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Five Things to Avoid When Managing IT Projects
- Poor client/end user expectation management
One of the most important aspects of managing an IT project is ensuring all parties involved are fully aware of what to expect during the whole process, from planning to completion and support. Proper research and development ahead of time combined with an open line of communication with all communities of interest will minimize surprises. A successful project is one that completes within the expectations of senior management and end users. Avoid issues by keeping in constant communication with your colleagues before, during & after the project. Collect all the requirements, create a solid, realistic plan, then deliver.
- Inaccurate business impact analysis
IT projects, especially IT migration projects can cause significant downtime, interruption or even loss of productivity depending on the nature of the project. It could be a full-scale OS upgrade, new security policy enforcement, or a necessary (but scary) upgrade to your line of business (LOB) application. No matter what the project entails it is important to realize beforehand what the impact to the business is in terms of qualitative and quantitative measurements, if possible. Outline ahead of time what stages of the project will affect which users and systems. Will users be down? Will the project be rolled out over a weekend? Providing an accurate analysis of how the business will be impacted and planning the most optimal rollout route will minimize the costs to the company. This is a part of client/end user expectation management as well.
- Underestimating time needed, resource allocation and/or the financials
This is very common in IT consulting and project management. When allocating resources – time, people, money, etc., companies often fall short of what’s actually needed. What’s worse is you now could get halfway through a project and past a failsafe point and find yourself needing of more resources. That is always an uncomfortable call to make to the person writing the checks. In the planning phases of your project, always plan on an over-estimation of your action items in terms of time and money (within reason of course). Take more time up front in the planning and discovery phase to reduce the risk of underestimation especially when it comes to cost. It’s much easier to work later hours than to ask for more money! Don’t overpromise and underdeliver – finish faster than planned or under budget.
- Lack of post-project support to users (training)
Many times in the IT world, the poor end users is forgotten They leave work on Friday and come in Monday morning to a whole new computer/screen/shortcuts! Change in an IT environment typically leads to end user panic and unending phone calls. Many project managers forget that end user training and support after the project is a part of the project. Your users need training in their new environment. They need their questions answered and need to be reassured that what they are experiencing is normal and part of the plan (even if it’s not!). Always build post-project support and training time in to your project planning and be ready to dedicate some good, solid support time to them to answer questions or find missing iTunes libraries.
- Lack of change control management
Larger information technology projects that go on for a period of time can easily get lost from a management standpoint without proper change control management. Even with the other four other items mentioned here, rarely does a project go completely to its original plan. It is extremely important to document and go through an approval process for any and all changes to the project deliverables. This could mean adding/removing material, adding/removing tasks, extending out or reassignment of milestones. Something unexpected may happen requiring you to change the direction of the project. All of these things get captured in change control management so when the project is completed, you have a paper trail leading you back to the starting point. Change control is equally important after the project. As time goes on in your environment, it always makes management and administration easier when you have all of you changes in hardware, software, and configurations documented.
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