Sampling of Software Problems

The sickening £12 billion NHS fiasco (17-4-2007)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3639250/The-sickening-12-billion-NHS-fiasco.html

The FBI's Upgrade That Wasn't $170 Million Bought an Unusable Computer System Washington Post Staff Writers, Friday, August 18, 2006

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/17/AR2006081701485_pf.html

Someone is denied a new credit card because her Mother’s credit history is merged with her own

$125 million is squandered on a hotel reservation system, in which proper project management should have revealed that this project was hopelessly out-of-control

Software development projects frequently produce systems that are not used because users deem them unusable

Advantages of Using Formal Project Management

Better control of financial, physical, and human resources

Improved customer relations

Shorter development times

Lower costs

Higher quality and increased reliability

Higher profit margins

Improved productivity

Better internal coordination

Higher worker morale

What Is a Project?

A project is “a temporary effort undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result” (PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, 2013) Project management body of knowledge (PMBOK)

Operations is work done to tolerate the business

Projects end when their objectives have been either reached or the project has been terminated

Projects can be large or small

and take a short or long time to complete.

Examples of IT Projects

A team of students creates a smartphone application and sells it online

A company develops a driverless car

A government group develops a system to track child immunisations

A global bank acquires other financial institutions and needs to merge systems and procedures

The NHS project

Biometric fingerprint system for airports

Computerised baggage handling system at Denver and Heathrow airports

Project Stakeholders

Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by project activities

Stakeholders include

the project sponsor

the project manager

the project team

support staff

customers

users

suppliers

opponents to the project

10 Project Management Knowledge Areas

Knowledge areas describe the key competencies that project managers must develop

Project managers must have knowledge and skills in all 10 knowledge areas (project integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resource, communications, risk, procurement, and stakeholder management)

This text includes an entire chapter on each knowledge area

Project Management Tools and Techniques

Project management tools and techniques assist project managers and their teams in various aspects of project management

Some specific ones include

Project charter, scope statement, and WBS (scope)

Gantt charts, network diagrams, critical path analysis, critical chain scheduling (time)

Cost estimates and earned value management (cost)

Super Tools

“Super tools” are those tools that have high use and high potential for improving project success, such as:

Software for task scheduling (such as project management software)

Scope statements

Requirements analyses

Lessons-learned reports

Tools already extensively used that have been found to improve project importance include:

Progress reports

Kick-off meetings

Gantt charts

Change requests

What Went Right? Improved Project Performance

The Standish Group’s CHAOS studies show improvements in IT projects in the past decade:

The number of successful IT projects has more than doubled, from 16 percent in 1994 to 39 percent in 2012

The number of failed projects decreased from 31 percent in 1994 to 18 percent in 2012

Success rates were much higher for small projects than large ones – 76 percent versus 10 percent

The Project Lifecycle – Phases

Define

Plan

Action

Review

Change

Guinness PLC

“Strategy will involve change and change is something that is here to stay.

Managers throughout the business and at all levels have got to recognize the management of change as a core skill.

So opportunities as managers of projects (change) will become a key building block of experience in most people’s careers”.

Tony Greener Chairman, Guinness PLC Diageo

Planning

“People don’t like to plan - Planning is unnatural - It is much more fun just to do.

And the nice thing about just doing is that failure comes as a complete surprise.

Whereas if you have planned, the failure is preceded by a long period of despair and worry”

Sir John Harvey Jones CEO, ICI

Key Features of a Project

Non-routine tasks are involved

Planning is required and work is carried out in several phases

Use progressive elaboration

Specific objectives are to be met or a specified product is to be created

Project has pre-determined time span

A project is temporary

Work is carried out for someone other than yourself

Primary customer or sponsor

The available resources are constrained

Work includes several specialisms

Project is large/complex

Uncertainty is involved

This can be the reason project management is so challenging an effective project manager is crucial to the success of a project

Projects v Processes

One off task	Varies Little day by day
Specific deliverables	Measured by quantity produced
Time restrictions	On-going work
Many tasks	Tasks fit within functional boundaries
Multifunction teams	Interfaces between functional departments well defined

What is a successful project?

One that delivers expected results

These traditionally include

Budget

Schedule

Scope

‘Big three’ – A success

The benefits must outweigh the costs e.g. the increase in sales more than covers the cost

Project Success

There are several ways to define project success:

The project met scope, time, and cost goals

The project satisfied the customer/sponsor

The results of the project met its main objective, such as making or saving a certain amount of money, providing a good return on investment, or simply making the sponsors happy

What Helps Projects Succeed?

1. Executive support

2. User involvement

3. Clear business objectives

4. Emotional maturity

5. Optimizing scope

6. Agile process

7. Project management expertise

8. Skilled resources

9. Execution

10. Tools and infrastructure

*The Standish Group, “CHAOS Manifesto 2013: Think Big, Act Small” (2013).

Top Three Reasons Why Federal Technology Project Succeed

Adequate funding

Staff expertise

Engagement from all stakeholders

What the Winners Do…

Recent research findings show that companies that excel in project delivery capability:

Use an integrated project management toolbox (use standard/advanced PM tools, lots of templates)

Grow project leaders, emphasizing business and soft skills

Develop a streamlined project delivery process

Measure project health using metrics, like customer satisfaction or return on investment

Program and Project Portfolio Management

A program is “a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually” (PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, 2013)

A program manager provides leadership and direction for the project managers heading the projects within the program

Examples of common programs in the IT field include infrastructure, applications development, and user support

Project Portfolio Management

As part of project portfolio management, organizations group and manage projects and programs as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise’s success

Portfolio managers help their organizations make wise investment decisions by helping to select and analyze projects from a strategic perspective

Best Practice

A best practice is “an optimal way recognized by industry to achieve a stated goal or objective”*

Robert Butrick suggests that organizations need to follow basic principles of project management, including these two mentioned earlier in this chapter:

Make sure your projects are driven by your strategy. Be able to demonstrate how each project you undertake fits your business strategy, and screen out unwanted projects as soon as possible

Engage your stakeholders. Ignoring stakeholders often leads to project failure. Be sure to engage stakeholders at all stages of a project, and encourage teamwork and commitment at all times

*Project Management Institute, Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3) Knowledge Foundation (2003), p. 13.

The Role of the Project Manager

Job descriptions vary, but most include responsibilities like planning, scheduling, coordinating, and working with people to achieve project goals

Remember that 97% of successful projects were led by experienced project managers, who can often help influence success factors

Suggested Skills for Project Managers

The Project Management Body of Knowledge

Application area knowledge, standards, and regulations

Project environment knowledge

General management knowledge and skills

Soft skills or human relations skills

Ten Most Important Skills and Competencies for Project Managers

1. People skills

2. Leadership

3. Listening

4. Integrity, ethical behavior, consistent

5. Strong at building trust

6. Verbal communication

7. Strong at building teams

8. Conflict resolution, conflict management

9. Critical thinking, problem solving

10. Understands, balances priorities

Different Skills Needed in Different Situations

Large projects: Leadership, relevant prior experience, planning, people skills, verbal communication, and team-building skills were most important

High uncertainty projects: Risk management, expectation management, leadership, people skills, and planning skills were most important

Very novel projects: Leadership, people skills, having vision and goals, self confidence, expectations management, and listening skills were most important

Importance of Leadership Skills

Effective project managers provide leadership by example

A leader focuses on long-term goals and big-picture objectives while inspiring people to reach those goals

A manager deals with the day-to-day details of meeting specific goals

Project managers often take on the role of both leader and manager

Careers for IT Project Managers

In a 2014 survey, IT executives listed the “ten hottest skills” they planned to hire for in 2015

Project management was second only to programming and application development

Even if you choose to stay in a technical role, you still need project management knowledge and skills to help your team and organisation

Ten Hottest IT Skills

Skill	Percentage of Respondents
Programming and application development	48
Project management	35
Help desk/technical support	30
Security/compliance governance	28
Web development	28
Database administration	26
Business intelligence/analytics	24
Mobile application and device management	24
Networking	22
Big data	20

Source: Mary K. Pratt, "10 Hottest IT Skills for 2015," Computerworld, November 18, 2014.

The Project Management Profession

The profession of project management is growing at a very rapid pace

It is helpful to understand the history of the field, the role of professional societies like the Project Management Institute, and the growth in project management software

History of Project Management

Some people argue that building the Egyptian pyramids was a project, as was building the Great Wall of China

Most people consider the Manhattan Project to be the first project to use “modern” project management

This three-year, $2 billion (in 1946 dollars) project had a separate project manager and a technical manager

📷 Sample Gantt Chart

📷 Sample Network Diagram

Project Management Offices

In the 100s, many companies began creating PMOs to help them handle the increasing number and complexity of projects

A Project Management Office (PMO) is an organisational group responsible for coordinating the project management function throughout an organisation

Global Issues

Several global dynamics are forcing organisations to rethink their practices:

Talent development for project and program managers is a top concern

Good project portfolio management is crucial in tight economic conditions

Basic project management techniques are core competencies

Organisations want to use more agile approaches to project management

Benefits realisation of projects is a key metric

The Project Management Institute

The Project Management Institute (PMI) is an international professional society for project managers founded in 1969

PMI has continued to attract and retain members, reporting more than 449,000 members worldwide by late 2014

There are communities of practices in many areas, like information systems, financial services, and health care

Project management research and certification programs continue to grow

Students can join PMI at a reduced fee and earn the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification(see www.pmi.org for details)

Project Management Certification

PMI provides certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP)

A PMP has documented sufficient project experience, agreed to follow a code of ethics, and passed the PMP exam

The number of people earning PMP certification is increasing quickly

Ethics in Project Management

Ethics, loosely defined, is a set of principles that guide our decision making based on personal values of what is “right” and “wrong”

Project managers often face ethical dilemmas

In order to earn PMP certification, applicants must agree to PMI’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

Several questions on the PMP exam are related to professional responsibility, including ethics