Managing Systems Development

How can success in major IT projects be achieved?

“Managing an IT project is like juggling chunks of Jell-O: It's neither easy nor pretty. Information technology is especially slippery because it's always moving, changing, adapting and challenging business as we know it.” (CIO 2007)

Projects are short-term efforts to create a unique product, service or environment, e.g. removing old servers, developing a custom e-commerce site, creating new desktop images or merging databases.

A project is a collection of related tasks and activities undertaken to achieve a specific goal. It should have a goal and be finite.

Constraints

Balance

time cost

scope

Project management lifecycle:

idea

InitiatePlanExecuteMonitoring ControlClose.

implementation.

What is a successful IT Project?

Difficult to define e.g. On time Within budget ( sometimes hard to determine) Does what it is set out to do (assuming this is

clear????) But if it doesn't deliver the business benefits it

promised, the project will be viewed as wasted time and money.

It may take more time and cost more money and ultimately deliver great savings.

On a later look…..

Use: The products services were used Value: The project led to the organisations

improved effectiveness or efficiency. (metrics used include EVA, NPV, IRR, Balanced Scorecard)

Learning: The project increased stakeholder knowledge and better prepared the organisation for future challenges.

only 29 percent of IT projects conducted in 2004 were completed successfully

(Standish Group – CIO 2007)

e.g. PPARS, FISP, Credit Union, PULSE, e-voting

Q : Was Banner a success or a failure???

Some problems..

Embedded nature of IT within organisations Poor Project management. Lack of communication. Poorly established scope Difficult to evaluate cost. Difficult to estimate time.

Why do IT Projects Fail? Project-management challenges: deadlines, budget constraints, too few people. Technology challenges, e.g. hardware, operating system, network, database,

security risks, interoperability issues, unanticipated changes manufacturers make to hardware and software configurations.

Poor planning. Need to assess: resources, skills required, people who need to be involved, time it will take to create, test and implement the project deliverables.

IT projects fail because they're rushed. Because so many companies today rely on IT for a competitive advantage, they speed through development efforts and systems implementations. A project with inadequate planning, risk assessment and testing is doomed from the start.

IT projects fail because their scope is too unwieldy. A project with a large scope can usually be better executed by breaking it down into a series of smaller, more manageable projects.

What does IT Project Managementinvolve?

Setting up the project [why what when who how] Managing the schedule [project plan- develop high level plan,

break business objectives down into deliverables, and then into tasks with time allocated, plan details at outset of a stage, fix a starting point and chart progress regularly.]

Managing the finances [financial plan includes costs, who is accountable, benefits expected and cashflow. Need to monitor spending.]

Managing the benefits[ difficult to estimate] Managing risks, opportunities and issues[ need ongoing

monitoring of risks and opportunities] Reviewing the project- help to assess the health of the project.

Principles of Effective Project Management There needs to be clear lines of communication between all

those involved in a project, regardless of their level of involvement in IT.

Establishing the scope of the project from the outset is vital to its success.

Laying out exactly what is expected from the project and how these goals will be achieved means there are no misunderstandings.

Get the business involved at the outset and throughout the project – executive buy-in.

monitor the time being spent on projects and be able to see the accumulated cost at any time.

Need to document and manage risk

Establish ground rules

Have a standard way of monitoring projects so it is obvious if a project is out of line (see govt guidelines).

Define technical and architectural specifications for the system and follow set guidelines e.g.: Adhere to industry standards Use an open architecture

These help ensure no nasty surprises along the way and provide the ready ability to update/switchover systems in the future. Systems should be as simple as possible while fulfilling all user requirements.

Foster discipline, planning, documentation and management. Most important aspect of PM is project control. A firm timeline for

system rollout needs to be firmly established and signed off. Once this has been done the team needs to work back from the critical dates amd map out the timing for the intermediate steps including any interdependencies. Time should be subtracted from the critical date for unforeseen contingencies.

The project needs to follow a strong methodology and have key points planned and documented, and reported on using e.g. MS Project. Project management methodologies can be used e.g. PRINCE – initiation-research- business case-funding-design- development-implementation-closure

All members of the team need to be aware of their responsibilities and timelines. Nothing should be left assumed.

Need regular meetings, updates of plan and project documentation. Management, key users & vendor personnel need to be on project steering groups who meet regularly to ensure that things are on track.

An overall IT project committee keeps an eye on all projects.

Obtain and Document “Final” User Requirements this is critical as it means the project outcome can be evaluated

and that time and cost overruns are less likely. User requirements analysis can be done using facilitation

sessions, interviews etc. Problems with user specs in technical jargon, and that

requirements may genuinely change in the course of the project. Obtain tenders from all appropriate vendors.- consultants can help select ….but be wary !!! Include suppliers in decision-making – create a joint project

team. Convert existing data – needs proper planning to ensure that the

output data is complete and accurate. Follow through after implementation.

Activities for Successful Project Management

1.Plan – What actions are required?

2. Generate documentation- procedures, metrics

3. Change Management

4. Team work

5. Proper project Monitoring and Control

6. Proper Project Closure

1. Plan What actions are required?

When should they happen? How long should they take? Who will do them? What equipment, tools, materials are needed? These need to be controlled and monitored, this

could be aided by e.g. used of project management tool like MS project.

Take account of risk, and anticipate problems and think out potential courses of action if things go wrong- can use a risk register.

2. Generate documentation….

Project specs Definitions of roles and responsibilities Budget and accounting procedures Change control procedures. Creation of accurate estimates and budgets are

crucial. Appropriate user involvement and strong visible management support needed. Project managers with authority and time and skills : leadership, motivation, communication, organisation, decision-making

3. Good change management

Failure to neglect the change management aspects of systems implementation has led to many system failures.

Commitment through involvement and explanation

Allowing people to take responsibility for their own actions in the change process

Giving people enough information and training to manage change effectively

4. Working as a team

Have a shared purpose Undertake co-operative action Generate collective outcomes Create defined measurable team products or

outcomes. Functional skills, decision-making and

problem-solving skills, and ability to work with other team members.

5. Proper project Monitoring and Control Regular provision of relevant information to

management on performance, cost, time, quality. Possible creation and use of appropriate metrics and regular milestones/review/feedback points.

6. Proper Project Closure Effective and efficient closure is achieved by careful

management of a project’s people, its communications, information and power structure.

Postimplementation reviews, audits and other appraisals.

How do I determine if a project is going to fail once it's in motion?

At initiation, establish the criteria for success and failure. e.g. adhere to certain quality standards , fall within a certain budget, meet a particular deadline and/or deliver specific functionality.

When to think about cancelling.. "15-15 Rule.“- if 15 % over budget 15% off schedule if company experiences a significant or sustained dip in revenue if scope has grown or changed so significantly that the project is

no longer recognizable or has morphed into something else.

Create smaller projects that give some return for the sunk costs.

Example :Requirements for management, monitoring and evaluation of eGovernment projects (1)

a current performance baseline against which results can be measured

target business benefits defined in measurable terms i.e. measurable change in service, efficiency, or effectiveness

formal assessment of the project risks an adequate budget for the full scope of the strategy an organisation appropriate to, and capable of, executing the

process, drawn from the managers of the process itself, supported as required by expertise from other departments or from external sources

(2)

supporting methods, training, staffing and systems an appropriate change management programme an appropriate programme management control structure management and governance structures that are effective

and empowered regular specific reporting on progress against measurable

targets and budgets regular review of business case targets post-implementation review for all projects or programmes

with benefits realised assessed against projected benefits and the costs incurred.