Project Management

Andal, Christian Bernard

Taguinod, Krizelle Anne
Importance of Project
Management
What is Project Management?

Project management is the use of specific knowledge, skills,

tools and techniques to deliver something of value to people.
Who are Project Managers?

They are organized, passionate and goal-oriented who

understand what projects have in common, and their
strategic role in how organizations succeed, learn and
change.
Benefits of Effective Project Management

Service delivery efficiency Opportunities for expansion

Increased customer satisfaction Improved decision making

Service delivery effectiveness Optimised risk assessment

Team growth and development Increase in quality outcome

Competitiveness Increased quantity of projects

Project Management Failure

An estimate of 30 to 40 percent of IT projects fail

Usual causes of failure are:

- Cost Overruns
- Time Slippage
- Technical shortfalls impairing performance
- Failure to obtain anticipated benefits
Activities Done in Project Management

1. Planning
2. Assessment of Risk
3. Estimation of Resources
4. Organization of Work
5. Task Assignment
6. Project Execution
7. Progress Report
8. Analysis of Results
Variables of Project Management

Project Management for information system must deal with 5 major Variables:

Scope - Defines what is and isn’t included in a project

Time - Amount of time required to complete the project

Cost - All the expenses of the project

Quality - indicator of how well the end result of a project satisfies the

objectives specified by management.

Risk - refers to potential problems that would threaten the success of a project.
Selecting Projects
Management Structure for Information Systems Projects

Hierarchy in Large Firms

● Corporate Strategic Planning Group
- Responsible for firm’s strategic plan
● Information systems steering committee
- Reviews and approves plans for systems in all divisions
● Project management group
- Responsible for overseeing specific projects
● Project team
- Responsible for individual systems project
 Management Control of Systems Projects

Each level of management is

responsible for specific
aspects of systems projects,
and this structure helps give
priority to the most
important systems projects
for the organization
 Information systems plan

● Supports overall
business plan
● Serves as a roadmap
Information systems plan
Information systems plan

For effective plan

● Inventory and document
- Existing systems and components
- Decision-making improvement
- Metrics established for quantifying values
● Clear understanding of long-term and short-term information
requirements
● Key performance indicators (KPIs)
- Strategic analysis identifies small number of KPIs, determined by
managers
> Production costs, labor costs
Selecting Projects

Portfolio analysis

• Used to evaluate alternative system projects

• Inventories all of the organization's information systems projects and assets
• Each system has profile of risk and benefit
High benefit, low risk
High benefit, high risk
Low benefit, low risk
Low benefit, high risk
• To improve return on portfolio, balance risk and return from system investments
 A System Portfolio

• Companies should examine their portfolio of projects in terms of potential benefits and likely risks.
• Certain kinds of projects should be avoided altogether and others developed rapidly.
• There is no ideal mix.
• Companies in different industries have different profiles
Selecting Projects

Scoring models

• Used to evaluate alternative system projects, especially when

many criteria exist
• Assigns weights to various features of system and calculates
weighted totals
Scoring Model
Assessing the Business Value of
Information Systems
Costs and Benefits of Information Systems
Capital budgeting for information systems

● Capital budgeting models:

- Measure value of investing in long-term capital investment projects
- Rely on measures of cash flows of the firm
- Cash outflows (Expenditures for the hardware, software, labor)
- Cash inflows (Increased sales, Reduced costs)
- There are various capital budgeting models used for IT projects:
Payback method, accounting rate of returns on investment, NPV, IRR
Assessing the Business Value of
Information Systems

● Real options pricing models (ROPM)

- Can be used when future revenue streams of IT projects are uncertain and up-
front costs are high
- Use concept of options valuation borrowed from financial industry
- Gives managers flexibility to stage IT investment or test the waters with small
pilot projects or prototypes to gain more knowledge about risks before investing
in entire implementation

● Limitations of financial models

- Do not take into account social and organizational dimensions that may affect
costs and benefits
Managing Project Risks
Dimensions of Project Risks

Project risks are influenced by:

- Project size
- Cost, Time, Number of Personnel affected
- Project Structure
- Structured, defined requirements run lower risk
- Experience with Technology
- Lack of experience
Change Management

The methods and manners in which a company describes and

implements change within both its internal and external processes.

Required for a successful system building

New information system will have a powerful behavioural and

organizational impact
Implementation and Change Agents

Implementation refers to all organizational activities working toward

the adoption, management, and routinization of an innovation, such
as a new formation system.

Change Agents are the catalysts for the whole implementation

process. They redefine he configuration, interactions, job activities
and power relationships of organizational groups.
Role of End Users

System Implementation benefits greatly from high levels of user involvement

and management support.

User-Designer Communication Gap

Refers to the difference between user and specialists.

Common differences are:

Backgrounds Vocabulary

Interests Priorities

Concerns regarding system interface

Management Support and Commitment

- Projects backed by the management has a higher chance of

success and accepted by the end users.

- Projects will be given higher attention of and priority.

- Change management will also be easier to implement.

Controlling Risk Factors

Anticipating potential implementation problems and applying

possible solutions will increases the chance of success.

The first step of controlling risks involves identifying the nature and
level of the risk.

Implementers could then use the proper tools and approaches to

solve the problem.
Managing Technical Complexity

Internal Integration Tools

- Ensures that the implementation team operates as a cohesive
unit.
- Well informed project managers
- Highly skilled team
- Continuous coordination
- Outsourcing projects if needed
Formal Planning and Control Tools

Tools used for documenting and monitoring the project plans.

These project management techniques can help managers identify

bottlenecks and determine the impact that problems will have on
project completion times.

Two most commonly used methods:

- Gantt Chart
- PERT Chart
Gantt Chart

Helps in scheduling, managing, and monitoring specific tasks and

resources in a project.

Aids Project Managers in communicating project status or plans and

also helps ensure the project remains on track.
Sample
Gantt Chart
Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) Chart

Breaks down the individual tasks of a project for analysis.

Helps a project manager analyze a project's tasks and estimate the

amount of time required to complete each task in the project

More preferred than Gantt charts

Sample PERT Chart
Increasing User Involvement and Overcoming
User Resistance

External Integration Tools

- Ways to link the work of implementation team to users at all
organizational levels.

Strategies to overcome user resistance

- User Participation
- User Training
- Management Edicts and Policies
- Incentive for cooperation
- Improvement of User Interface
Designing for the Organization

Ergonomics

Refers to the interaction of people with machines in the work

environment.
Designing for the Organization

Other things to consider that must be addressed when planning and

addressing information systems:
Employee participation and Involvement Health and safety

Employee grievance resolution procedures Job design

Standards and performance metrics

Government regulatory Compliance

Project Management Software

Typical Capabilities:

Defining and ordering tasks

Assignment of resources to tasks

Establishing Start and End Date of Tasks

Tracking progress

Facilitating modification to tasks

Project Management Software

Microsoft Project

- One of the most widely used software

- Production of PERT and Gantt Chart,
Resource allocation, project tracking and
Status reporting

Other Project Management Softwares:

- Wrike
- Redmine
- Celoxis
Project Management Software

Project Portfolio Management (PPM) Software

Helps managers compare proposals and projects against budgets and resource capacity levels to
determine the optimal mix and sequencing of projects that best achieves the organization’s strategic
goals.

Sample PPM Softwares

HP Project and Portfolio Management

Project Portfolio Office

Wrike

Microsoft Project