Chapter 1:

Introduction to Project
Management
Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition
Note: See the text itself for full citations

Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Learning Objectives (1 of 2)

• Articulate the growing need for better project management, especially

for information technology (IT) projects
• Explain what a project is, provide examples of IT projects, list various
attributes of projects, and describe constraints of project management
• Define project management and discuss key elements of the project
management framework, including project stakeholders, the project
management knowledge areas, common tools and techniques, and
project success
Learning Objectives (2 of 2)

• Discuss the relationship between project, program, and portfolio

management and the contributions each makes to enterprise success
• Summarize the role of project managers by describing what they do,
what skills they need, the talent triangle, and career opportunities for IT
project managers
• Recall key aspects of the project management profession, including
important components of its history, the role of professional
organizations like the Project Management Institute (PMI), the
importance of certification and ethics, and the advancement of project
management software
Introduction (1 of 3)

• Many people and organizations today have a new or renewed interest in

project management
• Worldwide IT spending was $3.5 trillion in 2017, a 2.4 percent increase
from 2016 spending
• The Project Management Institute reported that the number of jobs
reached almost 66 million in 2017. By 2027, employers will need 87.7
million individuals working in project management–oriented roles
Introduction (2 of 3)

• In 2017, the average annual salary (without bonuses) for someone in

the project management profession was $112,000 in the U.S. and
$130,866 in Switzerland
• The top skills employers look for in new college graduates are all
related to project management: team-work, problem-solving, and verbal
communications
• Organizations waste $97 million for every $1 billion spent on projects,
according to PMI’s Pulse of the Profession® report
Introduction (3 of 3)

• Advantages of Using Formal Project Management:

• Better control of financial, physical, and human resources
• Improved customer relations
• Shorter development times
• Lower costs and improved productivity
• Higher quality and increased reliability
• Higher profit margins
• Better internal coordination
• Positive impact on meeting strategic goals
• Higher worker morale
What Is a Project?

• A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique

product, service, or result”
• Operations is work done to sustain the business
• Projects end when their objectives have been reached or the project has
been terminated
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 immunizations
• A global bank acquires other financial institutions and needs to
consolidate systems and procedures
Project Constraints
Every project is constrained in different
ways, often by its scope, time, and cost
goals. To create a successful project, a
project manager must consider scope,
time, and cost and balance these three
often-competing goals:
Scope: What work will be done as part of
the project? What unique product, service,
or result does the customer or sponsor
expect from the project? How will the
scope be verified?
Time: How long should it take to complete
the project? What is the project’s
schedule? How will the team track actual
schedule performance? Who can approve
changes to the schedule?
Cost: What should it cost to complete the
project? What is the project’s budget? How
will costs be tracked? Who can authorize
changes to the budget?
What is Project Management? (1 of 2)

• Project management is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools and

techniques to project activities to meet project requirements”
(PMBOK® Guide, Sixth Edition, 2017)
• Project managers strive to meet the triple constraint (project scope,
time, and cost goals) and also facilitate the entire process to meet the
needs and expectations of project stakeholders
What is Project Management? (2 of 2)
Project Stakeholders

• Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by project activities

• Stakeholders include
• the project sponsor
• banks and other financial institutions
• the project manager
• the project team
• support staff
• suppliers
• opponents to the project
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 scope management involves defining and managing all the
work required to complete the project successfully.
• Project schedule management (formerly called project time
management) includes estimating how long it will take to complete the
work, developing an acceptable project schedule, and ensuring timely
completion of the project.
• Project cost management consists of preparing and managing the
budget for the project.
• Project quality management ensures that the project will satisfy the
stated or implied needs for which it was undertaken.
Project Management Knowledge Areas

• Project resource management is concerned with making effective

use of the people and physical resources involved with the project.
• Project communications management involves generating,
collecting, disseminating, and storing project information.
• Project risk management includes identifying, analyzing, and
responding to risks related to the project.
• Project procurement management involves acquiring or procuring
goods and services for a project from outside the performing
organization.
• Project stakeholder management includes identifying and analyzing
stakeholder needs while managing and controlling their engagement
throughout the life of the project.
• Project integration management is an overarching function that
affects and is affected by all of the other knowledge areas.
Information Technology Project Management, Ninth Edition. © 2019 Cengage. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except
for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
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)
Project Success (1 of 4)

• 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
Project Success (2 of 4)

Factors of Success Points

Executive sponsorship 15

Emotional maturity 15

User involvement 15

Optimization 15

Skilled resources 10

Agile processes 7

Modest execution 6

Project management expertise 5

Clear business objectives 4

Source: The Standish Group, CHAOS Manifesto 2015 (2015)

Table 1-2 What Helps Projects Succeed?
Project Success (3 of 4)

• Top three reasons why federal technology projects succeed

• Adequate funding
• Staff expertise
• Engagement from all stakeholders
Project Success (4 of 4)

• Research findings show that companies that excel in project delivery

capability:
• Use an integrated toolbox
• Grow project leaders
• Develop a streamlined project delivery process
• Measure project health using metrics, like customer satisfaction or return on
investment
Program and Project Portfolio Management

• About one-quarter of the world’s gross domestic product is spent on

projects
• Two important concepts that help projects meet enterprise goals:
• Use of programs
• Project portfolio management
Programs

• A program is “a group of related projects managed in a coordinated

manner to obtain benefits and control not available from managing
them individually” (PMBOK® Guide — Sixth Edition, 2017)
• Examples of common programs in the IT field include infrastructure,
applications development, and user support
• A program manager provides leadership and direction for the project
managers heading the projects within the program
Project Portfolio Management (1 of 2)

• 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
Project Portfolio Management (2 of 2)
Organizational Project Management (1 of 2)

• Organizational project management

• Framework in which portfolio, program, and project management are integrated
with organizational enablers in order to achieve strategic objectives
Organizational Project Management (2 of 2)
The Role of the Project Manager

• Project managers must work closely with the other stakeholders on a

project, especially the sponsor and project team
• They are also more effective if they are familiar with the 10 project
management knowledge areas
• And the various tools and techniques related to project management
Project Manager Job Description

• Job descriptions vary, but most include responsibilities like planning,

scheduling, coordinating, and working with people to achieve project
goals
• Project management is a skill needed in every major IT field, from
database administrator to network specialist to technical writer
Suggested Skills for Project Managers (1 of 2)

• 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
Suggested Skills for Project Managers (2 of 2)

• Six traits of highly effective project managers as follows:

• Be a strategic business partner
• Encourage and recognize valuable contributions
• Respect and motivate stakeholders
• Be fully vested in success
• Stress integrity and accountability
• Work in the gray/Be able to deal with ambiguity
Careers for IT Project Managers (1 of 2)

• In a 2017 survey, IT executives listed the “ten hot tech skills” they
planned to hire for in 2017
• Project management was second only to full-stack software
development
• Even if you choose to stay in a technical role, you still need project
management knowledge and skills to help your team and organization
Careers for IT Project Managers (2 of 2)

1. Full-stack software development

2. Project management

3. Cyber-security

4. Networking

5. User experience/user interface (UX/UI) design

6. Quality assurance (QA)/testing

7. Cloud engineering

8. Big data

9. Machine learning/artificial intelligence

10. DevOps

Source: Sharon Florentine, “10 IT skills that employers need in 2017,” CIO from
IDG (February 1, 2017).
Table 1-4 Ten hot tech skills for 2017