IT Project Management

ITPM or IT Project Management involves perfect planning and execution within an IT organization, simply for the achievement of Information Technology Goals. The scope of Information Technology spans well across almost, the entire organization, it is only natural that they are challenging and complex in nature. Thus, these projects demand capable managers, people capable of multitasking and implementing plans meant for a technologically diverse infrastructure while keeping the team in high spirits.

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ITPM or IT Project Management involves perfect planning and execution within an IT
organization, simply for the achievement of Information Technology Goals. Simply put, the
scope of Information Technology spans well across almost, the entire organization, it is only
natural that they are challenging and complex in nature. Thus, these projects demand capable
managers, people capable of multitasking and implementing plans meant for a
technologically diverse infrastructure while keeping the team in high spirits.
This leads us to the question, why are IT projects so challenging in nature?
In the 21st century, alongside the 4th Industrial revolution of innovation, IT is the global
sector, serving as the concrete foundation on which the world’s systems rest (Schwalbe,
2015). Various integrations which are interdependent in nature take place alongside, superfast
up gradation of technology and changes in versions that keeps occurring throughout the
timeline of projects.
To understand this more lucidly, one must pay attention to the ITPM lifecycle or in other
words, the methodology which is a strategic-level plan, for the same. This can either be the
waterfall method which is a liner process, preferred by diverse project management teams
because processes are clearly defined and completed before execution of the next.

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waterfall method which is a liner process, preferred by diverse project management teams
because processes are clearly defined and completed before execution of the next.
While the Iterative lifecycle method repeats phases for cross checking and delivers specific
goals, only after iteration of each segment.,
The Agile lifecycle method on the other hand use adaptive lifestyles which are much more
flexible because work is divided into shorter timelines.

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Even after impeccable and meticulous planning, unique challenges arise to haunt the flawless
working of an IT project, and demand redressal as soon as possible. These glitches slow the
process down and at times, branch out further as newer problems that need to be tackled.
The problems are explained below along with recommendations that might prove useful in
these cases.
Recurring adjustments are required throughout the projects because of their agility. Thus
teams must be open to changes and must develop adaptability (Marchewka, 2014). Though
execution happens right after briefing, it is mandatory that managers plan and execute while
keeping in mind methods that will be implemented in case of upgrades. After all, delayed
dates never look good for the company.
IT projects involve many teams, looking at different parts of the system, like software,
hardware, data and network. Intra team communication is easy and unavoidable but inter
team communication often fall short. This has to be regulated. Speaking of communication,
Public relations team must notify customers post upgrades (Obeidat & North, 2014). The
project managers must be capable of managing the various aspects of the projects, for
smoother information flow to stakeholders and for the quick resolution of problems.
Whatever that was discussed above, calls for transparency. Hence starting dates and ending
dates must be communicated along with changes in deadlines. Customer satisfaction is
integral for the functioning of a company, thus, any change in technology, that needs to be
integrated within the system and requires more times, must be communicated to stakeholders
as well. This increases visibility and allows the company more credibility in their eyes.
Project management demands empathy and understanding, without which, that company’s
position will falter in the public eye.

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Web 2.0 has an important role in Global IT management with integrated tools that make work
interactive, informative and interesting, as given in the figure below (Gholami and
Murugesan, 2013).
ITPM is difficult, so it needs more tools than any ordinary project. Real time dashboards that
tract details of the project like the completion status can be used to track productivity. They
should be integrated with collaborative tools like file attachment, user tagging and group
forums for discussion. It will help streamline projects and optimize production.
Post development, presentation is a challenging task as well. It is the ultimate method of
communicating and convincing stakeholders and prospective customers about the innovation

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of the product and how it takes the present system up by a notch. People get used to
technology and changing to newer developments procure costs and people need to adapt to
them, thus requiring time. So the presentation of any technology must be focused on
advantage.
IT Documentation demands well written manuals during presentation that can dissect
complexities for users and make them look easier to handle. It must be dialed about the
upgrades and their relevance. An excellent sales pitch cannot sell a lousy product. So a
balance must be maintained about pros and cons. Evaluators are experienced notice any
attempt to oversell. It is also advisable for presenters to prepare anticipated questions
beforehand, because it is only natural for people spending resources for a product to doubt it
before buying it.
Presentation of IT products demand product demo, to prove the working ability of the project.
Although Murphy’s Law states that, “whatever can go wrong, will go wrong”, which stops
companies from organizing demos, one must keep in mind that without demos, the listeners
are confused (Chatterjee, 2016). IT products are amalgamations of codes which demands to
be seen and understood and mere listening will never provide clarity.
At all steps of ITPM, capable leadership has to be implemented. ITPM is an amalgamation of
computers and humans, thus it is demanding in nature. Development requires planning,
feedback after testing and then, further implementation of possible changes. It is the same
post presentations, feedback must be collected from viewers and positive feedback must be
implemented for smarter, faster and better systems.
ITPM, if done properly, has various advantages, like-
 Rapid response to changes and upgrades that disrupt development.
 Agile procedures that ensure a proactive and flexible management.

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 If work is digitally automated, it is better planned according to deadlines and
information is easily available because of centralized information.
 Cost reduction.
 Betterment of consumer satisfaction.
 Acceleration of work because of planning, hence, time is reduced.
 Overall competitive growth (Bennington & Baccarini, 2004).
There have been various cases of global ITPM that helped various organizations, like the
merger of American airlines with US Airways, caused technologies to overlap and
spreadsheets became insufficient for resource management so they used portfolio and
resource management along with capacity management, which capitalized 20% of their IT
labor, and data is now available easily and more reliably (WIRE, 2019). This has been
implemented by The Royal bank of Scotland as well ("Royal Bank of Scotland launches
online investment service", 2019).
Thus we see, that ITPM is of supreme importance in the new age. Hence, it must be vested in
the hands of capable leaders who can innovate as well as supervise digital innovators for the
overall betterment of organizations.

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References
Bennington, P., & Baccarini, D. (2004). Project benefits management in IT projects–An
Australian perspective. Project management journal, 35(2), 20-30.
Chatterjee, A. (2016). Is the statement of Murphy's law valid?. Complexity, 21(6), 374-380.
Gholami, B., & Murugesan, S. (2013). Global IT project management using Web 2.0.
In Perspectives and Techniques for Improving Information Technology Project
Management (pp. 150-172). IGI Global.
Marchewka, J. T. (2014). Information technology project management. John Wiley & Sons.
Obeidat, M., & North, M. (2014). A Comparative Review of Information Technology Project
Management in Private and Public Sector Organization. International Management
Review, 10(1), 55.
Royal Bank of Scotland launches online investment service. (2019). Rbs.com.
Schwalbe, K. (2015). Information technology project management. Cengage Learning.
WIRE, B. (2019). Planview and American Airlines to Present at Gartner IT PPM Summit
EMEA. Businesswire.com.