Best Practices for Running Successful IT ProjectsJennifer Kunz, PMP, PMI-ACP, CSM

Agenda

•Questions to Ponder

•Common Project Challenges

• Successful IT Projects

• Best Practices

•Helpful Resources

•Q&A

Questions to Ponder

• Think about a recent project you were a part of…

–What worked well?

–What didn’t?

–What frustrated you the most?

–What was rewarding?

Common Project Challenges

1. Poor communication and general disorganization

2. Personality conflicts, lack of collaboration

3. Roles and responsibilities weren’t clear

4. The end product/solution was wrong or lacked value

5. The project manager was ineffective

6. There wasn’t a business ‘owner’ or sponsor

7. There were too many other priorities and not enough staff

• Projects have inherent risk because they deliver something new or unique and often involve new combinations of staff members into project teams.

• IT projects carry added risk because of the constantly changing technologies, which at the same time are becoming more and more complex.

Successful IT Projects

•How do YOU define a successful IT Project?

–A. Project is on time and on budget

–B. Project delivers the expected end result/value

–C. The team collaborates well and resolves conflicts

–D. All of the above

Project Management Defined

• Project Management Institute–Project Management is the application of

knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities in order to meet project requirements

•My definition–Project Management is a deliberate, intense focus

on:• Collaborative, continuous planning

• Task and scope management, with

• Proactive, effective communication

1. Charter the Project and Evaluate the Business Need

• If you and your staff can’t find two-three hours for some very worthwhile discussions up front…

–Then you probably don’t have time to implement the project or maintain the system upon project completion.

• It clarifies the business need and expected benefits

• It establishes the project definition and solution

• It provides organizational visibility, identifies resource/budget requirements, AND identifies the BUSINESS SPONSOR

The Project Charter is a pivotal starting point for the project

2. Appoint a Project Manager

• The project manager leads two critical functions in the project:

–Coordination of project work

–Communication with stakeholders

•A project allowed to progress without appointing a project manager has tremendous risk

• Soft Skills are more important than technical or formal project management skills

3. Collaborative, Continuous Planning • Establish your Planning Team–Project Manager, Business Sponsor

–Key resource supervisors

• Define project approach/methodology–Procuring a solution vs. building in-house

–Determine best project methodology: Waterfall, Agile, Hybrid, etc.

• If procuring a solution, perform a comprehensive procurement and select a proven vendor

• Add the Vendor Project Manager and Vendor Sponsor to your Planning Team

•As a Planning Team

–Define the overall schedule

–Define specific team roles and responsibilities

–Continue weekly meetings throughout the life of the project

–Resolve issues, resource conflicts, plan upcoming work, monitor/adjust schedule, and manage changes

4. Proactive, Effective Communication • Early in the project, hold a Kickoff Meeting for all

team members, key stakeholders, and executives and communicate the plan

• Appoint a Communications Team – boots on the ground

• Establish tools – GoToMeeting/WebEx, company Intranet or SharePoint site

• Provide monthly (minimum) updates on project progress to all stakeholders

• Celebrate key milestones and especially project completion!

•When team conflicts arise, get to the underlying issue

•Conflict is inevitable and can be beneficial

5. Continuous Learning

•Monthly team retrospectives on what’s working well and what’s not

•At the end of the project:

–Capture additional lessons learned and feedback on product effectiveness

Helpful Resources

• Project Management Institute – www.pmi.org

•www.projectmanagement.com

• State of North Dakota, Information Technology Department

–https://www.nd.gov/itd/services/project-management

–Go to Project Management Templates and Guidance

•My contact info:

–JLKunz@nd.gov (701) 328-7395

THANK YOU!

Q&A