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As more organizations move to formal project work, it becomes critical to capably
manage those projects. The best way to do so most effectively is to establish
standards for project management that are corporatewide, or at least span the
information systems (IS) department. These standards include project management
methodologies and life cycles, as well as software packages for project management,
process management, and time accounting.
This article discusses project management methodologies and life cycles, reviews
some of the more common features of each, and explains the three types of software
commonly used to support corporate project management systems.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES AND LIFE
CYCLES
Although managers can manage projects without a formal methodology, having one
can be a big help. This section explains what project management methodologies are
and why they are important, and gives a brief history of project management
methodologies. It also defines life cycles, describes some common IS life cycles, and
explains how life cycles relate to methodologies.
Project management methodologies have been around for decades, but first started
to become popular in IS in the early 1970s. These methodologies usually have two
components. The first is an overall process for doing things, while the second
consists of templates or forms required at specific portions of that process. While the
process itself is the true methodology, most project managers consider the
templates and forms to be part and parcel of the methodology. However, most
project managers also agree that templates alone do not a methodology make.
Project management methodologies are important for two reasons. First, they
standardize the way in which an organization manages its projects. This allows
people from anywhere in the organization to talk with one another using the same
terms and the same definitions for those terms. Presenting a consistent approach to
project management via standards also allows project managers to cover for one
another when the need arises. The second reason that methodologies are important
is that they provide novice project managers with the tools to manage projects,
without requiring a long learning curve.
Project life cycles generally go hand in hand with project methodologies. Such life
cycles break a project’s life into a series of phases or stages. The end of each phase
provides a convenient project review point for senior management to institute go or
no-go decisions, and also allows project managers to plan the next phases in more
detail. While project life cycles can have many phases, the majority have three to
five. They include some type of project start-up or initiation, a project construction
or implementation stage, and, finally, a project evaluation or post-implementation
review.
SELECTING PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES
For organizations that do not have a methodology or are looking for a new one, this
section explains what to look for in project management methodologies. It discusses
the benefits and drawbacks of in house versus vendor-supplied methodologies, as
well as canned versus customized methodologies. It then describes the most popular
vendor methodologies.
First, an exploration of the benefits and drawbacks of vendor methodologies is in
order. The greatest benefit of a vendor methodology is that the work is already done,
which can save an organization literally years of developing an internal methodology.
The vendor methodology has also been tested and proven to work, saving both the
time and headaches involved in smoothing out process wrinkles.
On the downside, however, purchased methodologies require an organization to
change its existing practices to match those of the methodology. If it does not, then
the organization must customize at least some of the methodology. These
customizations can vary from minor tweaks of the process, to customizations so
severe that the original purchased methodology is virtually obliterated.
Another drawback of purchased methodologies is their price. Many vendor-supplied
methodologies cost $50,000 or more for a perpetual license. In addition, some
vendors charge thousands of dollars annually.
Some of the more popular methodologies for IS projects include Dynamic Systems
Development Method (DSDM) from Computer Associates and PRIDE from
Computacenter.
IMPLEMENTING PROJECT MANAGEMENT
METHODOLOGIES
This section explains how to implement a project management methodology. It
covers how to establish project work breakdown structures (WBSs), as well as
estimating, tracking, change control, quality control, and communication standards.
It then explains how to conduct IS departmental and client training regarding both
the methodology and the standards.
Once an organization has either selected a vendor methodology or developed one inhouse,
it is ready to start the long, often tedious process of creating project
standards. While some of the purchased methodologies come with standards for
various project components, organizations will need to develop standards for those
that do not have them.
Creating WBS, Estimating, and Tracking Standards
The first standard to be established is how project WBSs will be created. Many
organizations develop project templates for the most common types of projects
developed in the organization, and then specify that project managers work from
these templates. The advantage of this is that project managers are not “reinventing
the wheel” on each project. In turn, this speeds up planning, and allows better
project tracking.
After WBS standards are established, the organization must decide how estimates
will be created. Estima tes can be determined from expert opinions, weighted
averages, statistics from previous projects, or from techniques such as function point
analysis. If organizations track their projects accurately and religiously, they can use
statistics from previous projects to provide the most accurate estimates. This
highlights the need for standards in tracking projects.
Most organizations use some type of automated time -keeping package to track time
against projects. Time tracking has three project-related purposes. The most critical
is to accurately judge where a current project stands. However, other reasons that
are almost as important are the uses of time tracking for project cost accounting,
and for data collection — in order to better estimate the next project.
To provide the best database for estimating future projects, these packages should
allow tracking against each task in the WBS, reinforcing the desirability of standard
WBSs.
Change Control, Quality Control, and Communications
Standards
Standards for change control, quality control, and communications are equally
important to project success. Change control in this context does not refer to
changes in functioning production systems, but rather to changes in the project itself.
The most common modifications to be managed are scope changes, generally
expressed as a need for increased or different functionality. Because estimates are
based on functionality as originally conceived, changes to initial functionality will
obviously impact the project’s cost and schedule. To minimize this effect, change
control policies outline the project manager’s range of discretion for approving
changes, and spell out escalation levels and procedures. While these two standards
can be negotiated at the beginning of each project, general guidelines can prove
helpful.
Quality standards in an IS department tend to address how the department handles
testing and production turnover. Some examples include how unit testing, system
testing, and user acceptance testing will be performed.
Communications standards are also important to successful projects. The main
reason that projects change as often as they do is that someone misunderstood a
communication, be it the systems person or the client. The organization can
significantly reduce the number of changes to a project in its later stages by setting
clear communication guidelines during planning, and then constantly updating
everyone involved in the project as it progresses, and doing so in a standard manner.
Methodology Training
While it is attractive to start training employees on the new methodology as soon as
it is selected, this ‘jumping the gun’ can be hazardous to the ultimate success of
methodology implementation. Certainly, the methodology will evolve as employees
start using it, but there should be a base of standards in place prior to training, lest
employees, at a minimum, require retraining. In some organizations, employees
have actually revolted and chosen not to use the methodology at all — until
standards have been established.
With at least tentative project tracking, estimating, change control, quality control,
and project communication standards in place, the organization is ready to conduct
IS departmental and client training. This training can be performed in three ways:
using outside consultants, who often develop the training as well; via internal
employees; or using a combination of consultants and employees. If the organization
chooses the combination approach, external consultants often develop the training,
whereupon they train the internal employees regarding how to deliver the training.
Since both project managers and project participants must understand the new
methodology, it often makes sense to have two separate classes. The more in-depth
class, for project ma nagers and project leaders, ideally provides case studies, so
they can actually practice the critical portions of the methodology. Although this type
of training initially takes longer, the learning curve is less steep when project
managers and leaders start following the methodology on “real” projects.
The training for project participants can be less detailed, focusing on their roles in
the new methodology. It need not specifically train them to use all the pieces of the
methodology.
IMPLEMENTING PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
PACKAGES
While selecting appropriate software packages is important, it is more critical to
successfully implement these packages. This section discusses the differences
between project management software, process management software, and time
accounting software, and then examines various methods for implementing these
packages. It also discusses the benefits and drawbacks of each approach, and
outlines a process for successful implementation.
Although there are various software tools on the market today to help project
managers manage their projects, having these tools does not a project manager
make. Project managers must still perform the nine basic competencies of project
management set forth by the Project Management Institute, an international project
management professional association. Still, having these packages certainly can
make performing these functions less arduous.
Package Types
Project management-related software tools are generally divided into the three
categories of project management software, process management software, and
time accounting software. Project management software packages perform
scheduling, as well as limited project tracking. They do this by allowing project
managers to enter project WBSs, assign inter-task dependencies, allocate resources,
and assign effort/work estimates for each task. Once these basics are entered, the
tool calculates and displays the project schedule, often graphically, via either Gantt
charts or PERT/CPM (program evaluation and review technique/critical path method)
network charts.
After initial project schedules have been created, the tools allow project managers to
baseline the original schedule, and track the project’s progress against that schedule.
Since some of the project management tools are better at such tracking than others,
organizations must weigh how important the tracking feature is to them when
analyzing and selecting a particular software package. Evaluation of this feature is
particularly important because tracking is critical to future project planning.
Low-end project management packages include MS-Project from Microsoft and
SureTrak from Primavera. Low-end packages cost approximately $500 and have
adequate scheduling features, but tend to have less robust tracking features.
Mid-range project management packages include Project Scheduler from Scitor and
CA-SuperProject from Computer Associates. Mid-range packages generally have
better schedule- modeling features, better tracking, and better output capabilities,
but the purchaser pays for it. They range in price from $1000 to $2000.
High-end project management packages include Primavera Project Planner, usually
called P3. The high-end packages include the features of the mid-range products, but
also feature better multi-project handling capabilities.
Rather than focusing on project scheduling and tracking, process management
packages allow project managers to more easily plan their projects. Typical process
management packages come with standard, yet customizable, templates for a wide
variety of information systems projects. However, unlike the templates that come
with some project management packages, these templates suggest dependency
relationships between tasks, suggest the type of skills needed to perform each task,
and generally also provide a variety of estimating techniques and metrics. Process
management packages include Process Continuum from Computer Associates, which
includes Process Engineer.
The third type of project management-related software is time accounting software.
These packages allow individuals and project managers to charge actual hours back
to project tasks. They do so by creating online and hardcopy time sheets, listing
each team member’s tasks. The team member then keeps track of the hours spent
on each task, and, usually, the date that each task was started, as well as the date
that each task was completed. This information is then transferred to whatever
project management package in use at the organization. While time accounting
software c an be used without integration with project management packages, when
integrated, it can greatly simplify the sometimes difficult tracking functions in project
management packages.
An example of time accounting packages is TimeSheet Professional from Timeslips.
Implementing Packages
Certainly, it helps project managers manage their projects more effectively if they
break projects down into phases, activities, and tasks. Similarly, software package
implementation tends to be more effective when phased in. Unfortunately, however,
in their zeal to “get current,” organizations often try to implement too many changes
at once. Thus organizations that formerly had no tools at all might acquire three or
more. The acceptance of those tools, and sometimes even the me thodology,
plummets.
For organizations starting from scratch with project management-related software
tools, the following order can help tremendously in implementation:
§ Time accounting packages. These packages should be introduced first
because they affect the largest number of people. When using these packages,
everyone on a project team has to track his or her time, and it is often quite a
shock to people who have never had to track time before. When a time
accounting system is implemented, it is critic al that people understand that
the purpose is not to police their work. Rather, the goal is to collect accurate
data on how a current project is going, and to build an accurate database for
estimating future projects.
§ Project management packages. The organization will be ready to standardize
on a project management software package three to six months after it
introduces a time accounting package. Project managers should be involved
in the selection of this standard. Otherwise, implementing the tool will be
more difficult because managers feel they were not included, or do not
understand the rationale behind the selection of a specific tool. Having a core
group of project managers supporting the selected tool enables the company
to include them in pilot test ing of the system, and in system training. This
also forms a core advocacy group for the new tool.
§ Process management packages. In another three to six months after the
project management package is introduced, project managers will be ready to
further hone their project management skills. With a few projects under their
belts using the time accounting and project management tools, they will be
able to more fully integrate the new process management tools into their
project planning process. If, however, process management tools are
introduced too soon, project managers might not have enough real project
experience to appreciate the benefits of the somewhat complicated process
management tools.
CONCLUSION
Successful projects are critical to the success of not only project managers, but to
the whole IS department — and even to the company. Selecting appropriate project
management methodologies and life cycles, and supporting them with the proper
software tools, can help immeasurably with project success. |
Disclaimer
