With the rapid development of information technology, IT project management industry is one of the areas most widely used. Compared with general project, IT project has clear specificity, to fully understand and recognize the characteristics of IT projects, and project management process in the common problems is the key to the success of IT projects.
1.IT characteristics of the project
(1) time urgency.
Cycle of any project are limited, but the characteristics of IT industry in this regard decided to have a more strict requirements. IT project determines the urgency of the project's duration is limited, with a clear beginning or end, when the reach the target or targets to be ended, the project is concluded. With the rapid development of information technology, IT project life cycle is shorter and shorter, time and even become a decisive factor for success of the project, because the market opportunity fleeting, if the project's implementation phase, a long time to be competitors in the market away. Therefore, as IT managers before the start of a project, you must clear the project time constraints, or even specific to each task must be clear time requirements.
(2) project unique.
In accordance with the project definition, every project is unique in the world is not exactly the same as the two projects. But this feature in the IT field is more prominent, IT project not only to provide the product, more importantly, according to the customer's request for a different solution. Even ready-made solutions, but also customer specific requirements need to be some customization work. Therefore, IT project manager must be passed before the commencement of the project contract (or equivalent document) clearly describe or define what the final product. If the first goal of the project did not clearly defined, or agreement, the final delivery of products or services will be very prone to disputes, resulting in unnecessary loss of business and reputation. In IT projects, even the definition of clear objectives of the project, the customer will still be regularly adjusted to achieve target, making the project become difficult to control, this might require the project team and client units have good communication channels, or changes are endless.
(3) uncertainty.
IT project uncertainty is that the project can not be fully within the stipulated time, the budget required to complete the required personnel. Because the project plan and budget is essentially a prediction, in the implementation process will vary with the actual situation. In addition, the implementation process will encounter all kinds of unexpected "risk", so the project can not be under the old scheme to run. Therefore, IT project implementation it is necessary to develop practical plans can not over-plan. Over the project plan is very small hands things to consider carefully before implementation, to develop "detailed plan" in an attempt to accurately predict the future, but sometimes unrealistic, in the course of the scheme can often appear consistent with the actual, but had to frequent program adjustments. Therefore, in the process of implementing IT projects will encounter a variety of unexpected problems, and often there is no ready-made approach, which requires Project Manager have the necessary tools to approach, grasp of the overall process and key elements, and flexible to face , properly addressed.
2.IT project management process in the Frequently Asked Questions
It is because of the characteristics of IT projects, resulting in project implementation are often some of the problems.
(1) Project management awareness.
In the IT project management process, can not really distinguish between project implementation and project management tasks, is there a general problem. Can be summarized as "No" and "without people" the phenomenon of coexistence, which are often part-time project manager from the development due to the backbone. On the one hand, if there is a full-time project manager, specializing in project management without any analysis, design, coding, testing and other specific technical implementation, would feel "No", or in odd jobs. On the other hand, since the main or all of the specific technology energies are busy with work and neglect inevitably take into account the various project management tasks (such as: project analysis / evaluation, project formulation / check / adjust vertical and horizontal communication, professional resources deployment, project organizational restructuring, project financial control, risk analysis / countermeasures, etc.), project management thing, "without people", resulting in project control issues "overwork" regret.
This phenomenon is widespread in China's IT projects for small and medium projects, administrative tasks may not be saturated conditions can act as project manager, technical project managers or business consulting, but the key is to have the project management awareness distinguish and responsibility.
(2) project cost basis.
The essence of project management is essential in terms of quality / performance, cost and schedule balance. At present, China's IT projects, generally do not establish a professional engineer's cost structure and application of control systems, and therefore can not establish and achieve project cost targets, assessment and control, leading IT companies and the confusion of responsibilities between the project manager. Project managers can apply regardless of the costs of resources, "Han Xin Troops, the more the better," the company is in a dilemma, promising to put too much may be refused, you must bear the responsibility for project failure.
(3) project management system.
Standardized and practical project management system, must respond to business vary by project. Generally speaking, should be the principles of project management, business / industry characteristics, and project size / nature of business development and cultural / quality of the product of various factors. The process should be produced by a certain degree of theoretical knowledge, rich experience and standardization of project implementation capacity of the senior project management summary of experts, combined with the specific situation of enterprises, more targeted, and trained on a trial basis, adjusted to give effect to implement .
The general situation in our country, or no project management enterprise system implementation project management personal experience alone; or scholar system, copy the dogma, on paper, shelved. As a result, not only nothing to follow the actual project management, but also difficult to implement the project the project regulators indirect monitoring and support.
(4) professional services organization.
International project development services, IT organizations are basically divided into two types of product development and professional services. Low due to market maturity of our cause, and more direct customer-oriented project-based development, and belongs to type of technology professional services organization. However, China's professional services and international gap between the large, mainly corporate strategy in the Yi Shi enforcement departments will be positioning the project to meet the cost of system sales center, not 作为 an independent accounting business units or business direction; second basic level of operational management to organization structure, but the lack of business management and professional management (such as the operations manager, resource allocation, resource development, administrative assistant, project accounting, project quality control, etc.) of the division of labor in the matrix structure; third is the lack of vertical depth of the design and construction professionals.
The gap between professional services organization, to the professional services market positioning fuzzy, confused direction. Usually not conducive to the professional ranks, can not continue to effectively develop and improve the technical team of professional accomplishment; pre-sales activities, is not conducive to pre-programmed to organize pre-sales support and control risk; project implementation is not conducive to a reasonable and timely deployment project resources, can not operate combination of regulation and supervision of the project to ensure project monitoring status.
(5) project plan.
Project manager project plan is the basis for the implementation of project management control. China in the development of project plans are the main problems: First, to develop the project plan is not stringent enough, arbitrary and operability is poor, and therefore can not follow the implementation, such as project plans are too general to implement Breakdown ("size") less than ; not do task, schedule, resources, implementation of the three. Second, the lack of detailed project throughout the entire project plan, or even take a week to develop work plan for next week, week-by-project approach, and its essence is to "project out of control legalization." Third, check the progress of the project (compared with the schedule) and lack of control can not maintain the solemnity of the project plan.
Project Plan Breakdown or "granularity" is a need to carefully grasp the balance. Greater efforts to control the more rules, but the higher cost of project management; and vice versa. To the present state of the domestic IT projects, usually under 3 months, it should be fine to one day, at least 2 to 3 days, more than half the projects, at least to one week. If the project manager for the project areas of expertise not familiar with the project mainly by the project technical director and Teamleader (team leader) of the specific drafting, because they are most familiar with the work content and specific resources for adaptation, the project manager to communicate with, adjust, and balance , confirmed, and to take ultimate responsibility to investigate.
(6) awareness of project risks.
Consciousness is the awareness of project risks failure. Whenever we start a project, we are looking forward to the success of the project put into operation the day, but ever thought exhausted frustration after the defeat? To do the project better than selling product, the product sold is successful, the project put into operation be successful; product is a static The project is dynamic; product quality problems can be shifting, the warranty, if the project fails, the time can not turn the clock back, the customer may be the loss of competitive advantage and opportunities. Risk awareness, that is, the possibility of this outcome vigilance. So, we will carefully handle many projects business requirements, technical solutions and organizational management.
At present, China's fierce market competition and market maturity, lack of application development projects leading to the risk of unhealthy competition. Customers want affordable but also increase the demand, price pressure, pressure progress; manufacturers fear out of the Paixiong Fu, vouch. The expense of scientific analysis and assessment of the feasibility of signing a service contract can not be completed, the project has not yet started, has determined that one of the high-risk. In fact, this risk is both, firms may be on the economy and the loss of credibility, the customer may also be economic and business losses.
(7) business participation awareness.
The purpose of customers to purchase IT systems to better develop their business. Application software will become a dedicated general-purpose computer business systems, application software, so permeated with business systems, strategies, applications and even to become the soul of IT systems. Therefore, the international success of the case is run through the participation of business sector, as one of the ensure the success of the project's bottom line. Unfortunately, we often see in our technical staff "independent" to develop "innovative" nature of the system, reasons, tend to have: that application development is the IT thing; that the business personnel understand the current way of relying on manual or ; operational staff too busy to have time to participate in the project; too business people demand too much, too wordy, so that frequent changes to requirements. Despite these reasons justified, but in the final analysis, application project is demand from the business sector and ultimately for business use. Lack of business participation in both business bias of the hidden dangers that may arise, but also business people may not understand does not endorse and mortality.
3. To address the above issues in project management, IT project managers what they should do
Good plan is half the battle, the other half is planned to carry out. Implementation of the plan of the project determines the success or failure of the project. Project plan to develop key projects completed and to obtain a recognized relationship, the project manager to lead the project team to carry out meticulous plans and programs based on the actual situation on the appropriate adjustments to ensure that projects achieve the desired end trip. So, the project manager in project implementation specific what to do, how? Project is to come up from time to time the work of members of the project pointing, pick and choose? If you lack confidence in the project team members, project lack of confidence in the success successful, then you can certainly do so. But a professional project manager will need a clear understanding of his responsibilities and tasks: Identify the project environment changes, and make adjustments; to effectively track the progress of the project; actively respond to risk issues; management team.
Project plans to implement the objective environment are changing, the project plans to implement a practical project guide. Timely identification of project changes in the environment, the rapid implementation of strategic and project plans to make the adjustment, the project manager's role; the same time the project manager should be adopted by professional, scientific methods check the progress of project work, schedule, scope, cost, quality All these are important to the performance management aspects of project implementation; in the project implementation process, and the unplanned event than the more difficult work of implementation plan, the project manager's value is reflected in him as He Xianjue, how to face, how to deal with, how tracking project implementation problems; IT project team is not the army, nor the assembly line batch operations, IT project team brought together a large number of knowledge-based professionals, X-type of personnel does not work in this environment. The project team is chosen Y theory? Or Z theory? Or the need to adjust the project at any time? This is also the project manager's role - as the project team to create a positive, efficient working environment for the success of the project lay basis.