Book Report on "Information Systems Project Management"

Book Report 7 pages (2114 words) Sources: 7

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Information Systems Project Management

Information Systems Project

Project management is an important activity that deals with organizing the tasks, processes, and activities involved in developing and implementing certain projects in various fields. This activity requires significant knowledge and experience in order to properly manage diverse projects. The intensive practice in the field has determined several project management models that can be applied in accordance with the objectives of each project.

Project management determines a series of problems and challenges that project managers and their companies must address. Some of these problems can be attributed to the incorrect scheduling, planning and estimation of costs, project duration, or required resources. Other problems are determined by external factors that significantly influence the evolution of the project. Some of these factors can be anticipated by project managers in order to develop strategies that can counteract their effects.

Project Management

As mentioned above, there are several different models regarding the development and implementation of projects. These models vary in accordance with the activity that the project refers to, its objectives, and the resources required by the project in case. Some of these models focus on the planning of the project, while others focus on its implementation.

The development of the project starts with the understanding of its context, in order to properly evaluate the resources involved in the project and the objectives it must address. In addition to this, the company that develops the project in case must evaluate what its gains can be from this activity. The success of the project relies on the resources it requires. Therefore, the company and the project management team must evaluate the necessary resources and identify sponsors.

The objectives of the project involve a thorough analysis on several subjects, although these objectives seem to be quite general. This means that the project must be thoroughly documented in order to develop the basis on which the scope, goals, and objectives can be developed. Therefore, the scope of the project must be clearly defined. In addition to this, it is important that the management team identifies the definitions that refer to the success of the project. This is useful in the project evaluation step in order to determine whether the project is successful and its objectives have been reached.

There are several factors that must be taken into consideration during this step of the project. For example, the project team must also identify the constraints that can affect the project. The project deliverables must be tangible and measurable, and must be in accordance with the objectives of the stakeholders affected by the project. In order to simplify the development of the project, it is recommended to include the variables that present great importance to the project. The roles and responsibilities are also established by the project management team.

The planning of the project is one of the most important steps in its development and includes several activities. These activities refer to defining the objectives of the project, determining the work breakdown structure, estimating the time and the costs, organizing the schedule of the project, optimizing resource allocation, analyzing potential risks and developing strategies to counteract their effects on the project.

The following step is represented by obtaining the permissions for the project. These procedures vary significantly between countries, and in accordance with the field addressed by the project and its objectives. Some of these fields require easier efforts in obtaining the authorities' permission, but others, like construction or oil and gas projects require important efforts in order to obtain the authorizations.

The implementation step of the project consists in monitoring, analyzing, and correcting the activities established in the steps discussed above. In addition to this, it is important to frequently report the evolution of the project. This ensures the better management of problems that might affect the evolution of the project (Kerzner, 2009).

The evaluation of the project is also one of the most important steps in the project plan. During this step, each phase of the project is evaluated and feedback is given the team members. The objective of this step is to identify important aspects that affect the project in case.

Managerial Challenges in it Projects

There are numerous managerial challenges that influence the development and implementation of large it projects. Small projects can also experience difficulties, but the importance of these problems is in accordance with the size of the project, and its objectives.

The lack of clarity regarding the scope of the project is one of the most important problems that attempt to the efficiency of the project. The importance of this aspect relies on the fact that the decisions that must be taken during the project are based on its scope. Evaluation criteria are also established based on the project's scope. This is important because it represents the agreement between the project team, the customers, and the sponsors of the project.

Therefore, this agreement is determined by the clarity of the discussions regarding the scope of the project. It often happens that the parties involved in these discussions are unable to reach the clarity level that allows them to establish the objectives of the project. Numerous surveys developed by companies that focus on improving project management skills have revealed the fact that many of these project teams are not able to identify the scope of the project (BIA, 2010).

Furthermore, the project team does not realize this problem until it faces certain difficulties that affect the project and its activities. When something like this occurs, the management team must analyze the implications of the project and establish a clear scope. In order to ensure the clarity of the scope, the statement in case must approved by the sponsors and by other parties involved in the project.

Another challenge that the project manager must address is represented by the modification of organizational priorities. The current business environment determines several changes that affect companies' activity. Therefore, organizational priorities that influence the development and implementation of the project are modified in accordance with such situations.

These modifications can be determined by other factors also. For example, strategic changes developed by the company's management team are able to affect the objectives established for the projects developed by the company in case. The problem with such aspects is that the project manager does not have the power to influence these modifications. The project manager can only develop strategies in order to reduce the impact of these changes.

This leads to other problems, like the improper management of project changes. Even if the scope and objectives of the project are clearly established initially, it is sometimes required to modify some of these objectives in accordance with the requirements of the environment. This leads to modifications regarding the resources of the project.

In such situations, it is recommended to inform the team about the modifications that affect the project's activity. Together with the team, the project manager must focus on designing the schedule that must incorporate the established modifications. It is important that the team understands the necessity of making these changes in order to ensure the successful evolution of the project.

In addition to these challenges, projects are confronted with reduced project management skills. In other words, not all managers are able to properly manage certain projects. In such cases, companies must invest in the training of their staff. This refers to employees, but to managers also. Project management requires different skills in comparison with other types of management. These skills are developed through training programs (it Business Edge, 2011).

However, project sponsors must also be trained. Practice in the field has revealed the fact that sponsors must be trained in order to ensure they understand their role in the development and implementation of the project. Their training programs are different than those organized for managers.

Another important challenge addressed by project managers refers to the improper allocation of resources. Projects must be developed using limited resources. In some cases, the resources necessary are not properly estimated, which means that their allocation cannot satisfy the needs of certain activities. Therefore, it is recommended that the resource allocation established by the project team is performed under the supervision of specialized companies.

The challenges that affect the development of it project also depend on the organizational culture. For example, multinational team environments determine a series of challenges that project managers must take into consideration. Managers handle these challenges in accordance with cultural interpretations.

The challenges in such cases refer to the business environment, project work, team culture, work processes, and managerial tools and techniques (Cleland & Gareis, 2006). Multinational business environments are highly dynamic, which influences market structure, suppliers, and regulations. The challenges that project managers must address in this environment are represented by differences in language, organizational culture, regulations, business processes, and others. This means that technology concepts must focus on these aspects.

Globalization has determined the outsourcing of some of companies' processes and activities. This mostly refers to the it processes.… READ MORE

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