1

MIDTERM: ITAPBUS Figure 2-2. Perspectives on Organizations

LESSON 1: The Project Management and Information Technology
Context

Projects Cannot Be Run In Isolation

 Projects must operate in a broad organizational environment
 Project managers need to use systems thinking:
 taking a holistic view of carrying out projects within the context of
the organization
 Senior managers must make sure projects continue to support current
business needs Organizational Structures
3 basic organization structures
A Systems View of Project Management 1. Functional: functional managers report to the CEO
 A systems approach emerged in the 1950s to describe a more 2. Project: program managers report to the CEO
analytical approach to management and problem solving 3. Matrix: middle ground between functional and project structures;
personnel often report to two or more bosses; structure can be weak,
Three parts include: balanced, or strong matrix
1. Systems philosophy: an overall model for thinking about things as
systems Note:
2. Systems analysis: problem-solving approach  Project managers have the most authority in a pure project
3. Systems management: address business, technological, and organizational structure and the least amount of authority in a pure
organizational issues before making changes to systems functional organizational structure. It is important that project managers
understand their current organizational structure.
Note:
 Systems are sets of interacting components that work within an Figure 2-3. Functional, Project, and Matrix Organizational Structures
environment to fulfill some purpose
 Systems analysis is a problem-solving approach that requires defining
the scope of the system, dividing it into components, and then
identifying and evaluating its problems, opportunities, constraints, and
needs.
 Systems management addresses the business, technological, and
organizational issues associated with creating, maintaining, and
modifying a system.
 Using a systems approach is critical to successful project
management. Top management and project managers must follow a
systems philosophy to understand how projects relate to the whole
organization. They must use systems analysis to address needs with a
problem-solving approach. They must use systems management to
identify key business, technological, and organizational issues related to
each project in order to identify and satisfy key stakeholders and do
what is best for the entire organization.

Figure 2-1. Three Sphere Model for Systems Management

For example, if someone in a functional organization is asked to lead a project

that requires strong support from several different functional areas, he or she
should ask for top management sponsorship. This sponsor should solicit
support from all relevant functional managers to ensure that they cooperate on
the project and that qualified people are available to work as needed

Organizational Culture
 Organizational culture is a set of shared assumptions, values, and
behaviors that characterize the functioning of an organization
 Many experts believe the underlying causes of many companies’
problems are not the structure or staff, but the culture
 It is also important to note that the same organization can have different
subcultures. The IT department may have a different organizational
culture than the finance department,
Organizational issues are often the most difficult part of working on and
managing projects. 10 Characteristics of Organizational Culture:
1) Member identity*
2) Group emphasis*
3) People focus
4) Unit integration*
5) Control
6) Risk tolerance*
7) Reward criteria*
 2
8) Conflict tolerance* The Importance of Top Management Commitment
9) Means-ends orientation  People in top management positions are key stakeholders in projects
10) Open-systems focus*  A very important factor in helping project managers successfully lead
projects is the level of commitment and support they receive from top
*Project work is most successful in an organizational culture where these management
items are strong/high and other items are balanced.  Without top management commitment, many projects will fail.
 Some projects have a senior manager called a champion who acts as a
Note: key proponent for a project.
 Member identity: The degree to which employees identify with the
organization as a whole rather than with their type of job or profession. How Top Management Can Help Project Managers
 Group emphasis: The degree to which work activities are organized a) Providing adequate resources
around groups or teams, rather than individuals. An organizational b) Approving unique project needs in a timely manner
culture that emphasizes group work is best for managing projects. c) Getting cooperation from other parts of the organization
 People focus: The degree to which management’s decisions take into d) Mentoring and coaching on leadership issues
account the effect of outcomes on people within the organization e) Standards and guidelines help project managers be more effective
 A project manager might assign tasks to certain people without f) Senior management can encourage the use of standard forms and
considering their individual needs, or the project manager might software for project management the development and use of guidelines
know each person very well and focus on individual needs when for writing project plans or providing status information the creation of a
assigning work or making other decisions. Good project project management office or center of excellence
managers often balance the needs of individuals and the
organization. Project Phases and the Project Life Cycle
 Unit integration: The degree to which units or departments within an  A project life cycle is a collection of project phases that defines
organization are encouraged to coordinate with each other.  what work will be performed in each phase
 Control: The degree to which rules, policies, and direct supervision are  what deliverables will be produced and when
used to oversee and control employee behavior. Experienced project  who is involved in each phase, and
managers know it is often best to balance the degree of control to get  how management will control and approve work produced in each
good project results phase
 Risk tolerance: The degree to which employees are encouraged to be  A deliverable is a product or service produced or provided as part of a
aggressive, innovative, and risk seeking. An organizational culture with a project
higher risk tolerance is often best for project management because
projects often involve new technologies, ideas, and processes. Note:
 Reward criteria: The degree to which rewards, such as promotions and A project life cycle is a collection of project phases. Some organizations
salary increases, are allocated according to employee performance specify a set of life cycles for use in all of their projects, while others follow
rather than seniority, favoritism, or other nonperformance factors. common industry practices based on the types of projects involved
 Conflict tolerance: The degree to which employees are encouraged to
air conflicts and criticism openly. It is very important for all project More on Project Phases
stakeholders to have good communications, so it is best to work in an  In early phases of a project life cycle
organization where people feel comfortable discussing conflict openly.  resource needs are usually lowest
 Means-ends orientation: The degree to which management focuses on  the level of uncertainty (risk) is highest
outcomes rather than on techniques and processes used to achieve  project stakeholders have the greatest opportunity to influence the
results. An project
organizationwithabalancedapproachinthisareaisoftenbestforprojectwork.  In middle phases of a project life cycle
 Open-systems focus: The degree to which the organization monitors  the certainty of completing a project improves
and responds to changes in the external environment  more resources are needed
 The final phase of a project life cycle focuses on
Stakeholder Management  ensuring that project requirements were met
 Project managers must take time to identify, understand, and manage  the sponsor approves completion of the project
relationships with all project stakeholders
 Using the four frames of organizations can help meet stakeholder Figure 2-4. Phases of the Traditional Project Life Cycle
needs and expectations
 Senior executives/top management are very important stakeholders

 Note:
 Stakeholders can be internal or external to the organization, directly
involved in the project, or simply affected by the project.
 Internal project stakeholders generally include the project
sponsor, project team, support staff, and internal customers for
the project. Other internal stakeholders include top management,
other functional managers, and other project managers. Because
organizations have limited resources, projects affect top
management, other functional managers, and other project
managers by using those resources.
 External project stakeholders include the project’s customers (if Product Life Cycles
they are external to the organization), competitors, suppliers, and  Products also have life cycles
other external groups potentially involved in the project or affected  The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a framework for
by it, such as government officials or concerned citizens. describing the phases involved in developing and maintaining
information systems
 3
Systems development projects can follow Important Issues and Suggestions Related to Globalization
 Predictive life cycle: the scope of the project can be clearly Issues
articulated and the schedule and cost can be predicted a) Communications
 Adaptive Software Development (ASD) life cycle: requirements b) Trust
cannot be clearly expressed, projects are mission driven and c) Common work practices
component based, using time-based cycles to meet target dates d) Tools
e) Suggestions
Predictive Life Cycle Models f) Employ greater project discipline
 Waterfall model: has well-defined, linear stages of systems g) Think global but act local
development and support h) Keep project momentum going
 Spiral model: shows that software is developed using an iterative or i) Use newer tools and technology
spiral approach rather than a linear approach
 Incremental build model: provides for progressive development of Outsourcing
operational software  Organizations remain competitive by using outsourcing to their
 Prototyping model: used for developing prototypes to clarify user advantage, such as finding ways to reduce costs
requirements  Their next challenge is to make strategic IT investments with
 Rapid Application Development (RAD) model: used to produce outsourcing by improving their enterprise architecture to ensure that IT
systems quickly without sacrificing quality infrastructure and business processes are integrated and standardized
(See Suggested Readings)
Figure 2-5. Waterfall and Spiral Life Cycle Models  Project managers should become more familiar with negotiating
contracts and other outsourcing issues

Global Issues
 Outsourcing also has disadvantages. For example, Apple benefits from
manufacturing products in China, but it had big problems there after its
iPhone 4S launch in January 2012 caused fighting between migrant
workers who were hired by scalpers to stand in line to buy the phones.
 When Apple said it would not open its store in Beijing, riots resulted and
people attacked security guards. The Beijing Apple Store has had
problems before. In May 2011, four people were injured when a crowd
waiting to buy the iPad 2 turned ugly.

Agile Software Development Virtual Teams Advantages

 Agile software development has become popular to describe new a. Increasing competiveness and responsiveness by having a team of
approaches that focus on close collaboration between programming workers available 24/7
teams and business experts b. Lowering costs because many virtual workers do not require office
 Agile approaches are used in rapid software development and to space or support beyond their home offices.
handle frequent system changes and maintenance to production c. Providing more expertise and flexibility by having team members from
systems. Because many of these changes might be relatively minor, the across the globe working any time of day or night
more traditional project approaches would take much longer and cost d. Increasing the work/life balance for team members by eliminating fixed
more. Agile techniques have an iterative, short-cycle focus on delivery of office hours and the need to travel to work.
working software.
Virtual Team Disadvantages
The Importance of Project Phases and Management Reviews a. Isolating team members
 A project should successfully pass through each of the project phases in b. Increasing the potential for communications problems
order to continue on to the next c. Reducing the ability for team members to network and transfer
 Management reviews, also called phase exits or kill points, should information informally
occur after each phase to evaluate the project’s progress, likely success, d. Increasing the dependence on technology to accomplish work
and continued compatibility with organizational goals e. See text for a list of factors that help virtual teams succeed, including
team processes, trust/relationships, leadership style, and team member
The Context of IT Projects selection
 IT projects can be very diverse in terms of size, complexity, products
produced, application area, and resource requirements Chapter Summary
 IT project team members often have diverse backgrounds and skill sets  Project managers need to take a systems approach when working on
 IT projects use diverse technologies that change rapidly. Even within projects
one technology area, people must be highly specialized  Organizations have four different frames: structural, human resources,
political, and symbolic
Recent Trends Affecting IT Project Management  The structure and culture of an organization have strong implications for
Globalization project managers
 Outsourcing: Outsourcing is when an organization acquires goods  Projects should successfully pass through each phase of the project life
and/or sources from an outside source. Offshoring is sometimes used to cycle
describe outsourcing from another country  Project managers need to consider several factors due to the unique
 Virtual teams: A virtual team is a group of individuals who work across context of information technology projects
time and space using communication technologies  Recent trends affecting IT project management include globalization,
 Agile project management outsourcing, virtual teams, and Agile

*****END*****