Challenges to IT Project Managers: Roles, Responsibilities and Staffing
An Internet Technology Project Manager (ITPM) needs to have many organizational and motivational skills. Probably the most challenging problems in a project are those that have to do with keeping the personnel on track and working towards the same goal. This means the ITPM must have a thorough understanding of what the customer expects from the end product - so that the management of people does not let the purpose of the project become blurred. Familiarity with the needs of the customer and the purpose of the product are the first priorities for the ITPM (Lawlor, 2010). The ITPM must be able to clearly communicate the project goals and to understand the steps necessary to reach those goals. This essay suggests that using the concepts and suggestions that best fit the project can make the project a success. In other words flexibility and adaptability are good for a project but rigid rules may cause project failure.
Definitions
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBK Guide) (2004) defines ‘a project’ as “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result” (1). In other words when a project to make a new software application has been accepted, the start and end times required by the customer are also accepted. A project is considered temporary because the ITPM agrees to finish the work after a certain amount of time passes, not after an indefinite period of time. The PMBK Guide gives a project manager’s job description as having four main parts. (a) To be able to identify the key requirements necessary in the finished project. (b) Understand and communicate the objectives clearly and establish doable goals. (c) Make sure there is a balance between “quality, scope, time and cost.” And (d) plan and implement the strategy that will meet the needs of all the stakeholders in terms of their individual needs and specifications. (PMBK, 2004, 7)
‘Success’ of a project means (a) meeting the deadline, (b) staying within the budget and (c) giving the customer a satisfactory finished product. Lisa Ahn is an Operations Director and writer for the company JNC Solutions in California. Ahn (2005) points out that the most important job for the Project Manager is to “keep all team members aware of these big Three -Time, Budget, and Quality.”
Strategies for a Project Manager
There are many lists of steps for ITPM’s to follow. Most of them have good suggestions and offer new ideas. John Lawlor (2010) is both an IT Manger and consultant who has given training courses and written books on “large scale technology and business solutions . . . for over 25 years.” Lawlor (2010) recommends that first step for a project manager is to “get management and stakeholder commitment.” A project manager needs to keep the business plan and the project goal in mind starting from the beginning of the project. Lawlor (2010) also stresses that the support of management and stakeholders are important throughout the whole process of developing the end product. An ITPM needs to be able to count on a sponsor that will fight their fight for budgets or new personnel or anything else that might come up. Using the team approach means that the sponsor would be a part of the team. Instead of receiving periodic updates the sponsor needs to be part of the team. They would be at meetings and aware of how the process of reaching the goal was developing from their participation.
He suggests eight steps to follow. (a) A project manager must remember the business benefits the end result is expected to offer as well as keep focused on the technical design of the project. He suggests that projects need sponsors at a higher level of management to support the project consistently to help make sure the deadline is met. (b) The goals, scope and objectives must be clearly defined and delineated. (c) A written plan is necessary whether it is handwritten or input into a management software application. (d) The project resources need to be appropriately managed and the team needs encouragement and support from the project manager. Communications need to be efficiently planned and administered so part of the team does not become isolated or team members get off track. (e) The people management will probably extend to the suppliers and the external sub-contractors. Meetings with these project player will be needed but not as part of the usual team meetings. That is because the project needs the appropriate supplies and they have certain requirements that need to be good quality. (f) Lawlor defines control processes, “Control processes are used to make sure that the project is proceeding as planned and that deliverables meet required standards.” (e) The last step of any project is to close the project by tying up any loose ends, including making sure support and operational management are running well. When the final report is finished, teams often celebrate with a party to celebrate a job well done. (Lawlor, 2010)
The ITPM should set milestones and regularly and make the final call on team decisions about key components of the project. Thorough testing is necessary during the process. For example the software writers might be put into sub-team groups of two. That way they can each test the code of the other to catch any bugs during the software development.
The boundaries of the scope, goals and objectives must be clearly defined and they must be kept the same throughout the process. Many projects suffer from fuzzy boundaries that make it harder to focus on the plan and stick to the end goal. A written plan is important to make. An IT project manager may prefer to keep handwritten notes with the tasks, their breakdowns, each task’s end point, budgets, dates and deliverables. There are also many choices of software applications that an ITPM can use by adapt to their own needs. An ITPM is in charge of the management of the resources for the project is necessary as well as the management each team member, the stakeholders and the sponsor (Lawler, 2010). A team approach with regular interactions between members (in person or over Skype) can make this part of the ITPM’s job more easily rather than more difficult. As the process progresses the ITPM will be able to see immediately when adjustments need to be made to his or her plan.
Staffing and Teams
Jane Suchan, the project manager of the Microsoft Office Project 2003 has suggested several tips for hiring the best people for the team. She recommends making the resource plan first in order to help determine what skills are needed and the stakeholders. She suggests five characteristics to keep in mind when choosing team members. (a) Do they have skills that match the needs of the project? (b) What is their position in the business hierarchy? (c) What resources can they access including availability to the network? (d) Are they able to work within the team effectively? (e) Are they team players? (Suchan, 2003)
Some Suchan’s points are obvious but others are not naturally part of a project manager’s checklist in choosing team workers. For example an employee’s position in the business hierarchy does not seem obvious. It is important though in terms of maintaining support for a project. Also it could be important in terms of accessing resources ranging from Internet facilities to work hours for the team.
Charlie Poole (2002) an independent software developer, coach, and trainer has written about his success turning around a failing project by using EP. There are many management methods available such as Extreme Programming (EP). EP is a philosophy of management than can be adapted to normal or emergency situations. By following the main values of the EP each person of the project was constantly called to give input and feedback so that integration is an ongoing process. Jeffries (2001) explains that “Extreme Programming is a discipline of software development based on values of simplicity, communication, feedback, and courage.” Communications must be managed between members of the team, the sponsor, and stakeholders. In the EP strategy there are no experts on a team “only general contributors” that work together collaboratively. (Poole, 2004) Courage may seem like a strange characteristic to add to the values but the ability to comfortably take risks is important. A risk could be making changes that are not in the business books but may be very useful when considering the project group dynamics. Each person in the project group is important to the success of the project so the group should be considered a team working together to reach a goal. Teamwork requires a different way of thinking by the ITPM. For example, delegating work and expecting to move the project along on a linear path is much different than using the team method. The team is a very valuable method though because each person adds their knowledge on whatever applies. This means a person more experienced in one part of the programming can help another person with less experience. The sharing of tips and ideas is not based on older to younger. Instead the whole concept should be based on who can teach something that can help the success of the project. If a project is too big for a one team in close collaboration then another way to incorporate XP would be to make groups (or sub teams) within the team. Flynn and Mangione (2008) explain that a team made up of “individuals with differing expertise and backgrounds can be both beneficial and challenging” within a project. When a team approach is used it is important for the ITPM to recognize and show appreciation for both individual and team successes.
Conclusion
Using the concepts and suggestions that best fit the project can make the project a success. This requires recognizing the needs of reaching the project goal and adapting good strategies to get the job done. Some of the most important skills needed cannot be taught from a textbook but can be learned by observation and through experience. Some of these skills are part of the ITPM’s character like flexibility, courage, vision and energy. The advice of experienced project managers can be invaluable. The importance of keeping the project goal as the priority is essential.
References
Ahn, L. (2005) 10 Rules of highly successful project management. Project Management Institute. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/10-rules-of-highly-successful-project-management.html
Flynn, A. B. and Mangione, T. J. (2008). Five Steps to a Winning Project Team. Creating strategic groups to increase efficiency, decrease costs. Project Smart. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/five-steps-to-a-winning-project-team.html
Fowler, M. J., Beck, K., Brant, J., Opdyke, W. and Roberts, D. (1999). Refactoring: Improving the design of existing code. Westford, MA: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.
Jeffries, R. (2001 November 8). What is Extreme Programming? Xprogramming.com Retrieved from http://xprogramming.com/xpmag/whatisxp
Lawlor, J. J. (2010). Project Management: Eight Simple Steps to Follow. Project Smart. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/successful-project-management-eight-simple-steps-to-follow.html
PMBOK Guide. (2004). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge 3rd Edition. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, Inc.
Poole, C. (2002 March 26). Project Turnaround: XP to the Rescue? CharliePoole.org. Retrieved from http://www.charliepoole.org/article.php?p=turnaround
Suchan, J. (2003). Build effective project teams. Microsoft Office Project 2003. Retrieved from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/project-help/build-effective-project-teams-HA001211172.aspx
