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The Magic of IS Project Management:

Revealing the Masters’ SecretsKathy Schwalbe, Ph.D., PMP

May 2, 2000PDS 2000

schwalbe@augsburg.edu www.augsburg.edu/ppages/schwalbe

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Expert Revelations on How to Succeed in Project Management

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Tricks to Avoid

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Examples from the Field

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Personal Secrets

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Expert Revelation #1: Alignment

• Projects are much more likely to succeed if they align to organizational needs and goals

• “Aligning information systems to corporate goals has emerged as the number one concern over the last five years in surveys of information systems executives”*

*Strassmann and Bienkowski, “Alignment of IT and Business: Keys to Realizing Business Value,” ABT Corporation, 9/29/99

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Why Firms Invest in IT Projects*Reason for Investing in IT Projects Rank Based on Overall

Value of ProjectsSupports explicit business objectives 1Has good Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 2Supports implicit business objectives 3Has good Net Present Value (NPV) 4Has reasonable payback period 5Used in response to competitive systems 6Supports management decision making 7Meets budgetary constraints 8High probability of achieving benefits 9Good accounting rate of return 10High probability of completing project 11Meets technical/system requirements 12Supports legal/government requirement 13Good profitability index 14Introduces new technology 15

*Bacon, James. “The Use of Decision Criteria in Selecting Information Systems/Technology, Investments, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 3, September 1992

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Trick to Avoid #1:

“Because IT’s There!”

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Expert Revelation #2: Leadership

• The majority of characteristics of effective project managers are managerial in nature

• Project managers must be able to lead and manage and have necessary technical skills

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The Most Significant Characteristics of an Effective

Project Manager*

*Zimmerman and Yasin, “A Leadership Profile of American Project Managers,” Project Management Journal, March 1998

• Leadership by example

• Visionary• Technically

competent• Decisive• Good communicator• Good motivator

• Stands up to upper management when necessary

• Supports team members

• Encourages new

ideas

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Trick to Avoid #2

Making your besttechnical person the

project manager

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Expert Revelation #3:User Involvement

• The number one reason why IT projects fail is a lack of user input (CHAOS, 1995)

• There are several ways to increase user involvement– Have users lead or co-lead IT projects– Have a senior manager outside of IT sponsor

and champion IT projects– Put star users on the project team and co-

locate users and developers– Provide interim deliverables that users can

understand on a regular basis

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Checklist for User Involvement*

• Do I have the right user(s)?• Did I involve the users(s) early and

often?• Do I have a quality user(s)

relationship?• Do I make involvement easy?• Did I find out what the user(s)

need?

*Standish Group, “Unfinished Voyages,”1996

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Trick to Avoid #3:

Thinking IT knowswhat’s best

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Expert Revelation #4: Senior Management Support

• Experts agree that you need senior management support for projects to be successful

• Senor management can (or cannot) provide:– Adequate resources– Quick approval for unique project needs– Cooperation from people in various

parts of the organization– Mentoring on leadership issues

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What Helps Projects Succeed?

• Clear project mission

• Top management support

• Good project schedule/plan

• Good client consultation

• User involvement• Executive

management support

• Clear statement of requirements

• Proper planning

Pinto and Slevin* Standish Group**

*Pinto and Slevin, “Critical Factors in Successful Project Implementation,”IEEE, February 1987**The Standish Group, “CHAOS,” 1995

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Trick to Avoid #4:

Assuming it’s okayif senior managers

and users don’tprotest too much

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Expert Revelation #5:Clear Project Purpose

• Having a clear mission or purpose and a clear statement of requirements are crucial to project success

• It’s much easier to get project approval and lead a project if you understand the underlying reason for it, even if it the specs are not crystal clear

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Defining and Selling “Way Cool Projects”*• Challenge 1: Futzing with the

structure and specifics of a given task…until it becomes a “way cool project”

• Challenge 2: Selling that “way cool project.” Great project management—in the real world!—turns out to be mostly a sales game. I.e., getting all sorts of folks to support you, help you, give you their very best!

*Peters, Tom. Reinventing Work: The Project 50, 1999, p. 12

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Trick to Avoid #5

Faking coolness

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Expert Revelation #6:Communications

• Being a good communicator is an essential project management skill

• Master project managers are great at listening, persuading, explaining, and discerning the best way to communicate with different stakeholders

• Project managers must be “astute”

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80% of Problems…

• “Eighty percent of the ‘problems’ in workplace or personal relationships are really not problems—they are misunderstanding”*

• “I’ll pay more for a man’s ability to express himself than for any other quality he might possess.” Charles Schwab

Wetherbe, James and Bond. So What’s Your Point? 1996, p. 3

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Trick to Avoid #6

Over-relying on reports,web sites, or other

formal communications

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Expert Revelation #7:Plan and Replan

• Proper planning is key to project success; remember that the purpose of project plans is to guide execution

• Project plans must be tailored to the needs of each particular project

• Be flexible when changes occur and be ready to update plans accordingly

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Planning is a “Quadrant II” Activity*

• Using Stephen Covey’s time management matrix, quadrant II activities are important but not urgent

• Quadrant II activities include planning, prevention, relationship building, and recognizing new opportunities

• Highly effective people, including project managers, focus on Quadrant II activities

*Covey, Stephen, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 1990

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Trick to Avoid #7

Taking shortcutsto planning

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Expert Revelation #8:Execute, execute, execute

• The most important job of a project manager is to get the job done

• Project managers must balance scope, time, and cost goals

• If you can’t deliver results, you can’t meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations

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Why CEOs (and Project Managers) Fail

• Bad execution is the main reason why CEO’s are “booted”*

• Bad execution means not getting things done, being indecisive, and not delivering on commitments

• A good plan, strong leadership, good communications skills, team building, etc. all help with execution

Charan and Colvin, “Why CEO’s Fail,” Fortune, June 21, 1999

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Trick to Avoid #8

Not focusing on results

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Expert Revelation #9:Team Building

• Project managers must foster an environment for teams to thrive

• Some experts suggest– Hand picking your project team– Focusing on goals and outcomes to

promote teamwork– Establishing team-based rewards– Creating a fun work environment– Providing a quiet work space!

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Trick to Avoid #9:

Assuming smart peoplework well in anyteam situation

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Expert Revelations #10:Structure

• Most people like and need structure to guide projects

• Using a clear and consistent approach to project management helps projects succeed

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Project Management Maturity Model*

1. Ad-Hoc: Disorganized, chaotic project management (PM) processes; low success rate

2. Abbreviated: Some processes in place, but project success is largely unpredictable

3. Organized: Standardized, documented process and systems; more predictable success rate

4. Managed: Management collects and uses measures of effectiveness of PM; more uniform success

5. Adaptive: Feedback from the PM process and from piloting innovative ideas and technologies enables continuous improvement; success is the norm

*Enterprise Planning Associates, 1998

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Trick to Avoid #10

Winging it too often

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Example from the Field: Northwest Airlines’ ResNet*

*A full case study on ResNet is available in Schwalbe’s InformationTechnology Project Management text, Course Technology, 2000

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ResNet Background• ResNet is the main reservation system

used today by Northwest Airlines• From 1993-1997, Northwest Airlines

worked on three distinct projects to develop and install ResNet on over 3,000 workstations in nine different cities

• ResNet was a huge success in terms of meeting scope, time, and cost goals and exceeding stakeholder expectations

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The Master’s Secrets on ResNet1. Alignment: The main reason for funding

ResNet was to stop losing money on the call centers

2. Leadership: Peeter Kivestu, then a marketing director, led all three ResNet projects

3. User Involvement: Sales agents did a lot of the coding for the ResNet interface

4. Senior Management Support: The VP of Reservations provided the vision for ResNet

5. Clear purpose: Focused on increasing direct sales and reducing call handle time to save money

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The Master’s Secrets on ResNet

6. Communications: Peeter and his team used varied, innovative ways to communicate

7. Plan and Replan: The project team created and followed realistic plans

8. Execute: The entire ResNet team focused on meeting project goals

9. Team building: Peeter hand picked key team members and provided a fun work environment

10.Structure: Everyone knew that milestone dates had to be met

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Peeter’s Expert Advice

• Have clear project goals. It is human nature to want to achieve goals

• Create a fun working environment to promotes buy-in, creativity, and teamwork. Use themes and special events to make projects fun and memorable

• Set realistic milestone dates and stick to them. Missing dates causes too much chaos

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Kathy’s Personal Secrets

• Have passion for your projects• Provide challenge, creativity, and fun

on IT projects along with structure• Clearly define what the main

stakeholders really mean; be astute• Create an open, learning

environment and mentor future project managers

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Final Thought: Remember that we all influence our future

leaders!Scott Schwalbe –Future Governor?