Project Management Concepts

• BUSN 3605: Applied Digital Project Management taught by Min Kim, MSPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, CSM, BRMP, SSYB, ITIL.

Introduction to IT, MIS, ERP, and CRM

• Large systems development projects are particularly susceptible to failure.
• Analysis by the Standish Group revealed that only 2% of projects exceeding $100 million in labor costs are successful.
• Major factors contributing to failure in large projects include delays in decision-making and high workforce turnover.
• Systems/Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a process for determining how an Information System (IS) can support business needs, design the system, build it, and deliver it to users.
• An Information System (IS) consists of people, data, processes, information presentation, and information technology that interact to support and improve day-to-day operations while also supporting problem-solving and decision-making needs.
• A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.
• Project Management applies knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.
• The Project Manager leads the team responsible for achieving the project objectives, as defined by the performing organization (PMBOK 6th edition).
• Business Analysis involves tasks and techniques used to work as a liaison among stakeholders to understand the structure, policies, and operations and recommend solutions for achieving goals.
• Business analysis involves understanding how organizations function and defining the capabilities to provide products/services to external stakeholders (BABOK 2nd edition).
• A Business Analyst (BA) is anyone who performs business analysis activities, regardless of job title.
• Business analysis practitioners include business systems analysts, systems analysts, requirements engineers, product managers/owners, enterprise analysts, business architects, management consultants.
• The practitioners perform tasks outlined in the BABOK® Guide.
• The Practitioners perform related disciplines, such as project management, software development, quality assurance, and interaction design (BABOK 2nd edition).
• Systems Analysts (SA) play a key role in the SDLC.
• SAs analyze the business situation and identify opportunities for improvements.
• SAs design an IS to implement the improvements.
• The primary goal of the SA is to create value for the organization, which for most companies means increasing profits challenging the current ways of organization works.
• Domains refer to the area undergoing analysis.
• Solutions involve a set of changes to the current state of an organization to meet a business need, solve a problem, or take advantage of an opportunity.
• A Requirement is a condition or capability needed by a stakeholder to solve a problem or achieve an objective.
• A Requirement must also meet a contract, standard, specification, or other imposed document (IEEE 610.12-1990).
• Data consists of raw facts about an organization and its business transactions, which have little meaning and use by themselves.
• Information is data thta has been refined and organized by processing and providing purposeful intelligence.
• Information helps organizations increase productivity, deliver quality products/services, maintain customer loyalty, and make sound decisions.
• Information Technology (IT): Combination of software and hardware products and services used to manage, access, communicate, and share information.
• Systems Analysis and Design is the step-by-step process for developing high-quality Information Systems (IS).
• Information Systems consist of technology, hardware, software, data, processes, and people for business functions and transactions.
• Hardware: Physical layer of the information system.
• Software controls hardware and can be installed on a hardware can be system software
• Application Software: The software of an IS can be stored in tables in an IS
• Processes describe the tasks and business functions to achieve specific results.

Types of Business IS

• People: Using or involved with IS.
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems is an integrated system of software applications that standardizes, streamlines, and integrates business processes across finance, human resources, procurement, distribution, and other departments.
• ERP Systems:
  • Implements order placement, scheduling, shipping, and invoicing functions with Sales.
  • Maximizes cost savings with support for procurement and logistics processes via Procurement (SRM).
  • Analyzes data and focuses on external strategies via Business intelligence and e-Commerce.
  • Helps plan and optimize manufacturing capacity and material resources through Production (PLM).
  • Controls warehouse processes and responds to changes in distribution (SCM).
  • Automates operations and ensures real-time insight into overall performance with Accounting.
  • Manages employee database and optimizes employee utilization through Human resources.
  • Oversees corporate performance and governance by Business Intelligence tools.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

• CRM the process in which a business or other organization administers its interactions with customers, typically using data analysis to study large amounts of information.
• a CRM system compiles data from a range of different communication channels
• CRM channels include company's website, telephone, email, live chat, marketing materials and more recently, social media.
• CRM allows businesses to learn more about their target audiences and improve sales growth.
• Transaction Processing (TP) Systems process data generated by day-to-day business operations. -TP Examples: customer order processing, accounts receivable, and warranty claim processing.
• Business Support Systems provides support for users across all company levels.
• Business Support Systems can work in conjunction with a TP system, provide Management Information and use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID:)to identifies objects.
• Knowledge Management uses a knowledge base with inference rules for users to find information by entering keywords.
• Inference rules identify data patterns and relationships.
• User Productivity Systems: Technology that improves productivity.
• Systems Integration: Combination of transaction processing, business support, knowledge management, and user productivity features.
• Benefits of integrated management system are a clear, uniform image, impacts, and associated risks with less duplication, and easier adoption of new systems.
• Project Management Information System (PMIS) provides access to IT software tools for scheduling, work authorization, configuration management, and information collection/distribution. Key Performance Indicators (KPI) can be part of PMIS system.
• Sequence Activities in the software helps with the different types of dependencies.
• Develop Schedule with inputs of activities, network diagrams, resources, and activity durations (PMBOK 6th edition).

IS Roles & Career Paths

• Systems Analyst focuses on the information system (IS) issues.
• Business Analyst focuses on the business issues.
  • Computing benefits from an IS or Example: Learning Management System.
• Requirements Analyst focuses on eliciting requirements from stakeholders.
• Infrastructure Analyst focuses on technical issues.
  • The analyst focusses on the ways the system will interact with the organization's technical infrastructure. -Includes networks, database, security, the software platform
• Software Architect takes a holistic view of the entire IT environment and guides application design.
• Organization Change Management Analyst focuses on the personnel and management issues.
  • Less technical and process-oriented.
• Project Manager ensures project completion on time and within budget, delivering expected value.
• Systems Analysts work closely with all project team members for effective system development
• Systems Analysts understand how technology solves business problems and serve as change agents to implement solutions.

Systems Analyst tasks include

• Investigating and analyzing information systems, designs & developing new IS, installing, evaluating, and maintaining.
• Translating information to managers and programmers
• Interacting with users and managers for feedback.
• Seeking feedback from users to ensure systems meet objectives.

Project Lifecycle

• The purpose of pre-Initiation Phase is to create a business case and compare project options, including the total cost of ownership.
• Purpose of the Initiation Phase is to create the project charter and stakeholder register.
• Example of Project Intake Process: IMIT Intake Process Lifecycle.
• Example of Project Intake System: Business Case.doc
• The Business Case should define the business problem or opportunity solution, Business Case should form the Basis pf the project team.
• The Business Case contains opportunity: Detailed description: Introduction, problem/opportunity statement, assumptions and constraints or alignment with organizational objectives.
• The Business Case outlines Solutions, benefits, costs, risks, issues, preferred solution requirements & Implementation Plans.
• Screening Model consists of non-numeric criteria for selection and justification purposes, sacred Cow, operating/competitive necessity, product line extension and innovations.
• Screening Model: Numeric criteria includes: Payback period ,Discounted cash flow (NPV) or Internal rate of return (IRR)
• Discounted cash flow (NPV) is the value of a future sum of money if the funds were available today.
• Internal rate of return (IRR) is the discount rate at which project inflows and outflows become equal Ignores inflation rate.
• Screening Model: Numeric criteria are Real Options.
  • If investments themselves are not profitable, then a new technology or accss will need to be bid on future work
• Assigns initial estimates for pilot contracts and revenue
• Window-of-Opportunity Analysis innovation uses short analysis before R&D.
• Discovery-Driven Planning funds enough of the project to execute a phase of the project.
• Feasibility Analysis helps the organization decide whether to proceed with, assess the scope of, and identify important risks to a project.
• Each organization has its own process and format.
• Three dimensions to assess are: Technical, Economic and organizational
• Technical Feasibility is the extent to which system can be designed, developed and installed. Familiarity with application and technology generates risk, as does project size and compatibility.
• Economic Feasibility determines costs include development, operating , along with the corresponding annual benefits.
• Intangible components are valued and compared by weighing costs/benefits
• Economic Feasibility: To perform identify costs and benefits, Assign values and determine the cash flow -Assess projects economic value
• Development Costs are salaries, consultant fees
• The Operational costs is a mix of software and training
• Organizational Feasibility: If you build it, will they come? Assesses how well it will impact the organization/users.
• Alignment checks are to see if aligns with the organizational strategy with a team of champions/managers.
• Champion managers encourage stakeholder adoption of the system.

Project Life Cycle

• Levels of Effort
• Defining, Planning executing or closing out
• There are corresponding processes for defining and planning Project Management Process Groups are;
• Initiation
• Planning
• Executing
• Execute
• Closinng
• Project management is the application to meet requirements: -Knowles Skills and Toolset Project Management Process Groups are useful for many categories through the application and integration of 5 Process Groups.
• Can have various phases as a process
• Initiate-Plan implement and close, while constantly controlling them
• Every phase of a Project life cycle includes various groups repeated

Initiation phase

• a feasibility study is conducted to investigate options and identify the project sponsor, scope, budget, and stakeholders.
• Broad statements and approch

Planning Phase

• Requireements defined and work to deliver a structure broken down plans are made for communications management and quality of reources

Implementation Phase

• The project team is hired and developed, procurements take place, the project work is underway, project is monitored and changes managed, and stakeholders are maintained.

Closing Phase

• The final deliverables are released to the customer, reporting is created, procurements are closed out, lessons are learned, and celebratory events are held.

Questions cover project management concepts. This includes project phases, work breakdown structure, and the roles and responsibilities of the project team. Also covers initiation and planning phase details.