What PM methodology should an IT company use and why

Abstract

This paper documents Project Management Best Practices specific to the Information Technology sector. The paper is the culmination of research efforts [between January & April 2003] performed by diverse industry practitioners as part of their individual academic pursuits in Project Management, Business Administration, and Continuing Education Graduate Programs at the University of Calgary. The research team gathered information through an extensive interview process that involved eighteen Project Management professionals from various industries within the IT sector (including telecommunications, construction, software/hardware, and finance). These project management professionals were in various levels of management (project managers, directors, and senior executives) and were also part of projects that spanned the globe (including Canada, USA, Asia and the Middle East). The purpose of this paper is to communicate Project Management practices in use today, the advantages and consequences of such practices, and the skills sets that must be explored in an effort to contribute to the progressive evolution of Project Management. In this study we try to explore the concept of “Information technology project management” in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on “Information technology project management” and its relation with “project management”. The research also analyzes many aspects of “Information technology project management” and tries to gauge its effect on “project management”. Finally the research describes various factors which are responsible for “Information technology project management” and tries to describe the overall effect of “Information technology project management” on “project management”.

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT2

DECLARATION3

ABSTRACT4

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION8

Purpose8

What is Project Management?8

What are Best Practices?8

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW9

Project Management Taxonomy9

Theory & Background9

Project Selection and Reselection9

Planning and Scheduling9

Project Controls10

Commissioning12

Stakeholder Management12

Figure 1: Stakeholder Groups13

Project Teams and Organization13

Procurement and Contracting14

Identification and Assessment of PM Practices and Concepts15

Project Selection and Reselection15

Planning and Scheduling16

Risk Management16

Project Controls17

Commissioning18

Stakeholder Management19

Project Teams and Organization20

Procurement and Contracting21

General Background22

Background of Respondents22

Best Practices23

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY25

Methodology25

Background to Individual Sections25

Consolidation of Individual Reports26

CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS28

Organizational Practices28

Knowledge Management28

Continuous Improvement29

Figure 2: Continuous Improvement Cycle30

Corporate Policies and Governance30

Scalability of Practices31

Cross Functional Teams33

Edification33

Team Practices33

Focus33

Team Members34

Team Processes: Front-end Planning34

Team Life35

Good Communications35

Risk Registration and Documentation36

Individual Practices36

Figure 3: Onion Model37

Personal Processes37

SAP (Sociology / Anthropology / Psychology) Implementation38

Figure 4: Cognitive Dissonance41

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION42

Conclusions and Recommendations42

REFERENCES43

Chapter 1: Introduction

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to identify skills set which help formulate and execute best practices in IT Project Management. These best practices are the culmination of individual survey results, personal experiences, academic lectures and literature review. This report will help to identify the best project management methodologies available for an IT company.

What is Project Management?

Project Management is a set of tools, processes, and competencies utilized by people in order to enhance an organization's services and practices.

What are Best Practices?

Best practices are those strategies, activities, or approaches that have been shown through research and evaluation to be effective in a given discipline, area of study, or application (Tech, 2004).

Introduction

The research paper is on the project management in the information systems and information technology . This paper will be related to information systems and the topic has been choosen ...