Sustainability in IT Projects: A Holistic Approach

The assignment discusses the importance of integrating sustainability into IT project management. It highlights the need to consider environmental and social aspects alongside technical aspects. Critical success factors include top management involvement, effective communication, financial planning, human factors, innovative thinking, and resource utilization. The essay also outlines various project management approaches such as identifying potential impacts, implementing preventive measures, and mitigating procedures. A holistic approach that balances ecological, social, and economic needs is essential for sustainable IT projects.

Running head: INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY IN MANAGING IT PROJECTS
Integrating Sustainability in Managing IT Projects
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

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INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY IN MANAGING IT PROJECTS
Introduction
The need for sustainable development is increasing with the passage of time. This is a
very important concept that the society and organizations are incorporating in its various layers
and fields. Most of the important projects integrate sustainable developments in its functionalities
for the development and progress of the organization as well as the well being of the society. A
project consists of several phases and each of them needs to be integrated with sustainability and
decisions must be based on sustainability (Griggs et al. 2013). A business sector operates in a
society and in order to get success they must take care of the society as well. The depletion of
natural resources is a main concern for the society. While developing a project an organization
considers all the aspects of technicality and appoints a manager who would particularly take care
of the integration of sustainability in managing project.
This essay focuses on the sustainability integration while managing projects. This essay
gives the main focus on the IT project management and IT sector. This is the most booming
sector in the present era. It consumes and utilizes several resources for the completion of its
projects. This essay points out on the requirement of integrating sustainability in IT project
management (Dincer and Rosen 2012). It points out the project management approaches. The
relevance of sustainability lies in the fact that the utilization of resources is leading to their
depletion and it is affecting the community and environment in a harmful way. It gives a brief
overview about the critical success factors and the criteria for an IT project. The corporate social
responsibility plays a major role in implementing and planning for a project. This essay suggests
that a proper balance in the economic growth with the society and environmental protection must
be maintained for the betterment of people.
Discussion
Brief Overview
Sustainability focuses on fulfilling the requirements and needs of the people who are in
the present generation. Their main aim is to utilize the resources in such manner so that the
people of the future generation will not have to suffer or compromise (Eskerod and Huemann
2013). Well planned and optimal utilization of the resources will not lead to the depletion of

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INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY IN MANAGING IT PROJECTS
natural resources. There are several other definitions of sustainability as well like it can be
considered to be a minute change or major reorientation in the strategies that are adopted by the
global businesses.
The carbon percentage in the climate has decreased and it is also expected that the climate
will change due to the over consumptions of resources by the IT industry. IT sector or businesses
are said to be responsible for emitting around two per cent of carbon. IT projects can take several
initiatives to integrate sustainability by the process of saving energy (SILvIuS and SChIPPER
2012). Computers can be functioned to shut down in an automatic manner, consolidation of data
centre and energy efficient hardware deployment will be some of the effective steps that can be
taken by IT projects to integrate sustainability. The hardware deployed in IT projects utilizes
huge amount of energy. Another main point is that an IT project also needs huge storage space
for the purpose of storing data and information. People get employed mostly in the IT sector. If
the IT projects harm the society and do not take care of the natural resources then it will create a
negative impact on the people of the future generation. Integration of economical factors,
environmental factors and social factors will help in achieving sustainability in a project.
Energy saving methods is the main way of integrating sustainability in IT projects. One
most important way that can be used by an IT project in order to save the storage space is by
deploying cloud infrastructure that will enable the company to store data in the cloud by saving
storage space as well as cost. Another method to save storage space is to use small storage
devices that can hold huge quantity of data (Lang et al. 2012). This is the concept of Green IT.
The high energy consumption traditional monitors can be replaced by LCD monitors. LCD
monitors consumes energy in small amounts. Laptops can be used to save energy. The electronic
devices used in IT sector and projects are made of metals that are depleting. Recycling can be
done while planning and executing an IT project.
Success Criteria
In order to get success in an IT project several success criteria needs to be fulfilled.
Efficient implementation must be carried out (Zou et al. 2014). IT projects must not only focus on
the technical aspect but also focus on the social and economical aspects. IT projects must be
developed by taking into account the environment in which it operates. Proper strategies must be
taken in order to develop good quality project that will not harm the society or environment. High

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INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY IN MANAGING IT PROJECTS
quality of project must be maintained. Initially the developers did not pay much attention to the
quality of the project. But soon it became a major success criterion for IT projects. The project
team must understand the value of the deliverables of the project. Socio economic factors must be
given special attention. The satisfaction level of the customers as well as stakeholders is taken
into account while evaluating the success of the projects.
The success criteria also depends on the impact of IT projects on the society as in the
communities and environment (Ebbese and Hope 2013). The project must be developed in such a
way so that the project will not consume much energy and natural resources. The environmental
factors must be taken into account. If the project does not harm the environment then it is said to
be a successful sustainable IT project. Resources must be utilized in such a manner so that the
people of the future generation will not have to suffer. The focus should be on fulfilling the
requirements of the present generation but at the same time keeping in mind the need of the future
generation. There are also economic success criteria where the implications of the IT projects on
the economic condition of the nation, stakeholders, local and global system. If the financial
conditions of the economy improve due to an IT project then it is said to be successful.
Critical Success Factors
There are several critical success factors of IT projects. The impact of the project on the
society, economy and environment plays a significant role in the success of a sustainable IT
project (De Medeiros, Ribeiro and Cortimiglia 2014).
Top management involvement and support plays a major role and it is the most critical
factor of success. The top management must focus on the corporate social responsibility.
Communication is a critical or vital factor for achieving success. The sustainable
requirements of the project can be determined clearly if there is effective means of
communication.
Financial budget must be well planned and determined in advance. Proper budgeting will
act as a critical success factor. Surveillance and monitoring must be carried out on a regular basis.
Human factors are the internal factors that are highly responsible for the success of a
sustainable project.

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INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY IN MANAGING IT PROJECTS
Innovative thinking as well as strong policies is critical success factor. The IT project
team must have a procedure for saving resources and integrating sustainability in the project. The
impact on the society and environment determines how successful the project is.
Resource utilization is the most important critical success factor because optimal
utilization does not harm the society and environment. There will be low energy consumption.
Hence a sustainable project in the IT industry will get success.
Project Management Approach
Integration of sustainability in managing and developing IT projects can be achieved
through the approaches of project management. The level of commitment must be high. The
procurement method obtained must be ethical. The IT projects must adhere to the laws and
policies for keeping the environment and society safe (Heising 2012). Ethical principles must be
followed by the IT project team. The major steps that can be taken in the project management
approach are:
Identifying possible impacts: This has to be done in the planning stage. When a project
team is deciding to develop a project then in that case the team also needs to find out the negative
impact that the project will have on the society, environment and economy.
Preventive measures: The organization needs to find out several measures so that
sustainability is achieved. IT projects can use LCDs and cloud platforms for reserving energy.
Mitigation procedures: If the society or environment is somehow harmed then the
organization needs to have a plan for mitigating the loss that has occurred in the society, economy
and the environment.
Proper methods of resource utilization must be implemented to overcome the problems of
resource depletion. In order to integrate sustainability in the IT projects a proper balance needs to
be maintained between the economic, environmental and social needs. Sustainability should focus
on fulfilling the requirements of the people of the present generation as well as keeping in mind
the needs of the people of future generation (Kerzner 2013). The future generation must not
suffer due to lack of resources.

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INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY IN MANAGING IT PROJECTS
The project management approach can be holistic where there is an integration of the
ecological, social and economical aspects. In the long term orientation approach sustainability
takes into account the future needs. Good governance can be under the institutional approach
(Hirschman 2014). The risk reduction approach focuses on minimizing risks. Sustainability can
be considered to be the most important component that needs to be integrated in IT project for its
success.
Conclusion
It can be concluded from this essay that the integrating sustainability in managing IT
projects are very important. It pointed out the project management approaches. It gave a brief
overview about the critical success factors and the criteria for an IT project. This essay suggested
that a proper balance in the economic growth with the society and environmental protection must
be maintained for the betterment of people. The corporate social responsibility plays a major role
in implementing and planning for a project.

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INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY IN MANAGING IT PROJECTS
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INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY IN MANAGING IT PROJECTS
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