Lecture 28 - Management issues in systems development. The topics discussed in this chapter are: Project management, what is project management, the job of a project manager, change management, risk management, tips for good IT project management.
Management Issues in Systems Development Lecture 28 Today’s Lecture n Project Management ă What is Project Management ă The Job of a Project Manager ă Change Management ă Risk Management ¨ Tips for Good IT Project Management Introduction n Companies are in three ‘businesses’: Infrastructure Management Customer Relationship Product Innovation n Traditionally companies have bundled the three (businesses) ă Leads to compromises because the three have conflicting agendas Introduction cont n IS departments can be viewed as being in the same three businesses: Operations are infrastructure management The help desk is the customer relationship business System development is product innovation Introduction cont n Infrastructure management: ă Goal = reducing costs n Providing infrastructure involves high fixed costs ă Battle = build scale ă Management focus = Efficiency n Standards ă As we are seeing with operations and network management § Outsourcing? n Introduction cont n Customer relationship: ă Goal = provide service ă PC support & help desks often outsourced n Especially in Europe & Asia (multilingual needs) ă Outsourcing offshore = increasing dramatically n Product innovation: ă Goal = speed n Provides nimbleness Introduction cont ă Key to success = talent n In IT, developers are “king” so they are given the coolest tools ă There are a number of management issues surrounding system development: “Staffing, staffing, staffing”, n As well as speed & nimbleness n Project Management n Today, much organizational work is performed via projects n In IS as well as other functions, being able to manage a project to completion, and deliver the expected outcome within the allotted time and budget, has become an increasingly valuable skill Project Management What is Project Management? n Project Management is simply the management of a project ă May sound simple and self-evident BUT = doesnt make it easy! ă Many people get confused/concerned because IT project management contains the dreaded ‘T’ word – Technology n In reality IT project management is not that much different from other forms e.g construction Project Management What is Project Management? cont n n A project is a collection of related tasks and activities undertaken to achieve a specific goal All Projects (IT or other) should: ă Have a clearly stated goal ă Be finite n Clear beginning & end IT Project Management: ă 10% technical, 90% common sense ă Management styles vary as backgrounds ă Key = keeping in mind, and under control the numerous interdependencies ¨ GET THE JOB DONE! Project Management Risk Management cont n Step 1: Assess the Risks ă Three predominant risk factors: Leadership of the business change Employees’ perspective of the change Scope and urgency of the change • Decision tree (Figure 10-1) n Project leader = executive(s) responsible for the change – Must be a business executive n It is the business, not IT that is required to change Project Management Risk Management cont • Contributes to success/failure? – questions: Are they committed to the business case? Do they understand the extent of change in work behaviour required for the project to succeed? Are they formally motivated to pull off the change? Are they at the appropriate org level with the formal power… ? Do they have experience with a project of similar scope, urgency and people impact? Do they have informal power, such as credibility and respect? Project Management Risk Management cont n n Step 2: Mitigate the Risks ¨ Project management styles n ¨ Project’s budget and timeframe n ă Authoritative Vs Participative Rigid Vs Adjustable Figure 10-2 n Big Bang ă Only appropriate when all factors = positive Project Management Risk Management cont n n n Improvisation ă Leadership and employee = positive but scope or urgency place the project at risk § Committed workforce can adapt etc Guided Evolution ă Used when only the employee perception is negative § Can be overcome by involving them Top-down Coordination ă Only works when the leadership factor supports the business change and when the leadership is respected, full-time and highly experienced in leading business change DOW CORNING Case Example: Project Management n n n Successful ERP implementation from 1995 to 1999 Each project phase had different business risks ¨ Realizing this the project executive took a different project management approach in each phase Phase 0: Get Ready ă Leadership = High Risk ă Employee Perception = High Risk ¨ Scope and Urgency = High Risk DOW CORNING Case Example: Project Management n n Phase 1: Understand the New System ă Use the Improvisation approach of participative management and flexible deadlines n Concerned employee reticence in the later phases so focus = on building commitment Phase 2: Redesign the Work Processes ă Use the Guided Evolution approach of participative management with fixed deadlines n Phase = got them committed but did little to get the work processes redesigned n Continued through the pilot – cutover to SAP at newly acquired European sub DOW CORNING Case Example: Project Management cont n Phase 3: Implement the ERP Worldwide ă Use Top-down coordination with an authoritative management style and flexible timelines n n Pilot’s success demonstrated management’s determination and shifted employee perception to the positive Scope shifted to negative because it was ‘company wide’ DOW CORNING Case Example: Project Management cont n Phase 4: Complete Implementation ă Use the Big Bang approach of authoritative management and firm deadlines n n By the end of 1998, most of the sites had implemented so all the risk factors had turned positive Initially conversion took 18 months These later sites = Tips for Good IT Project Management n n n the Ground Rules ă Open systems, industry standards, web-enabled etc Foster Discipline, Planning, Documentation and Management ă If the process is not controlled properly, anything can happen or, more realistically, potentially nothing will happen Obtain and Document the Final User Requirements ă Don’t get too technical Tips for Good IT Project Management n n n n Obtain Tenders from All Appropriate Potential Vendors Include Suppliers in Decision Making Convert Existing Data ă Task might appear quite simple but often causes the biggest headaches Follow Through After Implementation ă Cross the ts and dot the i’s in terms of documentation, future maintenance processes etc Reasons for Success n Proper Planning n Appropriate User Involvement n Strong Visible Management Support n Project Manager(s) with Power and Time n Good Change Management n Working As A Team n Proper Project Monitoring and Control n Proper Project Closure Summary We covered Today, n Project Management ¨ What is Project Management ¨ The Job of a Project Manager ă Change Management ă Risk Management ă Tips for Good IT Project Management Summary n n DOW CORNING Case Example: Project Management THE BOC GROUP Case Example – Change Management ... Project Management What is Project Management? cont n Project Management Institute ă Project Management encompasses five processes Initiating Planning Executing Controlling, and Closing Project Management. .. System development is product innovation Introduction cont n Infrastructure management: ă Goal = reducing costs n Providing infrastructure involves high fixed costs ă Battle = build scale ă Management. .. reengineering BOCs core processes: ă reengineering projects over ẵ years ă All team members guaranteed a job after project in same or equivalent work ¨ Teams co-led by Business and Information Management