Introduction to Project Management

Lecture 1
Information Technology Project Management, Fifth Edition,
Copyright 2007
 Introduction
• Many organizations today have a new or renewed interest in
project management
• New technologies such as computer hardware, software,
networks, and the use of interdisciplinary and global work teams
have radically changed the work environment
• The U.S. spends $2.3 trillion on projects every year, or one-quarter
of its gross domestic product, and the world as a whole spends
nearly $10 trillion of its $40.7 gross product on projects of all
kinds in 2010
• The global Information Technology market was valued at US$
341.64 billion in 2022 and will grow at a compounded annual
growth rate (CAGR) of 11.26% to reach a value of US$ 582.33
billion by 2027

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 Introduction

• Today’s companies, governments, and nonprofit

organizations are recognizing that to be successful, they
need to use modern project management techniques,
especially for IT projects.
• Individuals are realizing that to remain competitive in the
workplace, they must develop skills to become good project
team members and project managers.
• They also realize that many of the concepts of project
management will help them in their everyday lives as they
work with people and technology on a day-to-day basis.
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 What Is a Project?

• A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to

create a unique product, service, or result”
(PMBOK® Guide)

• Projects end when their objectives have been reached

or the project has been terminated

• Projects can be large or small and take a short or long

time to complete

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 Examples of IT Projects
• A help desk or technical worker replaces ten laptops for
a small department
• A small software development team adds a new feature
to an internal software application for the finance
department
• A college campus upgrades its technology infrastructure
to provide wireless Internet access across the whole
campus
• A cross-functional task force in a company decides what
Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) system to purchase
and how it will be implemented

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 Top Ten Technology Projects in
2000’s

• AI and Machine Learning • CLOUD Computing

• Cybersecurity • HyperAutomation
• METAVERSE • Data Science
• Devops • Business Intelligence
• Full Stack Development • Robotics
• Blockchain • IOT
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 Project Attributes

• A project:
• Has a unique purpose
• Is temporary- definite beginning and end.
• Is developed using progressive elaboration
• Requires resources, often from various areas
• Should have a primary customer or sponsor
• The project sponsor usually provides the direction and
funding for the project
• Involves uncertainty

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 Program

Program: group of related projects managed in a

coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not
available from managing them individually (PMBOK®
Guide, Third Edition, 2004, p. 16)

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 Project Managers Vs Program
Managers

• Project managers work with project sponsors, a project

team, and other people involved in a project to meet
project goals

• Program managers oversee programs and often act as

bosses for project managers

•A program manager provides leadership and direction

for the project managers heading the projects within the
program
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 Project Constraints

• Every project is constrained in different ways, often by its

scope, time, and cost goals. These limitations are
sometimes referred to in project management as the
Triple Constraint.

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 The Triple Constraint of Project
Management

Successful project
management means
meeting all three
goals (scope, time,
and cost) – and
satisfying the
project’s sponsor!

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 Quadruple Constraint
Quality is a key factor for projects success
We may add Quality as a 4th constraint:
The Quadruple constraint =The Triple constraint +Quality constraint

•Scope

•Quality

•Time •Cost
 Project Constraints
• Project scope is the detailed description of the project work necessary to
meet the requirements of the stakeholders. It obviously addresses what is
included. However, by addressing what is excluded can significantly improve
the clarity of the required work.
• Project costs are the total funds needed to monetarily cover and complete a
business transaction or work project. Project costs involve: direct costs and
indirect costs
– Direct costs are those directly involved with, and necessary in order to
complete said project.
– Indirect cost (which are not directly included)
• Project schedule indicates what needs to be done, which resources must be
utilized, and when the project is due.
– In short, it's a timetable that outlines start and end dates and
milestones that must be met for the project to be completed on time
• In project management, customer satisfaction is part of project quality
management and ensures that policies, objectives and responsibilities of the
project satisfy all stakeholders involved.
 Project Constraints

Time Constraints

Time constraint may lead to less quality because of ?

• less time for analysis,
• less time for planning,
• less time for reviewing,
• less time for checking,
• less time for monitoring,
• less time for control,
 Project Constraints

Cost Constraints

Cost constraint may lead to less quality because of ?

• Hiring less skilled people
• Getting less quality resources (HW, SW)
• Ignoring some customer requirements
 Project Constraints

Scope Constraints

Scope limitations may lead to less quality because of ?

• Scope limitations may lead to Ignore some customer requirements
• Shortcuts
Project Constraints
 What is Project Management?
• Project management is “the application of knowledge,
skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet
project requirements”
(PMBOK® Guide, Third Edition, 2004, p. 8)

• Project managers strive to meet the triple constraint by

balancing project scope, time, and cost goals

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 Software Project Management

Software project management is a specialized discipline within

the realm of project management that focuses on planning,
executing, monitoring, controlling, and closing software
development projects. It encompasses the systematic
management of resources, budget and time to ensure the
successful completion of a software project

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Dimensions of a Software Project
A software project has two main activity dimensions:
• Software Engineering
• The engineering dimension deals with building the system and focuses
on issues such as how to design, test, code, and so on.
• Project Management
• The project management dimension deals with properly planning and
controlling the engineering activities to meet project goals for cost,
schedule, and quality.

• For small projects an email may be fine, but for large commercial projects
you need:
• Defined Processes, a degree of formality
• Tested and Documented processes
• To Secure the Quality of outcome
Benefits of Project Management
• Project management is a powerful business tool that can
deliver many advantages to businesses of all sizes.
• It gives you repeatable processes, guidelines and techniques to
help you manage the people and the work involved in your
projects.
• It can increase your chances of success and help you deliver
projects consistently, efficiently, on time and budget.
• Not having a process to manage your projects can result in lost
time, wasted money, inconsistencies and poor performance.
Project Management Framework

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 Project Stakeholders
• Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by
project activities
• Stakeholders include:
• The project sponsor
• The project manager
• The project team
• Support staff
• Customers
• Users
• Suppliers
• Opponents to the project
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 Nine Project Management Knowledge
Areas

• Knowledge areas describe the key competencies that

project managers must develop
• Four core knowledge areas lead to specific project objectives
(scope, time, cost, and quality)
• Four facilitating knowledge areas are the means through which the
project objectives are achieved (human resources, communication,
risk, and procurement management
• One knowledge area (project integration management) affects and
is affected by all of the other knowledge areas
• All knowledge areas are important!

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 Project Management Tools and
Techniques

• Project management tools and techniques assist

project managers and their teams in various aspects of
project management
• Some specific ones include:
• Project charter, scope statement, and WBS (scope)
• Gantt charts, network diagrams, critical path analysis, and critical
chain scheduling (time)
• Cost estimates and earned value management (cost)

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28
 Super Tools
• “Super tools” are those tools that have high use and high
potential for improving project success, such as:
• Software for task scheduling (such as project management
software)
• Scope statements
• Requirements analyses
• Lessons-learned reports
• Tools already extensively used that have been found to
improve project importance include:
• Progress reports
• Kick-off meetings
• Gantt charts
• Change requests 29
 What Went Right? Improved
Project Performance
• The Standish Group’s CHAOS studies show improvements in IT
projects in the past decade

Measure 1994 Data 2002 Data Result

Successful projects 16% 34% Doubled
Failed projects 31% 15% Halved
Money wasted on $140 B out $55 B out of More than
challenged and of $250 B $255 B halved
failed projects

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Chaos Report
2020

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 Project Success

• There are several ways to define project success

• The project met scope, time, and cost goals
• The project satisfied the customer/sponsor
• The results of the project met its main objective, such as making
or saving a certain amount of money, providing a good return on
investment, or simply making the sponsors happy

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 What Helps Projects Succeed?*

1. Executive support 7. Firm basic requirements

2. User involvement 8. Formal methodology
3. Experienced project manager 9. Reliable estimates
4. Clear business objectives 10. Other criteria, such as small
milestones, proper planning,
5. Minimized scope
competent staff, and ownership
6. Standard software infrastructure

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 Causes of failure
Quantitative Qualitative (Socio-
(Technical) Cultural)
Ineffective planning Poor morale

Ineffective scheduling Poor motivation

Ineffective estimating Poor human relations

Ineffective cost control Poor productivity

Project objectives not properly No employee commitment

established No functional commitment
Delays in problem solving
Too many unresolved policy issues
Conflicting priorities between
executives, line managers, and
project manager
 Project Portfolio Management
• Project portfolio management is a strategy in which
organizations group and manage projects and programs
as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire
enterprise’s success.

• Portfolio managers help their organizations make wise

investment decisions by helping to select and analyze
projects from a strategic perspective.

• Itis most important that they have strong financial and

analytical skills and understand how projects and
programs can contribute to meeting strategic goals.
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 Differences Between Project
Management And Project Portfolio
Management

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 Best Practice
• A best practice is “an optimal way recognized by industry to
achieve a stated goal or objective”*
• Robert Butrick suggests that organizations need to follow
basic principles of project management, including these two
mentioned below
• Make sure your projects are driven by your strategy; be able to
demonstrate how each project you undertake fits your business
strategy, and screen out unwanted projects as soon as possible
• Engage your stakeholders; ignoring stakeholders often leads to
project failure
• Be sure to engage stakeholders at all stages of a project, and encourage
teamwork and commitment at all times

*Project Management Institute, Inc., Organizational Project Management Maturity Model

(OPM3) Knowledge Foundation (2003), p. 13.
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Sample Project Portfolio Approach

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 Roles and responsibilities of
Project Manager
• Planning the activities
• Organizing a project team to perform work
• Delegating the teams
• Time management
• Managing Deliveries
• Monitor Progress
• Establish Regular Meetings
• Communicate a vision with the team
• Managing reports and necessary documentation
Required Knowledge for Project Managers

• Knowledge of the Project Management Body

• Application area knowledge, standards, and regulations
• Project environment knowledge
• General management knowledge and skills
• Soft skills or human relations skills

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 Project Manager’s Skills
• Leadership and team Building
• Communications
• Problem Solving
• Negotiation and influencing
skills
• Influencing the Organization
• Mentoring
• Process and technical expertise
(Application skills)
• Organizational and planning
skills
• Conflict management
 Different Skills Needed in
Different Situations

• Large projects: leadership, relevant prior experience,

planning, people skills, verbal communication, and team-
building skills are most important
• High uncertainty projects: risk management,
expectation management, leadership, people skills, and
planning skills are most important
• Very novel projects: leadership, people skills, having
vision and goals, self-confidence, expectations
management, and listening skills are most important

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 Importance of Leadership Skills

• Effective project managers provide leadership by example

• A leader focuses on long-term goals and big-picture
objectives while inspiring people to reach those goals

• A manager deals with the day-to-day details of meeting

specific goals

• Project managers often take on the role of both leader

and manager

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 Careers for IT Project Managers

• The demand for IT project managers and project

management skills is on the rise. According to the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, new jobs for computer and
information systems managers will grow by 11% from
2020 to 2030

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 4 P’s in SPM
• People • Process
• Product • Project
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W5HH Principle of SPM
• Why is the system being develop?
• Answer to this questions help assess validity of business reason for
the software work.
• It answers if the business purpose justifies the expenditure of people,
time and money
• What will be done?
• Answer to this question establishes the task set required for project
• When will it be done?
• Answer to this question helps the team establish a project schedule by
identifying when tasks have to be conducted and when milestones are
to be reached
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W5HH Principle of SPM
• Who is responsible for a function ?
• Answer to this question establishes roles and responsibility of each team
member
• Where are they organizationally located ?
• Answer to this question indicates that all roles and responsibilities are not
limited to the software team itself, the customers, users and stakeholders
also have responsibilities.
• How will be job done technically and managerially ?
• Once product scope is establishes, a technical and management strategy
must be defined for it.
• How much of each resource is needed ?
• Answer to this question is derived by developing estimates based on
answers to
• earlier questions.
 Chapter Summary
• 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
• A program is a group of related projects managed in a
coordinated way; project portfolio management
involves organizing and managing projects and
programs as a portfolio of investments
• Project managers play a key role in helping projects
and organizations succeed
• The project management profession continues to grow
and mature
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