Chapter 2:

The Project Management

and Information Technology
Context
Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition
Note: See the text itself for full citations.

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Learning Objectives (1 of 2)

• Define the systems view of project management and how it

applies to information technology (IT) projects
• Summarize organizations, including the four frames,
organizational structures, and organizational culture
• Explain why stakeholder management and top management
commitment are critical for a project’s success

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Learning Objectives (2 of 2)

• Distinguish between project and product life cycles

• Discuss the unique attributes and diverse nature of IT projects
• Summarize recent trends affecting IT project management,
including globalization, outsourcing, virtual teams, and agile
project management

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
A Systems View of Project Management

• Projects must operate in a broad organizational environment

• Project managers need to use systems thinking:
• Taking a holistic view of carrying out projects within the context of
the organization

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for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
What Is a Systems Approach?

• A systems approach emerged in the 1950s to describe a

holistic and analytical approach to management and problem
solving
• Three parts include:
• Systems philosophy: an overall model for thinking about things as
systems
• Systems analysis: problem-solving approach
• Systems management: address business, technological, and
organizational issues before making changes to systems

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The Three-Sphere Model for Systems Management

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Advice for Young Professionals

• It’s difficult enough trying to understand the various

technologies an organization uses. How can you begin to
understand the business and organizational aspects?
• Make it a priority. Don’t just focus on the technology, no matter how
exciting it seems to you. Even if you take just a few minutes each day
learning about other aspects of the organization, that’s a start.
• Tell your boss or other people you work with that you want to
understand how the entire organization works. Ask important
questions like how the company makes money, who key customers
are, what the priorities are for the year, what meetings you can
attend or documents you can read to gain more knowledge, etc.
• Network, network, network! Find out which people inside or outside
of your organization can help you in developing a systems approach.
You might be surprised how quickly you can move up in your career
once you understand the big picture.

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for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Understanding Organizations

• Systems approach requires that project managers always view

their projects in the context of the larger organization
• Organizational issues are often the most difficult part of
working on and managing projects
• Important for project managers to develop a better
understanding of people as well as organizations
• To improve the success rate of IT projects

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
The Four Frames of Organizations

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What Went Wrong?

• In a paper titled “A Study in Project Failure,” two researchers

examined the success and failure of 214 IT projects over an
eight-year period in several European countries
• The researchers found that only one in eight (12.5 percent)
were considered successful in terms of meeting scope, time,
and cost goals
• The authors said that the culture within many organizations is
often to blame
• Among other things, people often do not discuss important
leadership, stakeholder, and risk management issues

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Organizational Structures (1 of 2)

• Three basic organizational structures

• Functional: functional managers report to the CEO
• Project: program managers report to the CEO
• Matrix: middle ground between functional and project structures;
personnel often report to two or more bosses; structure can be
weak, balanced, or strong matrix

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Organizational Structures (2 of 2)

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for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Organizational Culture (1 of 2)

• Organizational culture is a set of shared assumptions, values,

and behaviors that characterize the functioning of an
organization
• Many experts believe the underlying causes of many
companies’ problems are not the structure or staff, but the
culture

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Organizational Culture (2 of 2)

• Ten characteristics of organizational culture:

• Member identity*
• Group emphasis*
• People focus
• Unit integration*
• Control
• Risk tolerance*
• Reward criteria*
• Conflict tolerance*
• Means-ends orientation
• Open-systems focus*

• *Project work is most successful in an organizational culture

where these items are strong/high and other items are
balanced.
Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Focusing on Stakeholder Needs

• Project managers must take time to identify, understand, and

manage relationships with all project stakeholders
• Using the four frames of organizations can help meet
stakeholder needs and expectations
• Senior executives/top management are very important
stakeholders
• See Chapter 13, Project Stakeholder Management, for more
information

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
The Importance of Top Management Commitment
(1 of 2)

• People in top management positions are key stakeholders in

projects
• A very important factor in helping project managers
successfully lead projects is the level of commitment and
support they receive from top management
• Without top management commitment, many projects will
fail.
• Some projects have a senior manager called a champion who
acts as a key proponent for a project.

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
The Importance of Top Management Commitment
(2 of 2)

• How top management can help project managers

• Providing adequate resources
• Approving unique project needs in a timely manner
• Getting cooperation from other parts of the organization
• Mentoring and coaching on leadership issues

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for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
The Need for Organizational Commitment to
Information Technology

• If the organization has a negative attitude toward IT, it will be

difficult for an IT project to succeed
• Having a Chief Information Officer (CIO) at a high level in the
organization helps IT projects
• Assigning non-IT people to IT projects also encourage more
commitment

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
The Need for Organizational Standards

• Standards and guidelines help project managers be more

effective
• Senior management can encourage
• the use of standard forms and software for project management
• the development and use of guidelines for writing project plans or
providing status information
• the creation of a project management office or center of excellence

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Project Life Cycles

• It is good practice to divide projects into several phases

• Because projects operate as part of a system and involve uncertainty

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Project Life Cycle (1 of 2)

• A project life cycle is a collection of project phases that defines

• what work will be performed in each phase
• what deliverables will be produced and when
• who is involved in each phase, and
• how management will control and approve work produced in each
phase
• A deliverable is a product or service produced or provided as
part of a project

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Project Life Cycle (2 of 2)

• In early phases of a project life cycle

• resource needs are usually lowest
• the level of uncertainty (risk) is highest
• project stakeholders have the greatest opportunity to influence the
project
• In middle phases of a project life cycle
• the certainty of completing a project improves
• more resources are needed
• The final phase of a project life cycle focuses on
• ensuring that project requirements were met
• the sponsor approves completion of the project

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
The Importance of Project Phases and
Management Reviews

• A project should successfully pass through each of the project

phases in order to continue on to the next
• Management reviews, also called phase exits, phase gate
reviews, or kill points, should occur after each phase to
evaluate the project’s progress, likely success, and continued
compatibility with organizational goals
• It is unwise to wait until the end of project or product phases
to have management inputs
• Many projects are reviewed by management on a regular basis

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
The Nature of IT Projects

• IT projects can be very diverse in terms of size, complexity,

products produced, application area, and resource
requirements
• The nature of software development projects is even more
diverse than hardware-oriented projects
• IT projects also support every possible industry and business
function

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Characteristics of IT Project Team Members

• IT project team members often have diverse backgrounds and

skill sets
• Many companies purposely hire graduates with degrees in
other fields such as business, mathematics, or the liberal arts
to provide different perspectives on IT projects
• Some IT projects require the skills of people in just a few job
functions
• But some require inputs from many or all of them

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Diverse Technologies

• IT projects use diverse technologies that change rapidly

• Differences in technical knowledge can make communication
between professionals challenging
• New technologies have also shortened the time frame many
businesses have to develop, produce, and distribute new
products and services

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Recent Trends Affecting Information Technology
Project Management

• Globalization
• Outsourcing: Outsourcing is when an organization acquires
goods and/or sources from an outside source. Offshoring is
sometimes used to describe outsourcing from another
country
• Virtual teams: A virtual team is a group of individuals who
work across time and space using communication
technologies
• Agile project management

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Globalization

• Issues
• Communications
• Trust
• Common work practices
• Tools
• Suggestions
• Employ greater project discipline
• Think globally but act locally
• Consider collaboration over standardization
• Keep project momentum going
• Use newer tools and technology

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Outsourcing

• Organizations remain competitive by using outsourcing to

their advantage, such as finding ways to reduce costs
• Practice can be unpopular on some countries
• Project managers should become more familiar with many
global and procurement issues

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Virtual Teams (1 of 2)

• Advantages
• Lowering costs because many virtual workers do not require office
space or support beyond their home offices
• Providing more expertise and flexibility or increasing competitiveness
and responsiveness by having team members from across the globe
working any time of day or night
• Improving the work/life balance for team members by eliminating
fixed office hours and the need to travel to work

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Virtual Teams (2 of 2)

• Disadvantages
• Isolating team members
• Increasing the potential for communications problems
• Reducing the ability for team members to network and transfer
information informally
• Increasing the dependence on technology to accomplish work
• See text for a list of factors that help virtual teams succeed,
including team processes, trust/relationships, leadership style,
and team member selection

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Agile (1 of 2)

• Agile means being able to move quickly and easily, but some
people feel that project management, as they have seen it
used, does not allow people to work quickly or easily
• Early software development projects often used a waterfall
approach
• As technology and businesses became more complex, the approach
was often difficult to use because requirements were unknown or
continuously changing
• Agile today means using an approach where requirements
and solutions evolve through collaboration

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Agile (2 of 2)

• Manifesto for Agile Software Development

• In February 2001, a group of 17 people that called itself the Agile
Alliance developed and agreed on the Manifesto for Agile Software
Development, as follows:
• “We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it
and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
• Working software over comprehensive documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan”*

• *Agile Manifesto.
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for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Scrum (1 of 4)

• According to the Scrum Alliance, Scrum is the leading agile

development method for completing projects with a complex,
innovative scope of work.
• The term was coined in 1986 in a Harvard Business Review
study that compared high-performing, cross-functional teams
to the scrum formation used by rugby teams.

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Scrum (2 of 4)

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for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Scrum (3 of 4)

• Kanban
• Technique that can be used in conjunction with Scrum
• Developed in Japan by Toyota Motor Corporation
• Uses visual cues to guide workflow
• Kanban cards show new work, work in progress, and work completed

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Scrum (4 of 4)

• The PMBOK® Guide describes best practices for what should

be done to manage projects.
• Agile is a methodology that describes how to manage
projects.
• The Project Management Institute (PMI) recognized the
increased interest in Agile, and introduced a new certification
in 2011 called Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP).
• Seasoned project managers understand that they have always
had the option of customizing how they run projects, but that
project management is not easy, even when using Agile.

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Chapter Summary

• Project managers need to take a systems approach when

working on projects
• Organizations have four different frames: structural, human
resources, political, and symbolic
• The structure and culture of an organization have strong
implications for project managers
• Projects should successfully pass through each phase of the
project life cycle
• Project managers need to consider several factors due to the
unique context of information technology projects
• Recent trends affecting IT project management include
globalization, outsourcing, virtual teams, and agile project
management
Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.