1. Chapter 8 Managing IT Project Delivery
Lecture 15
Chapter 8
Managing IT Project Delivery

2. Announcements Business Case Returned today. Grades out of 40:
Upper quartile: 35
Median: 33
Lower quartile: 31
Optional draft team business analysis this Thursday
Final report due in 2 weeks. No late submissions.

3. Themes for chapter 8
Understand possible sources of IT project risk and how these can be managed
Recognize different approaches to project execution and understand their relatives merits
Understand the value of both consistency and agility in project management

4. What is an IT Project? Clear beginning and end
Can be any size or complexity level
IT focus – delivered by IT department
Managed by a project manager

5. Project components Roles and responsibilities Documented plan Timing
What does ‘finished’ mean?
Timing
Budget
Risk register
Issue register

6. Why are IT projects difficult to manage?
Some things are easy to get wrong…
Amount of change involved
Time required
Misunderstanding of requirements

7. Major sources of implementation risk
Project size
Experience with the technology
Requirements volatility

8. Effects of Additional Risk Factors (Large Size, High Technology, High Requirements Volatility) on Project Risk

9. Project Implementation Dip
Most projects don’t go smoothly all the way
New system going live common point
Expectations not always realistic
Short term downward shift may be necessary
All happens in middle of business cycle and worker turnover
Need to focus on end goal to get through value of change when people are complaining
Ideally see it before it comes and get people ready

10. What People Expect and What Often Happens at System Cutover

11. What would you do as PM to manage the performance dip?

12. Portfolio Risk Multiple projects can add or reduce risk
Low-risk not always good
All high-risk is vulnerable
Identify risks in all projects, then consider combined portfolio of risks

13. Portfolio risk Multiple projects can compete for resources
Changes in one project can affect another
Do projects complement or compete with each other?
Need to have a portfolio mindset – not focus on just one area

14. Governance
IT portfolio needs to be managed consistently with company strategy
There should be contingency plans
IT oversight committee
IT expert

15. Project Categories and Degree of Risk

16. Risk Assessment Risk profile questionnaire
Higher risk score, higher management approval required
Repeated several times throughout project
Different perspectives on risk expectation can lead to disaster

17. Risk and Return Distribution for Portfolio of Projects

18. Development Methodologies
A development methodology is a sequence of phases that a project will follow.
Analysis and design
Construction
Implementation
Operation and maintenance

19. Adaptive Methodologies
Adaptive methodologies often focus on prototyping and rapidly going through the normal development phases several times
Iterative – design, construct, implement on each iteration
Fast cycles
Early delivery of limited functionality
Require skilled management to quickly change plans
Analysis of value such as ROI becomes difficult

20. Project Management No single correct plan Management Tools
External integration tools
Internal integration tools
Formal planning tools
Formal result controls
See table: Tools for project management

21. Tools for Project Management

22. Influences on Tool Selection
Low requirements volatility/low tech projects
Easy to manage
Least common
PERT (program evaluation review technique)
CPM (critical path method)
Low requirements volatility/high tech projects
Difficult to manage
Eg. Converting mainframe system, developing web access
Outputs well defined
Technical complexity drives characteristics of successful manager
Formal planning not likely to add as much value

23. Influences on Tool Selection (ctd)
High requirements volatility/low tech projects
Involve users in design, development and implementation
Develop user support
Formal planning and control tools help
Close, aggressive management of external integration
Leadership from management not technologists
High Requirements Volatility/high-tech projects
Managers need technical expertise
Ill-defined projects common
Formal tools useful once clarity is reached in direction
Cross effects of different factors becomes important

24. Project Management Relative Contribution of Management Tools
Depends on specific project
Results-oriented tools work in structured/formal environment
Depends on corporate culture
Emergence of Adaptive Project Management Methods
Approaches to design, deployment, implementation and investment that assume a need to gather information and learn as one goes.
Not really effective universal methods yet
Software Development Life Cycles
SDLC breaks down development into stages:
Analysis and design
Construction
Implementation
Operation and maintenance

25. Project Management (ctd.)
Adaptive Methodologies
Quickly build rough preliminary version
Iterate through stages rather than finish every stage
Fast cycle through stages
Aim to deliver limited functionality fast
Require skilled staff
Adaptive Methods and change management
Intensely involve users in evaluating outcomes
Strictly control migration of system features from development, testing to production
Separating stages avoids major problems

26. Process Consistency and Agility in Project Management
Balancing tension between process consistency and process agility
Tools useful one place shouldn’t necessarily be applied to everything
Success in balance often includes minimal formalization
Flow
Understand interrelationships between projects
Completeness
Keeping track of all tasks in project
Visibility
Getting info on status of rest of project

27. Final exam
The final exam will be on Thursday, June 9 at 12pm – 3pm. There are three sections: 1. Short answers (~25%) 2. Long answers (~25%) 3. Case study (~50%) The exam is closed book, and designed to test your understanding of concepts from class

28. Preparing for the final exam
Review the text book and class notes, including cases
What are the main messages in each chapter?
What are the main lessons from each case?
Focus on understanding the content rather than memorizing details

29. Final Exam Sample Questions
Short answer:
What is the difference between security and reliability?
How does standardization affect business opportunities?
In what ways is IT infrastructure different from other infrastructure resources?
What is virtual integration and which company did we study who specializes in it?

30. Final Exam Sample Questions
Long answer (~250 words)
Discuss what risks are associated with major IT projects, and what a company can do to mitigate against them
Describe the challenges associated with educating users of IT in a company, and what IT-focused companies can do to help their employees

31. Case study questions
Questions will be short and long answer from the case
Identify and analyze core issues, in a similar way to how we have discussed cases in class