Abstract: The progress of the lag is a common IT project management issues, it is also the reason for project failure. In this paper, the current status of IT project management, IT project that led to the progress of the key factors of delay, analysis of its causes, in order to make constructive suggestions for the project management.
Keywords: IT project management, delay the progress of key projects
The rapid development of information technology so that people are enjoying the fruits of many IT projects, but most of the IT projects have failed. The reason for failure is usually due to the project management and cognitive errors caused by irregularities. This article come from a project management point of view, project scope, project cost and duration of the project these three variables determine the success of the project. Duration of the project on which the lag occurs as a common IT project management issues, but also gradually lead to management attention.
Project Overview
Project is a unique, complex and associated with the reunification of clear goals or purpose, and must be given time, within budget, in accordance with the specifications required to complete the activity sequence. The project's main attributes are: the project is unique, each project has characteristics different from other projects; project is complex and interrelated, there are many uncertainties, unexpected complications, the project most of the activities and events between interrelated, interaction; project has clear objectives or purpose of unity, and this goal is feasible, but from the perspective of IT projects, the ultimate goal is to customize according to customer needs an IT product or service area ; project time and cost by resource constraints, a successful project implementation should be in the time and within budget completion of project implementation time and cost are the two constraints; project specifications in accordance with the requirements of a project implementation should be strictly in accordance with the needs of the user or sponsor a clear mandate and scope of the project, the scope is the third project implementation constraints.
Project management is at the specified time with a minimum of Feiyong 内 acceptable system development management process, Neirongbaokuo determine the scope, plan, personnel arrangements, Zuzhi, guidance, and Kong Zhi. Project manager project implementation according to the scope, time, cost, quality objectives, rational resource allocation, effective coordination of the conduct of each activity to Manzu user's needs and other stakeholders the expectations.
IT project schedule delay analysis of the key factors
Project schedule delay means that the project work is not completed within the required specifications and quality standards consistent with the product or service. Project progress is lagging in the implementation of IT projects frequently asked questions. Project manager project schedule delay in dealing with the approach usually is to add resources such as manpower and material resources, increase costs; or cut down some steps to an abrupt end, so delivery will come in time to solve various problems. Obviously the two approaches are not ideal and wise. If you can find IT projects lead to delayed progress of the key factors, preventive measures will minimize the likelihood of delay or to reduce the losses to a minimum. Analyze the main reasons for IT project delayed two, one project manager for the project's implementation plan did not accurately defined; second place in the course of project implementation error or a change in project scope. Specifically, has the following key factors:
(1) optimism
The development of IT industry, but thousands of years, but that is an emerging industry, to determine the employees that programmers are some active thinking, not afraid to take risks with color and optimism of young people. So the project behind schedule the first false assumption that "everything is working well." It only cost each task "should" take time. Reflected in the project manager's estimate of the time, often premature commitments and finalized project implementation period, and not give ourselves enough room. In fact, when faced with large software projects, the concept of inconsistency among business and non-anticipated events, will lead to the probability of error is zero. Because the correlation between tasks, errors will occur a chain reaction. To correct these errors will be team members spent a lot of time, the project schedule delays, and sometimes even the length of time lag can not be expected.
(B) immature project
The project plan is used to coordinate other specific plans to guide project implementation and control of documents. A successful project should start to develop the right project. Project plan include the following: a clear project deliverables, define work packages, estimated duration, the development progress of work package plans, resource availability management, cost estimates, schedule and budget integration, define key performance indicators or milestones, clear critical success factors. However, from the current industry trends, most of the IT transformation project managers come from the programmer, many people have not received the formal vocational training and education. In the planning of its projects, too much 依赖 previous work experience or intuition, the lack of data support, method of use of non-Jie Duan, Yuan Li of the system development insufficiently effective use of project management software Buneng Fuzhujinxing project planning. Estimated project duration as the project plan an important part, not only will affect other programs on the part of the definition of the correctness and accuracy, while other areas will be defined by the impact. For example, the priorities in the work package, the arrangement is unreasonable to change the implementation process led to schedule delays.
(C) system testing
According to software development success in the industry rule of thumb, early modules, unit testing and overall system testing time should account for half of the period, of course, including the discovery of error to solve the problem of the time. But the system test is often the most easily overlooked. First of all systems tested according to system error period, the number of defects may be, there is high uncertainty, coupled with the optimism of the majority of staff, the actual number of defects that occur more than expected. Once a number of errors than estimated, because this part of the work by the task before and after the task order to contain and familiarity with the constraints, resulting in the progress of the delay will be difficult to reverse. In addition, because the progress of system testing caused lag generally occurs late in the project, when human, material and financial resources will be depleted and the mobilization of resources will have to pay a higher cost. More seriously, the project is about to release if the time delay, the price paid by the second commercial is also very high.
(D) of the Mythical Man-Month
Person-months are estimated to schedule the workload often used in one of the units. For example: a software project's overall duration is 4 months and 8 personnel required, then the workload of the project: 4 × 8 = 32 (one month). Delay the progress of the project took place, the project manager will often attempt to allocate more people to the project team to solve the problem. However, the substitutability of personnel and time needed two premises: first, the task could be decomposed; followed between the need for mission personnel exchange, training. When the task because the restrictions on the order of non-decomposable, the staff added to the schedule without any help.
In the case of tasks need to exchange, assuming that the team needs one to one by the n-staff communication, then the number of communication channels will become n (n-1) / 2. 3 Personal communication workload time is 2 to 3 times the person, 4 person 2 people sharing the workload is 6 times. Exist in IT projects for the exchange, but also the people from time to time to discuss and regular meetings, then the situation will get worse.
On the training, each member of the new entrants to the IT project team a need when the main thrust of the project, technology, goals and team work within the ordinance to understand and grasp. This training non-decomposable, but also at least one senior staff for their guidance and training in business. Therefore, this part of the increased workload with the number of personnel changes linearly.
Because software development is a systematic nature, in which the relationships between the various tasks and complexity of a larger workload, communication, communication. If you add staff members need training in the new circumstances, the task decomposition of the time saved will not compensate for new members to the cause of the communication, training, time-consuming. In addition, the task of decomposition is also possible that a portion of the work already completed is lost, while the decomposed system testing required workload will increase, therefore, to add staff may lead to further delays in the progress (Figure 1). In the project tasks related to the high level and complexity of the case, the progress of the project manager at the time lag could be considered within the existing mandate of the team re-adjustment and allocation of additional manpower should not be blind to use the method.
(E) a change in user requirements
In the IT project implementation process, the user or non-stakeholders needs to change and growth is expected to result in the spread of the scope of the project also contributed to delay progress of the project one of the key factors. This occurrence may be pre-not strictly define the scope of the project, analysis of researchers to understand the user intention is not correct, or did not successfully direct users to cooperate with the needs analysis, so the demand side produced the project and project implementation side in project to define the inconsistency. In addition, the user needs to change its causes are also common factors. This unexpected situation can be implemented by strengthening the communication and demand, and improve system start-up phase and analysis phase of the job performance, while the contract in the form of a rigorous definition of project scope, clear rights and responsibilities, attach importance to and strengthen contract management, exempt because the user needs to change their own causes to the implementation of the project the risk of loss brought about by side.
In summary, the blind optimism, immature project, the lack of emphasis on system testing, and time for the misunderstanding between the two irreplaceable and non-anticipated demand for change is leading to delay the progress of the five major IT projects key factor. In addition, of course, other factors will affect the project schedule, such as corporate restructuring and management changes. Exclude these objective factors are not controllable, IT project manager in project management throughout the process, the cautious attitude should be the project plan may affect the development and progress of the project fully into account the subjective and objective factors and consequences, to strengthen project implementation monitoring of key process to enhance the awareness of risk aversion, to improve project management and project management. In addition, enterprises should enhance in-service training investment, Li Qiu Xiang Mu train high quality of the project team manager and You Xiao, so the team Nenggou Zai reasonable to expect that are completed within a reasonable Chengben project Ren Wu, and provide better corporate reputation Yu Xiaoyi Dai Lai industry .