Information Technology Project Management – Third Edition By Jack T. Marchewka Northern Illinois University Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. all.

Information Technology Project Management – Third Edition

By Jack T. Marchewka

Northern Illinois University

Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. all rights reserved. Reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted in Section 117 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without the express permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Request for further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The purchaser may make back-up copies for his/her own use only and not for distribution or resale. The Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or damages caused by the use of these programs or from the use of the information contained herein.

Developing the Project Charter & Baseline Project Plan

Chapter 3

An IT Project Methodology

Figure 2.1 3

The Business Case has been approved, but… Who is the project manager? Who is the project sponsor? Who is on the project team? What role does everyone associated with the project play? What is the scope of the project? How much will the project cost? How long will it take to complete the project? What resources and technology will be required? What approach, tools, and techniques will be used to

develop the information system? What tasks or activities will be required to perform the

project work? How long will these tasks or activities take? Who will be responsible for performing these tasks or

activities? What will the organization receive for the time, money, and

resources invested in this project?4

PMBOK - Definition Process

A set of interrelated actions and activities that are performed to achieve a pre-specified set of products, results, or services

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Projects versus Processes Processes are ongoing

If you’re building cars on an assembly line, that’s a process!

If you’re designing and building a prototype of a specific car model, that’s a project!

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Project Management Processes Project Management processes

Help initiate, plan, execute, monitor and control and close a project as well as interact with the project management knowledge areas e.g., develop a business case, develop an MOV Ensures that the final product meets the exoectations of

the intended client A caterer hired to bake a wedding cake, would need project

management processes to define, plan, estimate the cost and deliver a cake that meets the customer’s expectations, budget and needs while being profitable to the caterer

Product-Oriented processes Development processes that focus on tangible results

of the project – develop a quality product For an IT project this would include all the processes to

design, build, test, document and implement an application system

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Project Management Processes The PM must find the balance

between the two

Figure 3.1 8

Project Integration Management

Integration, in the context of managing a project, is making choices about where to concentrate resources and effort on any given day, anticipating potential issues, dealing with these issues before they become critical, and coordinating work for the overall project good. The integration effort also involves making trade-offs among competing objectives and alternatives. (PMBOK guide)

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Project Integration Processes Develop Project Charter

A project cannot be started without a project charter Develop Preliminary Scope Statement

First draft of what the project must deliver Develop Project Management Plan

How the project will be executed monitored, controlled and closed

Direct & Manage Project Execution Project work is carried out

Monitor and Control Project Work Corrective/preventive actions/defect repair/rework

Integrate Change Control Manage change

Close Project Administrative and contractual closure

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The Project Charter Together with the baseline project plan,

provides a tactical plan for carrying out the project

Serves as an agreement or contract between the project sponsor and team

Provides a framework for project governance

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The Project Charter Documents the project’s MOV

At this point it is finalized and agreed upon by all Defines the project infrastructure

Details everything needed to carry out the project Summarizes the details of the project plan

Summarize the scope, schedule, budget, quality objectives, deliverables and milestones

Defines roles & responsibilities Specify lines of reporting and those responsible for specific

decisions Shows explicit commitment to the project

Identify project sponsor and who takes ownership of the finished product

Sets out project control mechanisms Outline a process for requesting and responding to

change

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What Should Be in a Project Charter? Project ID

name identification (SABRE – semi-automated business research environment)

Project Stakeholders Project Description MOV Project Scope – specify what will NOT be done as well Project Schedule (summary) Project Budget (summary) Quality issues/standards/requirements Resources Assumptions & Risks Project Administration Acceptance & Approval References Terminology (acronyms & definitions)

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Project Charter Template

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Project Plan A Project Plan attempts to answer the questions

What needs to be done? Who will do the work? When will they do the work? How long will it take? How much will it cost?

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Project Planning Framework

Figure 3.4 16

A Project Plan attempts to answer the questions What needs to be done? Who will do the work? When will they do the work? How long will it take? How much will it cost?

The project planning framework is part of the IT project methodology and provides the steps and processes necessary to develop the detailed project plan that will support the project’s MOV

Project Planning Framework

The MOV Defined and agreed upon MOV acts as a bridge between the strategic

mission of the organization and the project plans of individual projects it undertakes

Define the Project’s Scope Planning Definition Verification Change Control

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Project Planning Framework – cont’d. Subdivide the Project into Phases

Once the scope is defined and verified, the work can be organized into phases and subphases in order to complete all the deliverables Each phase should focus on one deliverable

Tasks-Sequence, Resources, and Time Estimates A task is a specific activity or unit of work to be

completed Sequence – linear or parallel Resources – tasks require resources and there is a cost

associated with each resource Time

Schedule and Budget-The Baseline Plan Once the project plan is approve, it becomes the

baseline plan that serves as a benchmark to measure the project’s actual progress

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The Kick-Off Meeting Officially starts the work on the project Brings closure to the planning phase Communicates to all what the project is about Energizes stakeholders Engenders positive attitudes

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