Project Management: What You Need to Know
Every business has IT projects they want to complete. Whether it is a small change like introducing a public cloud platform, or a large one like migrating all your data from four servers onto one, you have to expect situations will arise that will make you want to pull your hair out. To overcome the challenges that come with any major IT project, consider these four points.
Understand What You Need
By understanding exactly what your company stands to gain from any new IT project, and being able to properly strategize to meet those ends, you can really help mitigate the rate of failure of said project. Some questions you should ask before getting started include:
- What is the best result from undertaking the project?
- What are the projectâs potential benefits?
- Will this project affect the ability for multiple departments to continue operations as normal?
- Will the project affect your relationships with clients/prospects?
- How much, if any, downtime will the project cause?
- Does your staff need to be informed about the status of the project?
Planning for Delays
There are a litany of potential issues that can cause delays to a project. Typically, during the duration of a project something that wasnât in the game plan will happen and will set the implementation timeline back. To guarantee that your project isnât going to cause headaches for more people than it has to, anticipating that there will be a hiccup or two along the way is a solid practice. Providing your implementation team some time to iron out the kinks can go a long way toward having a solution that is implemented properly and ready to be utilized. And, if for some reason no problems arise, you will actually come in under budget, which is great for every business.
Measuring Progress and Hitting Benchmarks
If you are taking on a large IT project, gauging the success of it can sometimes be difficult. By breaking up the project and setting up very clear benchmarks, the overall implementation will benefit. Since there are a lot of facets to every IT project, including budget, timeline, and the unforeseen inefficiencies that we talked about above, setting up a system to best understand where you are with a project is a must. The use of key performance indicators (KPIs) can substantially improve your overall understanding of the project. Catalyst Technology Group uses some of the following metrics when performing our IT projects:
- Actual cost
- Cost Variance
- Earned Value
- Planned Value
- Return on Investment
Communication
Of the four points in this blog, this is the one that is most neglected. Typically, it is the job of the project manager to, well, manage the project. To that end some managers donât find it necessary for their resources to know the full scale of the project as they are traditionally only performing specific tasks. In our experience, to best drive a project home, and to get the best work out of your technicians, it is important that they are emotionally engaged with the success (or failure) of the entire project. Moreover, if the project has an effect on multiple facets of your business, communication is essential to ensure you arenât hit with profit-killing downtime in moments when it is not completely expected.
There are many pieces of software currently on the market to help project managers run efficient projects. They have integrated options to ensure that communication is maintained and benchmarks are hit. These programs can make sure your team is keeping forward momentum, as it is essential to a projectâs success.
Like most situations, an IT project will have unforeseen issues. To keep these issues from become problems that can cost your organization dearly, consider reaching out to the IT professionals at Catalyst Technology Group. Our technicians understand just how much technology means to the modern business and can help consult you on how to get what you need done right. To learn more, call us today at (317) 705-0333.
Project Management Tips From the Pros
If youâve ever managed a major IT project, youâre probably well acquainted with Murphyâs Law: âAnything that can go wrong, will go wrong.â Every project is going to have some rough patches. The key to overcoming these challenges lays not with the execution of the plan, but with the preparation. Here are four things to consider when youâre planning out your next long-term IT project.
Know Your Needs
Believe it or not, understanding exactly what your company needs from a project and translating that into a well-defined strategy with realistic goals may be the difference between a success and failure. First, itâs best to look at the big picture.
- What is the desired result?
- What does the project do for your business?
- How will the implementation of this project affect other departments?
- Will the project directly impact clients/prospects?
- Will there be any downtime?
- Does the team need to be educated about this project?
Budgeting for the Unknown
Prices go up. Projects get delayed. Accidents happen. More often than not, youâre going to run into an unplanned incident during the duration of your project. The best way to make sure that your budget doesnât come up short is by anticipating that there will be unforeseen expenses. Whenever possible, itâs preferred that you give yourself a bit of âwiggle roomâ within your budget. Of course, you canât predict the future – but you can look to previous projects for an idea of what sort of snafus you are likely to encounter. Giving yourself a bit of cushion when planning out your budget might end up saving you big time down the road. And if it turns out that you didnât need that extra money, then congratulations! Your project was completed under budget!
Determine Benchmarks and Measurements
Especially important during long term IT projects is figuring out ways to measure and gauge the projectâs progress. You will want to determine a plan for these measurements before you begin the project. This will help you maintain forward momentum, keep your budget in check and show areas that need improvements for the next time you have a similar project. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are ways to measure that success. Keeping track of the following metrics will help you get a grasp on the way your projectâs progress throughout the execution:
- Actual cost
- Cost Variance
- Earned Value
- Planned Value
- Return on Investment
Too often in a projectâs execution, only the project managers will know how the project is fairing. Everyone else is only privy to the sections of the project that apply directly to them. Project managers are there to drive the project – and part of that is communicating with resources – both inside and outside of the project. For example, if your project is going to require your network to be offline, giving advance warning to those who will impacted by this downtime is not only courteous, but keeps your project on track. There is nothing like having to delay your progress because there was an important meeting scheduled for the time you had planned on bringing the network offline.
There are many programs and applications available to those who are looking for ways to improve organization and communication throughout your project. Project management software gives PMs a unified solution where theyâre able to track inventory, budget, KPIs, resources and a whole host of parts of a project in motion.
As with most things in life, projects rarely go as planned. The only thing that a project management team can do is make an effort to plan ahead, anticipate needs, and be ready to face whatever challenges are thrown their way. Do you have an IT project in mind but are unsure of how to manage and execute it? Contact Catalyst Technology Group today at (317) 705-0333.