Information Technology Project Management


Definition: A project is a temporary venture undertaken to create a unique product or service. The application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements is called Project Management.

  • Introduction: IT projects are organizational investments which require time, money, and other resources such as people, technology, facilities, etc. It is expected of these organizations to return their investment in some type. In comparison with medium and smaller projects, the larger projects have the lowest success rate and are more risky. Hence there is a need to improve the success rate by considering some of the following options:
  • Value-Driven Approach – It is plain and simple, wherein the IT projects should offer value to the organization
  • Socio-Technical Approach
  • Project Management Approach – incorporates processes and methodology, resources, expectations and effectiveness
  • Knowledge Management Approach – lessons learned, best practices and shared knowledge

Therefore, there is a high need for competency in project management, which is one of the factors responsible for the success of IT projects. Infosys provides a certification in Information Technology Project Management, which helps IT professionals to effectively manage projects, moderate risks and accelerate a successful end result. Its key features include:

  • Definition of processes to improve costs, enhance quality and meet delivery schedules
  • Strengthen business relationships and enable strategic valuing by improving quality
  • Execute projects at optimal cost and within schedule by managing project scope, analyse effort and estimate difficulty
  • Knowledge management within enterprise systems to lessen risk and ensure continuity and re-usability of knowledge
  • Team motivation and sharing of best practices and train members to deliver an improved performance
  • Coordination with vendors, customers and other investors to strengthen relationships in order to create win-win situations
  • This certification for IT Project Management claims to have evolved from the training and development of employees on the latest concepts, tools and techniques, together with skills in project leadership gained from projects implemented over 25 years and best practices. The Following sect of professionals could be benefitted from this certification of Information Technology Project Management – Project managers, Project leaders, Technical analysts, Functional heads and IT Directors.

The leadership skills of the candidates could be refined to a further extent, thereby helping them manage projects in a predictable, justifiable manner. Apart from dealing with the fundamentals of Information Technology project management, it is also said to offer in-depth knowledge and expertise to help IT managers achieve project goals in any critical situation.

Enables distributed teams to develop enterprise delivery execution capabilities with the latest quantitative management methodologies and techniques for project transition and transformation. It also enables a company to achieve business excellence, apart from providing world-class knowledge on project leadership and management concepts and practices. It helps customize standardized project management processes, with an improved operational efficiency, while streamlining projects and minimizing costs by delivering superior-quality projects through quantitative management. Costs, schedules and quality can be precisely predicted with proactive and widespread risk management, thereby reducing the dependence on people with structured knowledge management. It also helps managers and teams to appropriately align themselves with company goals and thereby give their best performance to the company. It also provides room for process improvements and business process changes.

In general, managing a project includes –

  • Identification of requirements
  • Establishing strong and attainable objectives
  • Striking a perfect balance of competing demands for quality, scope, time, and cost

Identification of Best Practices in Information Technology Project Management:

  • Project Selection and Reselection: This process provides a critical beneficial mechanism to ensure that projects make the most business sense so that the organization can move ahead.
  • Risk Management: High risks include initial software estimates and schedules due to the lack of definitive information available at the time of their definition. Two essential factors are offered to avoid this risk, the first is to conserve well-defined requirements and the second is to keep the scope of the project on track, often highlighted by having many intervening milestones.
  • Commissioning: Planning for the Project Commissioning process is begun well in advance of the project product completion milestone. It therefore helps to diminish risks by anticipating the next step in advance. This process can be leveraged in an effort to increase the user acceptance of the delivered product. Initial displeasure with the product could be prevented by testing the delivered product in the production environment prior to final release. This is especially required if there are problems with the immediate term production. Involvement of key stakeholders in this testing process helps establish buy-in and management of the expectations of investors.
  • Stakeholder Management: The success and acceptance of the project is determined by the first impression of the investors on the project. Risks can be reduced and the expectations of the stakeholders can be managed through training and involvement in the process, followed by proper project commissioning which will thereby increase the likelihood of acceptance and managing. The primary reason for the failure of a project is substandard communication, wherein their expectations remain unmet. If they are communicated to on a regular basis, their expectations can be adjusted and problems can be dealt with in a more constructive manner during the project life cycle. Consistent and continual communication with stakeholders also increases the potential for the success of the project.
  • Project Teams and Organization: It is highly important for a manager to select the right team within project management, which depends in the ability for effective communication, in alignment with the goals of the project with personal, professional and the organization’s goals. General strategies such as the use of work breakdown structures (WBS), biweekly project status reports, and consistent communication between management and employees are reportedly the most successful methods.
  • Procurement and Contracting: The procurement of material and services is an organised process which spreads across all organizational boundaries. It is observed that the structure appears to be less rigid than usual, which can be attributed to different industry drivers which exist within other industries.