01 ch1

Introduction to Project
Management
Information Technology Project
Management, Seventh Edition
Chapter 1

Introduction
 The world as a whole spends nearly $10 trillion of
its $40.7 trillion gross product on projects of all
kinds
 More than 16 million people regard project
management as their profession
 The overall information and communications
technology market grew by 6 percent to almost $3
trillion in 2010
2

Motivation for Studying Information
Technology (IT) Project Management
 IT Projects have a terrible track record, as described in the
“What Went Wrong?”
3

Advantages of Using Formal
Project Management
 Better control of financial, physical, and human
resources
 Improved customer relations
 Shorter development times
 Lower costs
 Higher quality and increased reliability
 Higher profit margins
 Improved productivity
 Better internal coordination
 Higher worker morale
Information Technology Project Management,
Seventh Edition
4

What Is a Project?
A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create
a unique product, service, or result” (PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, 2012)
Seventh Edition
5

Project Attributes
 A project
 has a unique purpose
 is temporary
 is developed using progressive elaboration
 requires resources, often from various areas
 should have a primary customer or sponsor
 The project sponsor usually provides the
direction and funding for the project
 involves uncertainty
Seventh Edition
6

Project and Program Managers
 Project managers work with project
sponsors, project team, and other people
involved in a project to meet project goals
 Program: group of related projects managed
in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and
control not available from managing them
individually (PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition,
2012)
7

Program and Project Portfolio
Management
A program is “a group of related projects
managed in a coordinated way to obtain
benefits and control not available from
managing them individually” (PMBOK®
Guide, Fifth Edition, 2012)
A program manager provides leadership and
direction for the project managers heading the
projects within the program
Seventh Edition
8

PM Network: What’s in a Name?
9
 Programs vs. Projects
 Should there be a difference?
 What are the problems with labeling a
program as a large project?
 Are different skills needed to be a program
manager compared to a project manager?

Project Portfolio Management
Organizations
group and manage
projects and
programs as a
portfolio of
investments that
contribute to the
entire enterprise’s
success
10

Sample Project Portfolio Approach
11

Figure 1-5. Sample Project Portfolio Management
Screen Showing Portfolio Optimization
Seventh Edition
12

Project Management Offices
 A Project Management Office (PMO) is an
organizational group responsible for
coordinating the project management function
throughout an organization
13

PM Network - PMO 2.0
14
 Why do PMOs fail?
 What is the primary reason cited for failure?
 How do you resurrect a failed PMO?
 How do you ensure longevity of a PMO?
 When should a PMO just be closed?

The Triple Constraint of Project
Management
15

What is Project Management?
“the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques
to project activities to meet project requirements” (PMBOK®
Guide, Fourth Edition, 2012)
Seventh Edition
16
Stakeholders Core Functions
Facilitating
Functions

Project Management Knowledge Areas
 Knowledge areas describe the key competencies
that project managers must develop
 Core Functions
 Facilitating Functions
 Integration Function
Seventh Edition
17

Project Management Tools and
Techniques
 Project management tools and techniques
assist project managers and their teams in
various aspects of project management
18
Gantt chart
network diagram

Project Stakeholders
 Stakeholders are the people involved in or
affected by project activities
Who are the stakeholders in a project?
Seventh Edition
19

What Went Right? Improved
Project Performance
Why the Improvements?
16%
31%
37%
21%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Successful IT Failed
1994
2010
20

Improved Project Performance
21
Growth in PMP Certification,
1993-2011
Coincidence?

Project Success
 There are several ways to define project
success:
 Triple Constraint
 Customer/Sponsor Satisfaction
 The results of the project met its main
objective
Seventh Edition
22

What Helps Projects Succeed?*
1. User involvement
2. Executive support
3. Clear business objectives
4. Emotional maturity
5. Optimizing scope
6. Agile process
7. Project management expertise
8. Skilled resources
9. Execution
10. Tools and infrastructure
Seventh Edition
23
*The Standish Group, “CHAOS Activity News” (August 2011).

The Role of the Project Manager
 Job descriptions vary, but most include
responsibilities like planning, scheduling,
coordinating, and working with people to
achieve project goals
 Remember that 97% of successful projects
were led by experienced project managers,
who can often help influence success factors
Seventh Edition
24

Suggested Skills for Project Managers
 The Project Management Body of Knowledge
 Application area knowledge, standards, and
regulations
 Project environment knowledge
 General management knowledge and skills
 Soft skills or human relations skills
Seventh Edition
25

Ten Most Important Skills and Competencies
for Project Managers
Seventh Edition
26
1. People skills
2. Leadership
3. Listening
4. Integrity, ethical behavior, consistent
5. Strong at building trust
6. Verbal communication
7. Strong at building teams
8. Conflict resolution, conflict management
9. Critical thinking, problem solving
10. Understands, balances priorities

Importance of Leadership Skills
 Effective project managers provide leadership
by example
 A leader focuses on long-term goals and big-
picture objectives while inspiring people to
reach those goals
 A manager deals with the day-to-day details
of meeting specific goals
 Project managers often take on the role of
both leader and manager
Seventh Edition
27

Different Skills Needed in Different
Situations
 Large projects
 High uncertainty projects
 Very novel projects
Seventh Edition
28

Careers for IT Project Managers
 In a 2012 survey, IT
executives listed the “nine
hottest skills” they
planned to hire for in
2013
 Project management was
second only to
programming and
application development
Seventh Edition
29
Job Categories TotalCurrent
EmployeesRank
GrowthRankBig Data / Analyst 6 1
Business/Systems
Analyst
3 3
(tie)
Database Admin /
Analyst
7 3 (tie)
Networks / Security
5 5
Project Management
4 2
Software Development
2 6
Other IT Skills(
Primarily Help Desk)
1 7

Nine Hottest Skills*
Skill Percentage of
Respondents
Programming and application development 60%
Project management 44%
Help desk/technical support 35%
Networking 35%
Business intelligence 23%
Data center 18%
Web 2.0 18%
Security 17%
Telecommunications 9%
30
*Source: Rick Saia, “9 Hot IT Skills for 2012,” Computerworld, September 26, 2011.

The Project Management Profession
 The profession of project management is
growing at a very rapid pace
 It is helpful to understand the history of the
field, the role of professional societies like
the Project Management Institute, and the
growth in project management software
Seventh Edition
31

Global Issues
 Several global dynamics are forcing organizations
to rethink their practices:
 Talent development for project and program
managers is a top concern
 Good project portfolio management is crucial in
tight economic conditions
 Basic project management techniques are core
competencies
 Organizations want to use more agile approaches
to project management
 Benefits realization of projects is a key metric 32

Project Management Certification
 The Project Management Institute (PMI) is an international
professional society for project managers with 380,000
members worldwide in 2012
 Project Management Professional (PMP) has
documented sufficient project experience, agreed to follow a
code of ethics, and passed the PMP exam
 Certified Associate in PM (CAPM) is achievable with less
experience
 CompTIA offers another certification option
 CompTIA Project+ has less requirements but is not as well
recognized as PMP
33

Ethics in Project Management
 Ethics, loosely defined, is a set of principles that
guide our decision making based on personal values
of what is “right” and “wrong”
 Project managers often face ethical dilemmas
 In order to earn PMP certification, applicants must
agree to PMI’s Code of Ethics and Professional
Conduct
 Several questions on the PMP exam are related to
professional responsibility, including ethics
34

Project Management Software
There are hundreds of different products to assist
in performing project management
Three main categories of tools:
 Low-end tools
 Midrange tools
 High-end tools
35

Project Management Software
Various software includes:
 BaseCamp
 Clarizen
 Collabtive (open source)
 dotProject (open source)
 OneDesk
 Genius Inside
 PlanBox
36

Class Summary
Project Definition
Difference between project, program and portfolio
Project Management Office
Certification Opportunities
 PMI/PMP
 CompTIA
37

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