You're starting a new IT project. How can you ensure it's managed effectively?

Core is to understand Why, What and how - Why is this project needed? Value it will bring/problem it will solve. - What are the business expectations? - How to meet these business expectations? 2. Standard project Management activities - Understand, Finalize and Align requirements - Resources needed - Align on planning, roles & responsibilities - Execution methodology - Governance - Focus on Change Management

The scope definition methods are as important as the scope definition itself. Based on my experience, the most important reference documents for scope definition are RFP (Request For Proposal) and SOC (Statement Of Compliance). Unfortunately, they are not enough. It is usually required to write and get customer confirmation on FRS (Functional Requirement Specification) which describes the requirements in more detail.

Establishing a robust change management process is crucial. Anticipate that changes may occur during the project, and having a structured approach to assess, approve, and implement changes helps maintain control over the project's direction. Regularly communicate changes to all stakeholders to ensure transparency and minimize surprises. This proactive approach enhances adaptability and keeps the project on track.

It sounds obvious but right from the outset there should be a clear business need and business case to kick-start the project. Buy in is a critical fundamental before starting any expensive delivery but unbelievably it is often overlooked by the senior team responsible for sign off. Failure to link in the right people and key decision makers at the right time can lead to expensive discovery exercises with no discernable output.

One thing that I recommend in this stage is to make sure you involve the key stakeholders. I would recommend doing a workshop. A workshop can let you know what is needed for your project from the people you are doing the project for. This is the best way to ensure you produce the required service for your target audience. Lastly, ensure you have a proposal signed and sealed before moving on to the next stage.

The choice of a project management methodology should align with the project's intricacy, predictability, and the adaptability needed. Lessons from previously executed projects of similar nature would give some confidence of picking the right methodology. For instance, agile methodologies thrive in uncertainty, allowing for flexibility and iterative adjustments, while waterfall methods excel in straightforward, well-defined projects with minimal changes. It is quite common that many adapt a hybrid approach as well especially while in transition from waterfall to agile.

In PMI's concept of the performance domains, 'Development Approaches and Life cycle' is where the project manager and the team collaborate to tailor the needs of the project. This is the third artefact. Deep understanding of the business case, project requirements, deliverables could help in arriving at the methodology that could be waterfall, iterative or incremental. Though Agile is a better approach, but selecting the right methodology given the circumstances and considering the approach would be a better choice rather than 'following the herd'.

Decide how you'll manage the project. If your project's scope is clear and it's for the short term, then a step-by-step approach like Waterfall might be best. It's good when you know exactly what needs to be done. However, if the scope isn't clear or it's totally tech-related and requirements might evolve due to changes in technology, then a more flexible approach like Agile might be better. Agile allows for changes based on what you learn as you start delivering parts of the project. Pick the style that fits your project's needs best.

The stakeholders and development team likely do not care about being lectured on methodologies, term and definitions. What they care about is getting the job done. As an experienced PM it is your job to pull processes and tools from the various methodologies to ensure project delivery. This can look like having daily standups (scrum) while still having a formal requirements stage (waterfall). It could look like utilizing JIRA for the team, but Projects for stakeholders.

Selecting the right project management methodology is pivotal. These methodologies—like waterfall, agile, scrum, kanban, or hybrid—offer distinct approaches based on project nuances like size, complexity, and flexibility. Choosing a methodology aligning with project goals, team dynamics, and stakeholder expectations is crucial. For instance, agile suits dynamic, uncertain projects, facilitating adaptability and frequent feedback. Conversely, for simpler, predictable projects, a linear, sequential approach like waterfall might be more fitting. The chosen methodology shapes how the project unfolds, impacting its success and adaptability to change.

Creating a Project Implementation Plan (PIP) is a critical initial task for any project team. This plan serves to systematically break down the project into individual tasks, each assigned to specific owners, with clear identification of dependencies and timelines. By establishing this framework at the project's outset, the project director or manager gains the ability to closely monitor progress and assess performance. This detailed planning approach is instrumental in proactively addressing potential resource bottlenecks, a common culprit for project delays. Identifying and resolving these bottlenecks early on contributes to a smoother and more efficient project implementation process.

Após definir o escopo e escolher a metodologia, o próximo passo é o planejamento detalhado das tarefas e recursos do projeto. Isso envolve dividir o projeto em unidades gerenciáveis, considerar interdependências, estimar tempo e custo, identificar riscos e elaborar estratégias de mitiga??o. .

Breaking the scope down to as much granularity as we can helps to plan better. Every task should be defined with clear scope, dependencies, resources etc. Chalking out the unknowns (if any) and risks due to external dependencies helps in reducing surprises in later stages.

Na minha experiência, além de escopo e processos bem definidos. Sempre que conseguimos realizar um bom planejamento a qualidade da entrega é surpreendente.

Creating an accurate and precise task list helps you to manage tasks, responsibilities, and resources that lead to managing the time and cost of the project. According to my experience, the WBS is one of the best ways to manage a plan, if the size of each task is 5 days at most.

One thing i have found helpful while managing project is knowing stakeholders, their needs and influence in the projects. These stakeholders needs range from communication requirements to actual project requirements. Engaging them throughout the project and keep them updated on the project updates makes it easy to manage and increase the chances of successful project delivery.

In my experience, different organizations/departments prefer different ways of communication. Others prefer updates and commutations be done over email alone, others over project management tools and others a combination of more that one method for instance over a video/standup call followed by an email with a summary of the updates. In my opinion regardless of the method that a project manager will choose to communicate it is crucial that everyone who is associated with the project to have a seamless way of getting updates, and collaborate effectively to the project. Any miscommunication often times lead to delay in delivery which often times makes the project more expensive than what it was budgeted for.

To ensure effective communication and collaboration, the project team has to establish a communication plan that defines the purpose, frequency, mode, and audience of the communication. The team also uses various tools and platforms to facilitate communication and collaboration, such as project management software to track project progress, assign tasks, and monitor the team’s performance; document sharing tools to share project documents, such as requirements, design documents, and test plans; and video conferencing tools to conduct virtual meetings and screen sharing sessions.

Get that formal communications plan created at the start of your project so the stakeholders and the team understand the daily, weekly, and monthly reporting and meeting routines for the project. This tends to avoid surprises down the road.

Understanding stakeholders, their demands, and their influence on the projects has proven to be useful to me while managing projects. These expectations from stakeholders cover anything from the actual project requirements to communication needs. It is easier to manage and increases the likelihood of a successful project delivery if you involve them early on and keep them informed of project updates.

The most critical aspect for success of any IT project is to identify risk on-time and mitigate it on-time. Unmanaged risks becomes an issue at later stage which causes significant major problems for the successful completion. Risk can be introduced through external dependencies, increasing cost, scope creep, personnel, or quality. Establishing a governance around monitoring and mitigating risk can be the most effective. A typical output of the governance is weekly status reporting including RAG status, milestone level tracking, budget tracking, trends towards next milestones and any sprint level KPIs.

Be consistent with the monitoring processes, especially when the PM is handling multiple projects in parallel.Monitoring and Control is the 2nd most important thing for a Project Manager among the 5 phases after Planning to keep an eye on the deliverables on day2days basis having a Risk Register as the cone of uncertainty is more during the initiation and to ensure that it gets narrower as project keeps progression.

Certain aspects are implicit when it comes to projects: they should exhibit high performance at a low cost, remain accessible 24/7, and experience minimal downtime. Effectively managing these expectations involves a robust architecture, and there is an array of tools to monitor and set benchmarks, with timely alerts being particularly crucial. While architecting the system, it's imperative to consider these factors, and the choice between using managed services from different providers or self-hosting tools should be weighed. Conducting regular project meetings with key stakeholders is instrumental in staying abreast of these considerations.

Monitoring and Controlling are the key aspects of the planning process. From project management pov, one should keep reviewing the project plan with defined & timeline bound deliverables as part of monitoring. If any gaps, delays, mismatch found, then it can immediately be controlled for course correction from time, efforts, resources, cost, quality per se in order to give a better/successful completion of the project.

Ao monitorar e controlar um projeto de TI, é crucial medir e comparar o desempenho real com o planejado, tomando a??es corretivas conforme necessário. Acompanhe regularmente o progresso, qualidade, custo e escopo do projeto. Gerencie mudan?as, riscos e problemas, garantindo resolu??o ou mitiga??o. Utilize métodos como relatórios de status, painéis, KPIs, análise de variancia e solicita??es de altera??o para garantir o sucesso contínuo do projeto.

Post deployment support, production bug, product maintenance and other aspects should also be considered, planned and documented.

Quizás unas de las fases más complejas son las de cierre ya que la tarea de revisa, cerrar contratos, documentar las lecciones aprendidas son las que menos gustan hacer en los equipos de proyectos. Sin embargo, son las más importantes para poder generar la base de conocimiento necesaria para llevar un control completo del proyecto además de asegurar el cumplimiento del alcance de los contratos y de las tareas importantes. El no cerrar adecuadamente un proyecto puede acarrear problemas legales si se incumplen términos o incluso materializar riesgos en el proyecto.

Ao fechar e revisar um projeto, conclua-o de maneira formal e profissional, entregando os resultados e liberando os recursos. Certifique-se de que o projeto atenda às expectativas das partes interessadas e aos critérios de aceita??o. Revise o desempenho, os resultados e as li??es aprendidas, documentando e compartilhando práticas recomendadas, feedback e recomenda??es para projetos futuros. Utilize documentos como relatório de encerramento do projeto, relatório de avalia??o do projeto, arquivo do projeto e celebra??o do projeto para essa fase crucial do ciclo de vida do projeto.

When closing an IT project, it's crucial to assess whether it met its objectives, stayed within budget, and adhered to the timeline. A comprehensive review should include lessons learned, feedback from team members, and an analysis of any challenges faced during the project. However, in my honest opinion, what is really important, almost mandatory, it is a massive thanks to anyone involved in the project for their contribution: despite the result, any experience will be a northern star for future activities.

Know the audience for any review process. If none of the individuals involved are going to work on a similar project again, there's almost no benefit from a final review- in practice organisations are bad at learning; but people are pretty good at learning from their own mistakes (when was the last time you read the retrospective of another project, let alone systematically reviewed all the final reviews of projects similar to yours?). Teams who work closely together, again and again, will get much benefit from reviewing how to do things better next time. Spend the appropriate amount of effort! You might want to drive a final review for personal performance improvement: if so, write the report for you! This is how you go get great!

In my experience , Here are some key steps to ensure your new IT project is managed effectively: Planning & Preparation: 1. Define clear goals and objectives . 2. Scope and feasibility. 3. Stakeholder engagement . 4. Project team selection . 5. Choose the right methodology: Agile, Waterfall, or a hybrid approach? Select a methodology that best suits the project type, team dynamics, and organizational culture. 6. Develop a detailed project plan Execution & Monitoring: 1. Effective communication . 2. Task management . 3. Quality control . 4. Risk management . 5. Data-driven decision-making: Track key metrics like budget, schedule, and resource utilization to make informed decisions and adjust the plan as needed.

To ensure effective management of a new IT project following would be the key 1)Ensure there is a well defined objectives along with problem statement and why this project is needed 2)Create a project charter covering the business case and delivery expectations 3)Publish a detailed project plan, 4)Define stakeholder register and kick off workshop to align on the objectives ,schedule and deliverables along with milestones 5)Establish communication channels 6)Allocate resources wisely, 7)Regularly monitor progress, adapt to changes, and foster a collaborative team environment

Keep it simple. 1. Don't assume , ask . Just realize that no one knows it all. 2. Don't stay stuck . If you are blocked highlight it ASAP. 3. If a request does not make sense and you have a suggestion, SPEAK UP. 4. It's a team effort ,don't try to solve everything by yourself. 5. There will be a lot of barriers that come your way ,if something is not feeling right talk and resolve it . Example: Cultural difference. We work with different partners across the world and you never know what would trigger the other person. 6. If you notice something is not right with your team member, talk to them and do not assume things and derive conclusion. These are very basic things but the impact they hold are significant

To manage an IT project effectively, define clear goals, create a detailed plan, and establish realistic timelines. Clearly define project scope, use a change control process to prevent scope creep, and regularly review it with stakeholders. Maintain open communication, collaboration, and monitor progress closely. Implement a robust change management process, addressing potential risks early on. Review and adjust your approach based on feedback and changing requirements. As the project concludes, focus on a structured deployment plan, ensure a smooth transition, and document key processes for handover. Formally close the project, conduct a post-implementation review, and document lessons learned for future improvements.

Ensure that you have a formalized Project Steering Committee composed of sponsors, key stakeholders and direct decision-makers for your project. As Project Manager, you are not expected to know everything and make all decisions, instead, you are expected to make tactical project execution decisions and facilitate strategic project and business decisions. The Steering Committee should be helping you remove obstacles and acquire needed resources to ensure the success of the project.