Information Technology Project Management

By Jack T. Marchewka

Northern Illinois University

Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. all rights reserved. Reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted in Section 117 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without the express permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Request for further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The purchaser may make back-up copies for his/her own use only and not for distribution or resale. The Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or damages caused by the use of these programs or from the use of the information contained herein.

The Nature of Information Technology Projects

Chapter 1

1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s

First ElectronicComputer

EDPEra

PCEra

NetworkEra

Globalization

IT and Modern Day Project Management

3

IT and Modern Day Project Management EDP era began early 1960S

Purchase of centralized mainframe by large organizations

IT projects focused on automating key organizational functions – accounting, inventory, production scheduling Improve efficiency and reduce costs of manual and clerical

tasks Structured approach used for managing these projects as the

requirements were stable and well understood Created information silos

DP manager reported to head of accounting or financial manager

4

IT and Modern Day Project Management Micro era began early 1980s

Proliferation (sometimes uncontrolled) of PCs challenged centralized control that was in place

Led to user-developed, decentralized, independent systems that replicated data throughout the organization and vied for IT support

Role of CIO is created to ensure that IT is used strategically Reported to CEO to show importance of the CIO position and

critical role to be played by IT PCs needed to coexist and integrate with mainframes IT projects now crossed functional lines and

requirements were changing at a faster pace Software development methodologies introduced to manage

the less stable requirements and shorten the development life cycle

5

IT and Modern Day Project Management Network era began mid 1990s due to the

advances and growth of the ARPANET /Internet. Projects focused on the challenge of creating an IT

infrastructure to support many partners, strategic alliances, vendors and customers.

Network architecture has to be scalable to support thousands of networked computers in a timely and efficient manner

Digital convergence of data, voice, graphics and video allowed for new and innovative ways to deliver new products and services to customers

Micro era projects focused on creating an internal network within the organization, network era focused on extending the network externally Support a dynamic business strategy and new organizational

structures IT project members need to understand the technology, but

more importantly, the organization and its competitive environment

Benefits and risks much higher than the previous two eras

6

IT and Modern Day Project Management Globalization era – we’re in the beginning stages

now Thomas Friedman “The World is Flat”

The combination of technology and lowering of political barriers has flattened the world so that it is now possible for people and organizations to work with almost anyone in any place at any time

The global competitive playing field has become level for everyone See his talk at MIT http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/266

Projects today are more dynamic, geographically dispersed, and ethnically or culturally diverse as ever before IT personnel require a solid set of technical, non-technical

and project management skills based on past experience but adapted to this new environment

7

Introduction Information Technology (IT) projects are

organizational investments that require Time Money And other resources such as people, technology,

facilities, etc. Organizations expect some type of value in return

for this investment IT Project Management is a relatively new

discipline that attempts to make IT projects more successful and combines traditional Project Management with Software Engineering/Management Information Systems

8

An ITPM Approach Organizational resources are limited, so

organizations must choose among competing interests to fund specific projects

This decision should be based on the value a competing project will provide to an organization

9

Which Situation is Worse? Successfully building and implementing a

system that provides little or no value to the organization?

Or… Failing to implement an information system

that could have provided value to the organization, but was underdeveloped or poorly managed?

10

Modern Project Management Often credited to the U.S. Navy as an

outgrowth of the Polaris Missile Project in the 1950’s.

Focuses on reducing costs and product cycle time.

Provides an important link between an organization’s strategy and the deployment of that strategy. Can have a direct impact on an organization’s

bottom line and competitiveness.

11

Why Do IT Projects Fail? Larger projects have the lowest success rate

and appear to be more risky than medium and smaller projects Technology, business models, and markets change

too rapidly so projects that take more than a year can be obsolete before they are completed

The CHAOS studies also provides some insight as to the factors that influence project success

12

The Software Crisis

The CHAOS study published in 1995 by The Standish Group found that although the U.S spent over $250 billion on IT projects, approximately… 31% were cancelled before completion 53% were completed but over budget, over

schedule, & did not meet original specifications For mid-size companies, average cost overruns were

182%, while average schedule overruns were 202%! Disagreement with the CHAOS report

The Rise and Fall of the Chaos report Figures http://www.cs.vu.nl/~x/chaos/chaos.pdf

Projects failure rate – the conventional wisdom is wrong! http://quantmleap.com/blog/2009/11/projects-failure-rate-%E2%80%93-the-conventional-wisdom-is-wrong/

The “Chaos Report” Myth Busters http://www.guerrillaprojectmanagement.com/the-chaos-report-myth-busters

New IT project failure metrics: is Standish wrong? http://www.zdnet.com/blog/projectfailures/new-it-project-failure-metrics-is-standish-wrong/513

13

Has the Current State of IT Projects Changed Since 1994? The Standish Group has continued to study IT

projects over the years. In general, IT Projects are showing higher

success rates due to Better project management tools & processes Smaller projects Improved communication among stakeholders More skillful IT project managers

But there is still ample opportunity for improvement!

14

Figure 1.1 - Summary of the Chaos Studies from 1994 to 2008

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

16%

27%

26%

28%

34%

29%

35%

32%

53%

33%

46%

49%

51%

53%

46%

44%

31%

40%

28%

23%

15%

18%

19%

24%

Sucessful Challenged Failed

15

Rank 1994 2001 2006 2008

1 User Involvement Executive Support User Involvement User Involvement

2 Executive Management Support User Involvement Executive Management

Support Executive Support

3 Clear Statement of Requirements

Experienced Project Manager

Clear Business Objectives

Clear Business Objectives

4 Proper Planning Clear Business Objectives Optimizing Scope Emotional Maturity

5 Realistic Expectations Minimized Scope Agile Process Optimizing Scope

6 Smaller Project Milestones

Standard Software Infrastructure

Project Management Expertise Agile Process

7 Competent Staff Firm Basic Requirements Financial Management Project Management

Expertise

8 Ownership Formal Methodology Skilled Resources Skilled Resources

9 Clear Vision & Objectives Reliable Estimates Formal Methodology Execution

10 Hard-working, focused team Other Standard Tools and

Infrastructure Tools & Infrastructure

Table 1.1 Summary of CHAOS Study Factor Rankings for Successful ProjectsSources: Adapted from the Standish Group. CHAOS (West Yarmouth, MA: 1995, 2010) & http://www.infoq.com/articles/Interview-Johnson-Standish-CHAOS

16

IT Project Performance

Over the Past 3 Years

MuchWorse Worse Same Better

MuchBetter

Ability to meet project

schedules0.0% 12.3% 40.4% 41.2% 6.1%

Ability to meet project

budgets1.8% 10.5% 44.7% 37.7% 5.3%

Ability to complete

project scope or system

requirements2.6% 7.0% 41.2% 41.2% 7.9%

Customer satisfaction

over the past 3 years

(Customers can be

internal – e.g., HR

department or external –

e.g., a particular

client)

Overall satisfaction

of the customer

1.8% 13.2% 34.2% 39.5% 11.4%

Perceived value of the

delivered product to

the customer0.0% 9.6% 39.5% 38.6% 12.3%

Potential for future work

with the customer

0.9% 3.5% 42.1% 38.6% 14.9%

Table 1.2: Project Performance and Internal/External Customer Satisfaction. Source: Marchewka, J.T. (2008). n = 114.

17

Table 1.2: IT Project Success Criteria Source: Source: http://www.drdobbs.com/architecture-and-design/202800777.

Criteria Response

Schedule

61.3% said it is more important to deliver a system when it is ready to be shipped than to deliver it on time.

Scope87.3% said that meeting the actual needs of stakeholders is more important than building the system to specification.

Money79.6% said that providing the best return on investment (ROI) is more important than delivering a system under budget.

Quality 87.3% said that delivering high quality is more important than delivering on time and on budget.

Staff75.8% said that having a mentally and physically healthy workplace is more important than delivering on time and on budget.

18

Rank Factors for Challenged Projects Factors for Failed (Impaired) Projects

1 Lack of user input Incomplete requirements

2 Incomplete requirements Lack of user involvement

3 Changing requirements & specifications Lack of resources

4 Lack of executive support Unrealistic expectations

5 Technology incompetence Lack of executive support

6 Lack of resources Changing requirements & specifications

7 Unrealistic expectations Lack of planning

8 Unclear objectives Didn’t need it any longer

9 Unrealistic time frames Lack of IT management

10 New technology Technology illiteracy

Table 1.3: Summary of Factor Rankings for Challenged and Failed (Impaired) ProjectsSource: Adapted from the Standish Group. CHAOS (West Yarmouth, MA: 1995)

19

Tata Consultancy Services 2007 Report Included 800 senior IT managers from

the UK, US, France, Germany, India, Japan, & Singapore: 62% of the IT projects failed to meet

their schedules 49% experienced budget overruns 47% experienced higher-than expected

maintenance costs 41% failed to deliver the expected

business value and ROI

20

Continued to provide support to improve IT

Tend to accept problems as the norm (i.e., a necessary evil)

Reduced IT budgets

Reluctant to fund new IT projects

Sought compensation from IT vendors

Looked for a scapegoat among IT staff

None

Don't know

69%

43%

21%

19%

13%

9%

2%

1%

Figure 1.2 - When IT projects have gone wrong, what has been the reaction from the business managers

and the Board of Directors?

21

Improving the likelihood of success A Value-Driven Approach

Plain & Simple: IT Projects must provide value to the organization not just completed on time and within budget

Socio-technical Approach It’s not just about the technology or building a

better mouse trap. Must bring value to the organization. Clients/stakeholders must take an active, participatory role

22

Improving the likelihood of success Project Management Approach

Success depends not just on the team but more on the methodology (the set of processes and infrastructure) in place Step-by-step activities, processes, tools, quality standards,

controls and deliverables

Knowledge Management Approach Systematic process for acquiring, creating, synthesizing,

sharing and using information, insights, and experiences to transform ideas into business value lessons learned best practices

23

Improving the likelihood of success Why project management should support IT

projects PM enables a company to make the best use of

limited resources. Projects can drain or divert resources away from other projects and areas of the organization so investing them wisely is critical.

To best meet client’s expectations, PM provides the means to deliver quality products and services in a professional manner (status reports, communications).

Facing competition from outside vendors, good PM practices can enable internal IT departments to remain competitive in acquiring new business and talent.

Enables an organization to be more efficient (do the right thing) and effective (do the thing right). PM enables shorter development time, lower costs and

higher quality PM must be supported and accepted at all levels of the

organization.

24

The PMBOK® Guide’s Definitions for Project and Project Management

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

Project Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. Managing a project includes: Identifying requirements Establishing clear and achievable objectives Balancing the competing demands for quality, scope, time,

and cost Adapting the specifications, plans, and approaches to the

different concerns and expectations of the various stakeholders

A project manager is the person assigned by the performing organization to achieve the project objectives.

25

The Context of Project Management – Project Attributes

Time Frame (definite start and end) Purpose (project needs a specific and measurable goal

in order to provide value) Ownership (sponsor) Resources (the triple constraint) Roles (different skill sets needed on a project)

Project Manager Project Sponsor Subject Matter Expert (domain & technical)

Risk & Assumptions (internal and external risks) Interdependent Tasks

progressive elaboration – steps & increments Planned Organizational Change Operate in Environments Larger than the Project Itself

Company culture, environment, politics, etc.26

The Triple Constraint

Figure 1.3 27

The Project Life Cycle and IT Development

Project Life Cycle (PLC) A collection of logical stages or phases that maps the

life of a project from its beginning to its end in order to define, build, and deliver the product of the project – i.e., the information system

A deliverable is a tangible and verifiable product of work

Projects are divided into phases to increase manageability and reduce risk Phase exits, stage gates, or kill points are decision

points at the end of each phase to evaluate performance or to correct problems or cancel the project

Fast tracking is the overlapping of phases to reduce the project’s schedule Can be risky!

28

The Project Life Cycle Define Project Goal

Focus on providing business value to the organization

Gives the project team a clear focus and drives the other phases of the project

Plan Project What is to be done, why is it being done, how will

it be done, who is going to do it, how long will it take, how much will it cost, what can go wrong and what can be done about it, how will we know if the project is successful given the time, money and resources invested?

Deliverable is the initial or baseline project plan Execute Project Plan

Put the plan in action – build whatever product has been decided based on plan specifications

A continuous monitoring of the actual vs baseline is needed 29

The Project Life Cycle Close Project

A formal closure of the project ensures that all work is completed as planned and agreed to by the team and sponsor

Final report and presentation to the client Evaluate Project

Evaluating whether a project met its goals (providing business value) is best done after implementation when it is in production

Lessons learned – document experiences and best practices for future projects What went right and what went wrong

Evaluate the project manager and team members

30

Generic Project Life Cycle

Figure 1.4 31

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Although projects follow a project life cycle, information systems development follows a product life cycle. The most common product life cycle in IT is the

systems development life cycle, which represents the sequential phases or stages an information system follows throughout its useful life.

The SDLC establishes a logical order or sequence in which the system development activities occur and indicates whether to proceed from one system development activity to the next

Planning The planning stage involves identifying and

responding to a problem or opportunity and incorporates the project management and system development processes and activities. A formal planning process ensures that the goal, scope,

budget, schedule, technology, and system development processes, methods, and tools are in place.

32

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Analysis The analysis phase attempts to delve into the

problem or opportunity more fully. For example, the project team may document the

current system to develop an "as is" model to understand the system currently in place. ,

Systems analysts will meet with various stakeholders (users, managers, customers, etc.) to learn more about the problem or opportunity. This work is done to identify and document any problems or bottlenecks associated with the current system.

The "as is" analysis is followed by a requirements analysis where the specific needs and requirements for the new system are identified and documented. Requirements can be developed through a number of

means—interviewing, joint applications development (JAD), conducting surveys, observing work processes, and reading company reports.

Using modeling techniques, the current system, user requirements, and logical design of the future system called the "to be" system are represented and documented

33

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Design

The project team uses the requirements and "to be" logical models as input for designing the architecture to support the new information system. This architecture includes designing the network,

hardware configuration, databases, user interface, and application programs.

Implementation Includes the development or construction of the

system, testing, and installation. In addition, training, support, and documentation must be

in place. Maintenance and Support

Once the system has been implemented, it is said to be in production and becomes a legacy system Changes to the system, in the form of maintenance and

enhancements, are often requested to fix any discovered errors (i.e., bugs) within the system, to add any features that were not incorporated into the original design, or to adjust to a changing business environment. 34

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Figure 1.5

35

Implementing the (SDLC) A structured approach to systems development has

been around since the 1960s and 1970s, when large mainframe applications were developed. The waterfall model illustrated was developed as a

simple and disciplined method that follows the SDLC closely in a very sequential and structured way.

The idea of a waterfall is a metaphor for a cascading of activities from one phase to the next where one phase is completed before the next phase is started.

The waterfall model stresses a sequential and logical flow of software development activities. Design activities or tasks begin only after the requirements

are defined completely. The building or coding activities will not start until the

design phase is complete. Although there is some iteration where the developers can

go back to a previous stage, it is not always easy or desirable.

One characteristic of the waterfall model is that a great deal of time and effort is spent in the early phases getting the requirements and design right because it is more expensive to fix a bug or add a missing requirement in the later phases of the project.

36

Implementing the (SDLC) An advantage of the waterfall model is that it allows

us to plan each phase in detail so that the project schedule and budget can be computed by summing the time and cost estimates for all the tasks defined in each phase.

This approach is still used today, especially for large government systems and by companies that develop shrink wrap or commercial software packages.

A structured approach is suitable when developing large, more complex systems where one assumes, or at least hopes, that the requirements defined in the early phases do not change very much over the remainder of the project.

37

Putting the SDLC into Practice Structured Approach to Systems Development

Waterfall Method Iterative Development

Rapid Applications Development (RAD) Prototyping Spiral Development Extreme Programming

38

Iterative Systems Development Critics of the structured approach to systems

development argue that it takes too long to develop systems and that it does not embrace the idea that changing requirements are inevitable.

Inexperienced developers often have the false belief that if they ask the users what they want, they will be rewarded with a set of clear, accurate, and complete requirements. In truth, most users do not know or are unable to

articulate their needs early on in the project. If they do, those requirements will most likely change later on.

The main idea behind iterative systems development is shortening the SDLC and embracing the idea that requirements are difficult to define and will change.

39

Iterative Systems Development Rapid applications development (RAD ) was proposed

by James Martin in the early 1990s as a less formal way to expedite the SDLC. RAD attempts to compress the analysis, design, build,

and test activities of the SDLC into a series of short iterations or development cycles. For example, a small team of users and developers would

work closely together to develop a set of system requirements during a workshop. Using tools such as computer- aided software engineering (e.

g., CASE) or visual development environments (e. g., .NET), the developers would then work with the users to develop a functional or usable version of the system that might include only 25 per- cent of the total requirements.

The development cycle would continue with a second usable version that would include the next 25 percent of the requirements. Subsequent iterations would continue until all

of the requirements are included in the system. 40

RAD

41

Iterative Systems Development Prototyping, similar to RAD, is an iterative approach to

systems development where the user and developer work closely together to develop a partially or fully functional system as soon as possible. Often, however, a prototype may be developed to discover

or refine system requirement specifications that can be used as a model for developing a real system. A team may develop a nonfunctional user interface on a personal

computer as a model to define the look, feel, and features of a large, multi-user system.

42

Iterative Systems Development Spiral development approach first proposed by Barry

Boehm (1988), breaks up a software project into a number of mini-projects that address one or more major risks until all the risks have been addressed. A risk, could be a poorly understood requirement or a potential

technical problem or system performance issue. The basic idea is to begin development of a system on a small

scale where risks can be identified. Once identified, the development team then develops a plan for

addressing these risks and evaluates various alternatives. Next, deliverables for the iteration are identified, developed,

and verified before planning and committing to the next iteration.

As a result, the completion of each iteration brings the project closer to a fully functional system.

43

Spiral Development

44

Iterative Systems Development Agile systems development methods are becoming an

increasingly popular approach to systems development and include various methodologies such as SCRUM, dynamic systems development method (DSDM), and adaptive software development (ASD).

One of the most commonly known agile methodologies is eXtreme programming (XP), which was introduced by Kent Beck in the mid-1990s. Under XP, the system is transferred to the users in a series of versions

called releases. A release may be developed using several iterations that are developed

and tested within a few weeks or months. Each release is a working system that includes only one or several functions that are part of the full system specifications. XP includes a number of activities where the user requirements are first

documented as a user story. The user stories are then documented using an object-oriented model called a class diagram.

A set of acceptance tests is then developed for each user story. Releases that pass the acceptance tests are then considered complete.

Small teams of developers often work in a common room where workstations are positioned in the middle and a workspace for each team member is provided around the perimeter.

XP often incorporates team programming, where two programmers work together on the same workstation.

Developers often are prohibited from working more than 40 hours a week in order to avoid burnout and the mistakes that often occur because of fatigue

45

Agile software development has become popular to describe new approaches that focus on close collaboration between programming teams and business experts

Visit www.agilealliance.org for information

Agile Software Development

46

Agile System Development

47

SCRUM breaks a software development into a series of iterations or sprints. Each sprint lasts at most 30 days. During each sprint, a set of features are incrementally added to the product under development and a potential release of software is created.

The requirements for the product to be developed are held in a product backlog.

At the start of a sprint, a sprint planning meeting is held. During the meeting, a set of requirements from the backlog are picked for implementation in the next sprint. The development team decides which requirements they can commit to developing during the next sprint.

At the end of a sprint, a sprint retrospective meeting is held to discuss which elements of the process could be improved.

Further sprints are then performed until the product backlog of requirements is empty.

SCRUM Software Development

48

The Relationship Between the PLC & SDLC The project life cycle (PLC) focuses on the

phases, processes, tools, knowledge and skills for managing a project, while the system development life cycle (SDLC) focuses on creating and implementing the project’s product—the information system.

The SDLC is really part of the PLC because many of the development activities occur during the execution phase of the PLC.

The last two phases of the PLC, close project and evaluate project, occur after the implementation of the system

49

The Relationship Between the PLC & SDLC

Figure 1.7 50

Extreme Project Management (XPM) A new approach & philosophy to project management that is

becoming increasingly popular Characterizes many of today’s projects that exemplify

speed, uncertainty, changing requirements, and high risks Traditional project management often takes an orderly

approach while, XPM embraces the fact that projects are often chaotic and unpredictable XPM focuses on flexibility, adaptability, and innovation XPM takes a more holistic view of planning and managing projects

Expects requirement changes so planning is an iterative process Enables people to discover best solutions and self-correct themselves as

needed

51

The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®)

The Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) documents 9 project management knowledge areas

The PMBOK® Guide is published and maintained by the Project Management Institute (PMI) http://www.pmi.org

PMI provides a certification in project management called the Project Management Professional (PMP) that many people today believe will be as relevant as a CPA certification

PMP certification requires that you pass a PMP certification exam to demonstrate a level of understanding about project management, as well as satisfy education & experience requirements and agree to a professional code of conduct

52

Project Management Body of Knowledge Areas

Figure 1.853

Project Management Body of Knowledge Areas

54

Knowledge areas describe the key competencies that project managers must develop 4 core knowledge areas lead to specific project

objectives (scope, time, cost, and quality) 4 facilitating knowledge areas are the means

through which the project objectives are achieved (human resources, communication, risk, and procurement management

1 knowledge area (project integration management) affects and is affected by all of the other knowledge areas

All knowledge areas are important!

Project Management Body of Knowledge Areas

55