning, executing, controlling, monitoring, and closing down a project.

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-13 Why Undertake a Project? To take advantage of a business opportunity To solve a business problem

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-14 Feasibility Study Do you have the: –Time? –Financial resources? –Technical resources?

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-15 The Outsourcing/Offshore Options India is the largest supplier By 2008 U.S. companies are projected to spend $31 billion dollars on the outsourcing of software and services

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-16 Project Failure (French Study)

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-17 Top Five Causes of Project Failure (OASIG Study) 1.Lack of attention to human and organizational factors 2.Poor project management 3.Poor articulation of user requirements 4.Inadequate attention to business needs and goals 5.Failure to involve users appropriately

© 2008 Prentice Hall Study by Wallace & Keil 1.Lack of executive support 2.Lack of user involvement 3.Inexperienced project manager 4.Inexperienced team members 5.Unclear business objectives 6.Unreliable estimates 7.Lack of effective project management methodology 8.New software infrastructure 9.Unstable organizational environment 10.Unreliable outside suppliers

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-19 What is Software Project Management Good software project management ensures that software gets delivered: with high quality - on time - within budget 31% of projects cancelled before completion, 88% go past deadline, over budget, or both. Average cost overrun is 189%, Average time overrun is 222%. Size matters: up to $1,000,000 about 50% chance of success, up to $2,000,000 about 20% chance of success Software project management is difficult!

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© 2008 Prentice Hall1-21 What is Unique About IT Projects? Constant change in applied technologies within the organization Difficulty in finding and keep experienced IT project employees Extensive amount of user participation required Selecting the appropriate systems development methodology Most IT solutions are “one-of-a-kind” Specifics of the project likely to change during the life of the project Technology changes may change the project itself

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-22 IS Project Complexities

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-23 What is Project Management? The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet project requirements. Involves five process groups:

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-24 Project Management Life Cycle Initiate – potential projects are identified and evaluated in terms of importance to the organization Plan – scope, time, cost and risk management planning takes place Execute – project plan is followed Control – project performance is measured against the project plan Close – final paper work completed and sign off by all stakeholders

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-25 Various Project Management Tools/Techniques Gantt Chart –Tool that can be used to plan and track project activities Critical Path Method (CPM) –A method used for determining the sequence of task activities that directly affect the completion of a project Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) –A technique that uses optimistic, pessimistic, and realistic time to calculate the expected time for a particular task Microsoft Project –Most widely used project management software – Application Service Provider (ASP) software –Web hosted project management software Industry-Specific software –Software which addresses a specific industry or environment

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-26 Gantt Chart

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-27 CPM & PERT

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-28 Microsoft Project

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-29 Industry Specific Software

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-30 Project Management Institute (PMI) Professional organization for project managers Over 214,000 members from 159 countries (2006) Provides professional literature on project management Develops and maintains the PMBOK Sponsors the PMP Certification

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-31 PMBOK Project Management Body of Knowledge A repository of the key project management knowledge areas

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-32 PMBOK Knowledge Areas

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-33 Major Project Management Achievements Great pyramids of Egypt Pacific Railroad Hoover Dam Manhattan Project Space program

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-34 The Approach to Learning Project Management Process Focus Team Focus Technology Focus PM Software Group Support Technologies Knowledge Management and Organizational Memory Systems Global Focus PM Professional Focus

© 2008 Prentice Hall1-35 Questions?