Challenges of Managing IS Projects PDF

09. Challenges of Managing IS Projects Learning Outcomes By the end of this lesson, you will be able to: Justify the case for formal project management for IT Projects Describe a generalized IT Project Management Process Discuss key project variables in IT projects Propose tools...

09. Challenges of Managing IS Projects Learning Outcomes By the end of this lesson, you will be able to: Justify the case for formal project management for IT Projects Describe a generalized IT Project Management Process Discuss key project variables in IT projects Propose tools to estimate and monitor key project variables Identify the major IT Project risk factors and related risk mitigating measures Learning Outcome Resources Videos Readings: The case for formal project  Intro to IT Project Management 1  Text4 pg 320 – 326 management for IT projects  Typical Phases in Project  Text3 pg 300 – 301 Managements Different Videos Readings: IT/IS Project Management  Summary of Project Management 2  Text4 pg 326 – 334 Process  Why Software Project  Text3 pg 301 – 303 Management is Different Videos  The Project Management Triple Readings: Constraint 3 Variables in IT Projects  Reading Resource 1  Estimation Tools and Techniques  Text4 pg 338 – 345 in Project management  Cost Estimation  Effort Estimation Readings: IT/IS Project risk factors and Videos  Text2 Page 247 – 251 4 related risk mitigating  Project Risk Management  Text3 pg 311 – 314 measures  Risk Identification Techniques  Text3 pg 316 – 318  Intro: What is a Project? A Project is a temporary, unique and progressive attempt or endeavor made to produce some kind of a tangible or intangible result (a unique product, service, benefit, competitive advantage, etc.). Usually includes a series of interrelated tasks that are planned for execution over a fixed period of time and within certain requirements and limitations such as cost, quality, performance etc. Examples of IT Projects Software / Applications Development eCommerce Web Development and Hosting Systems Integration Network and IT Infrastructure development Business Analytics/Data Analytics Security System Development/Management 5 02. Case for formal Project Management What’s IT Project Management For? Findings from the CHAOS Report - The Standish Group - 1995 7 Any changes since 1995? In general, IT Projects are showing higher success rates. Reasons: Better project management tools & processes Smaller projects Improved communication among stakeholders More skillful IT project managers But there is still ample opportunity for improvement 8 Project resolution results from CHAOS research for years 2004 to 2012 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 Successful 29% 35% 32% 37% 39% Failed 18% 19% 24% 21% 18% Challenged 53% 46% 44% 42% 43% 9  Covers periods 2011 to 2015 10 More Recently … 11 Project Story: How the customer explained it 12 Project Story: How the Project Leader Understood it 13 Project Story: How the Business Consultant Described It 14 Project Story: How the Analyst Designed It 15 Project Story: How the Programmer Wrote it 16 Project Story: How the Project was Documented 17 Project Story: What Operations were Installed 18 Project Story: How the Customer Was Billed 19 Project Story: How it was Supported 20 Project Story: What the Customer Really Needed 21 02. Project Management Process Generic Project Management Phases Project Risk-Cost Progression Graph Initiating Questions Initiation Phase Sample Project Charter Elements Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danabrownlee/2019/07/14/project-management-isnt-just-for-project-managers-4-skills-you-need-to-know/?sh=4e564a341a8e Stakeholder Responsibility Matrix Example Statement of Work Stakeholders and their responsibilities Purpose Objectives Scope Sign-off and review hierarchies Reporting and communication plans Assumptions or Constraints 29 Project Planning: Develop Detailed schedule of: Project Scope Project Cost Project Timelines Project Requirements: resources, technologies Project Tasks Who will perform the tasks? Who will be responsible? What will the organization receive at the end? Project Implementation (Execute & Control) Project plan is carried out to deliver the IT product and enable the project goal Project manager must ensure the existence / provision of People with appropriate skill, experience & knowledge The technical infrastructure for development Scope, schedule, budget and quality controls Identifying and mitigating variances Plans for: procurement, quality management, change management, testing, implementation, communication etc. Project Close Out Key focus: transfer control of project deliverable from project team to client / sponsor Other activities: Preparation of final report Presentation to demonstrate completion of all required project deliverables Determination of project’s final cost (followed by invoicing / payment of outstanding amounts) Closure of all project accounts, archiving of project documents, files etc Releasing project resources 32 Project Close Out Post mortem by project manager and team of entire project: What went well? What did not? Why? Room for improvement? Document everything for the sake of future projects Evaluation of individual team members by project manager: strengths, areas of improvement Third party’s evaluation of project, project leader and team: Has project met goals? Did it meet its scope, schedule, budget and quality objectives? Is project sponsor/client satisfied with project work How well did project team work together? Evaluate project’s organizational value : Attempt valuation of product 33 03. Key Variables in IT Projects: The Triple Constraints 34 04. Estimation and Monitoring IT Project Variables - Schedule Management How much effort is required to complete an activity? How much calendar time is needed to complete an activity? What is the total cost of an activity? Project estimation and scheduling are interleaved management activities Key Activities Activity definition Activity sequencing Activity duration estimation Schedule development 35 Schedule control Schedule Management Tools Gantt Chart Project Network Diagrams 36 04. Estimation and Monitoring IT Project Variables Project Cost Management Cost estimating: A required input to the cost budgeting process A particularly interesting (difficult) task for software projects. Why? Typical Cost Items: Hardware and software costs. Travel and training costs. Effort costs (the dominant factor in most projects) The salaries of engineers involved in the project; Social and insurance costs. Effort costs must take overheads into account Costs of building, heating, lighting. Costs of networking and communications. 37 Costs of shared facilities (e.g library, staff restaurant, etc.) 04. Estimation and Monitoring IT Project Variables Project Cost Management Common Methods: Analogy: Estimates cost at a high level by using a similar past project. Uses historical data together with expert judgment Parametric Modeling: Uses a mathematical model to compute costs with variables such as complexity of project, capabilities of project team, specifics of tools in use etc. Definitive Estimates: assigns cost to each work package e.g. based on an estimate of work effort and using a person/hour rate Others: Expert judgement, Parkinson's Law Estimates are made as efforts to discover cost. But the relationship between cost and effort is not so straight forward 38 Costing and Pricing Factor Explanation A development organization may quote a low price because it wishes to move into a new segment of Market opportunity the software market. Accepting a low profit on one project may give the opportunity of more profit later. The experience gained may allow new products to be developed. Cost estimate If an organization is unsure of its cost estimate, it may increase its price by some contingency over and uncertainty above its normal profit. A customer may be willing to allow the developer to retain ownership of the source code and reuse it Contractual terms in other projects. The price charged may then be less than if the software source code is handed over to the customer. Requirements If the requirements are likely to change, an organization may lower its price to win a contract. After volatility the contract is awarded, high prices can be charged for changes to the requirements. Developers in financial difficulty may lower their price to gain a contract. It is better to make a smaller Financial health than normal profit or break even than to go out of business. 39  04. Estimation and Monitoring IT Project Variables Project Cost Management Cost budgeting The process of allocating approved project funding across initiatives using as set of established cost estimates, work breakdown structure and the schedule Project budgets is used to communicate what amounts will be spent on categories of resources within a given time period. They tend to be broken down month-by-month Address the following questions early … to avoid problems: Are all project expenses submitted to the project manager for approval? Does the project manager approve timesheets for project team members? receive weekly reports on labour hours charged to the project Are there categories of cost or amounts that require approval from the sponsor 40 or client? Project Communication Tracking and Reporting Required: Reliable project metrics A qualitative measurement of some attribute of the project. Project metrics should focus on the following key areas: Scope Schedule Budget Resources Quality Risk 41 Project Communication Tracking and Reporting Qualities of a Good Project Metric Understandable Intuitive Quantifiable Objective (no bias) Cost Effective Easy and inexpensive to create Proven “What gets measured gets done” High Impact 42 Project Communication Tracking and Reporting Reporting Categories: Reviews Formal & informal meetings with stakeholders May focus on specific deliverables or milestones Used to get acceptance, surface problems or issues, or make key decisions Status Reporting Describes present state of the project Compares actual progress to baseline plan Scope, schedule, and budget Like a snap shot of the project at a specific time 43 Project Communication Tracking and Reporting Reporting Categories Progress Reporting What activities or tasks has the team accomplished? Actual versus planned Forecast Reporting Predicting the project’s future status or progress Example: trend analysis 44 05. IT Project Risk Factors & Mitigating Measures Why Do IT Projects Fail? 45 Challenges of Managing IT Projects Unclear Requirements Undefined Roles and Responsibilities Missed Requirement Project Infrastructure Delayed Delay in Document Approvals Unclear Quality Criteria Scope Creep Unstructured Project Costing Unclear risks and Issues Revision of Estimates and Timescales Project Infrastructure Issues Vendor Quality Issues Service Introduction Issues Time and Cost Issues Undefined Project Dependencies Over/under-estimation of Projects Variables Time-Driven Projects 46