ALIGNING DIGITAL PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE
There are many challenges that are faced by the business world today on
how to manage your business goals and strategies in a market that is both
dynamic and moves very quickly. Within both the technology and business
sectors change is constant and the question that one asks is how do you
manage this effectively.
Maintaining costs
Improving sales
Staff development
Improving product delivery
Aligning strategy to
market treads
PURPOSE OF THIS PRESENTATION
The main purpose of this presentation is to provide the business and project
teams with an overview on how a project methodology can be adapted to
incorporate a digital product delivery.
This will positioned at a high level to give the business and project teams a better
understanding of what needs to be done to deliver value in the digital space.
Business
Project Technology
Technology leadership
Financial performance
Operational excellence Delivering
WHAT EXACTLY IS DIGITAL
Everywhere you go today you hear the word digital.
From the computer that you sit in front of to your TV set
and of course your mobile device. And yes it does seem
as if the whole world is becoming a digital entity.
The fact is that today product management and business
are driving digital technology like never before and they
need to get their products out into a very fast moving
and competitive environment.
Mobile, cloud, social media, virtualization and big data –
once considered hot technology trends worth exploring –
have moved well beyond the stage of experimentation.
They are proven tools that have given birth to an age
where technology has become the foundation of any
successful business – it's a prime driver of market
differentiation, business growth, innovation,
adaptability, collaboration and profitability
In line with this requirement more projects are being
setup and project managers are now in demand to help
deliver digital projects effectively
Dr Andrew Makar
IT program manager
Emerging trends may seem like shiny objects that can distract project
managers from their agreed goals. Regardless of new trends, effective
project managers should continue to focus on the technical and
leadership skills that help deliver projects. Customers will value delivery
over the latest collaboration tool. However, I'm convinced that these
trends noted below will only help improve delivery in 2014.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT - 2014
Project management roles continue to develop in the business function.
More project schedules will move to the cloud.
Online collaboration tool adoption will increase
There will be more of a reliance on resource management
Distributed teams will continue to grow.
Project Trends 2014 Read the article
PROJECT MANAGEMENT - 2014
The following key points has been developed from
interviewing PM-Partners’ experienced Consultants,
Project Managers, and subject matter experts
currently working in the field across a variety of
sectors, including Finance, Government, IT,
Industrial and Broadcast/Media.
Agile as a way of project thinking
Change Management to improve outcomes into
the business
Portfolio Management – Project Management
Driving Business Change
Small is MORE – up skill or move away from
large complex programmes
Business Analysis – coming of age and
enterprise prominence
Project management skills – the rise of the
cross-skilled PM
https://6-project-management-trends-for-2014/ Read the article
PROJECT MANAGEMENT 2014
In line with Project Management changing trends businesses want their
products moved into the market a lot quicker but with the same quality criteria.
Project Management has changed from being a long winded process into what we
refer to as agile. The principles remain the same but the durations has become a
lot shorter.
Project Initiation
Project Planning
Project Execution
and Control
Project Close Out
Business Requirements
Analysis Design Development
Testing Implementation Online
Production
Traditional
Agile Project Plan control
Project Plan control
OBJECTIVES OF A PROJECT MODEL
Customer satisfaction, product
quality, effective delivery of your
requirements and time-to-market
speed.
Meet the business
requirements
• To meet the challenges for project delivery a project model must meet the business requirements in a holistic approach in order to promote business effectiveness and efficiency
Align to current technology
• The project model must provide the ability to constantly meet the challenges for innovation, flexibility, and integration with technology
Be Process Oriented
• The project model must incorporate processes that allow the business to be more efficient, more effective and more capable of change than a functionally focused, traditional hierarchical management approach
Meet Industry Standards and
Best Practice
• The project model will provide common standards to ensure that the implementation of a project will be conducted in a disciplined, well-managed, and consistent manner.
THE DIGITAL PROJECT ENVIRONMENT
Business Requirements
Project Management
Software Development
Project Operations
Project Office
Project Management
Project Operations
Business Requirements
Software Development
Project Office
THE DIGITAL PROJECT ENVIRONMENT
One important factor is to remember when you plan your project
environment is to define what is on the critical path and what are
the supporting management requirements. The model below
reflects how this can be setup
Project Management Software Delivery Life Cycle
Not on Critical Path
The correct level of project
management and administration
must be planned carefully to
support the project during the
Software Delivery Lifecycle. It is
important to remember that this is
always based on the category and
size of the project to be deployed
Always on the Critical
Path
The development of the
product is planned within
the SDLC process and this
is where the full time, scope
and cost is controlled and
this is normally managed by
a technical project manager
Business Owner
Business
Business Requirements
Marketing Plan
Product Plan
Project Office
Project Management
Programme Management
Software Development
Analysis
UX Design
Development
Testing
Production
Project Operations
Financial support
Contract support
Suppliers sourcing
On Line management
Keep in
Mind
The project team will change according to the project’s
requirements and the available budget however roles and
responsibilities need to be clearly defined for the team
THE DIGITAL PROJECT TEAM
The business owner is the key decision maker
for the project
THE DIGITAL PROJECT OFFICE
Provide effective project management
Promote collaboration with the business and project teams
Guarantee best practice standards for project delivery
Manage stakeholder relationships
Manage change and risk during the project life cycle
Within the digital project environment one of the greatest
advantages you can have as a project manager is to setup a
project office that will help you deliver your project roadmap to
meet all of the requirements both technical and business. The
key advantages of a digital project office would:
In order to ensure that the full project delivery in controlled and managed the
project office will ensure that confirmed processes and work flows are in
place.
This provides leadership and ensures
that the Project Management Office
will consistently deliver value to the
project owners and stakeholders.
THE DIGITAL PROJECT OFFICE
PMO
Technical alignment
Strategic alignment
Team and resource
management
Project and portfolio
management
Project Operations
Stakeholder management
BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS
Requirements define the business objectives which need to gain the
approval of the business owner as well as the stakeholders. The outcome of
the requirements will provide a foundation to communicate to your service
provider what the project needs to do to satisfy the business’ needs and
quality requirements. : Purpose
Business Owner Business Analyst Project Office Operations
Input Key Output/s
Project Mandate Approved • Concept
• Business Case
• Scope of Work
• Approval to proceed
BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS The process
Finalise the concept Setup the business
model Finalise the
marketing plan Finalise the
business case
Source Suppliers Submit Request for
Proposal
Review Supplier Scope of Work
(SOW)
On approval handover SOW to the Project Office
Keep in
Mind
This should be aligned to the size and complexity of the project
which would be defined where understanding what the concept is
and how this fits into the current infrastructure and maturity of
the organisation
SOFTWARE DELIVERY LIFECYCLE
The software development life cycle (SDLC) is a framework defining tasks
performed at each step in the software development process. SDLC is a
structure followed by a development team within the software
organization. It consists of a detailed plan describing how to develop,
maintain and replace specific software.
The SDLC cycle defines a methodology for improving the quality of
software and the overall development process
Purpose
Project Office Project Manager Development Team Operations
Input Key Output/s
Approved Supplier Contract
Approved Scope of Work
• Requirements analysis
documentation
• Design documentation
• Project Plan
• Test Plan
• Communication plan
Analyse
• Analyse Requirements
• Compile System Requirements Specifications
• Finalise all test scenarios and test plans
Design
• Compile Functional Solutions
• Acquire Solution Integration and Data Migration Inputs
• Compile Technical Solution
• Design Testing Specifications
Build
• Develop System
• Perform Unit Testing
• Prepare for testing and Release
• Conduct System Walkthrough
Test
• Conduct QA
• Resolve Defects
• Release for UAT
• Conduct UAT
• Resolve defects
Deploy
• Implement to production environment
• Prepare for production handover support
• Handover to production and operations support
SOFTWARE DELIVERY LIFECYCLE The process
Keep in
Mind
The SDLC methodology must be tailored to both the size and risk of
the project to ensure that it produces a quality product. This process
can be adapted to either a Waterfall or Agile approach. Each phase
must have a formal release to ensure all identified tasks have been
finalised and approved
PROJECT OPERATIONS
The project office will work very closely with operations who will manage:
Contracts
• To ensure the correct suppliers are sourced for the projects
• To manage the legal aspects of the contracts
• To audit the contracts
Financials
• To work with the project office on financial forecasts and cashflow
• To analyse additional budget requests for business approval
Licenses
• To ensure that all licenses are in place for your software and infrastructure
On line Management
• To ensure that production is in place to manage the live digital enterprise
• To rectify any issues found during the day to day running of the digital enterprise
THE DIGITAL PROJECT MANAGER: OVERVIEW
Project Management regardless of the environment has to follow
the correct process of delivering a project successfully. There are
no shortcuts and it is important to note that you need to define a
process that will align the best methodologies and practices.
Today there are two main bodies of project management practices
Each methodology has it’s own set of principles and the
advantage for you as a project manager is that you can
combine the best of both worlds Keep in
Mind
PMBOK
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) provides a standardised
approach to project management. PMBOK provides the tactical tools and
guidance for you as a Project Manager and for your Project Team Members
to effectively and successfully manage projects to conclusion
PRINCE2
The process, clarity and strengths of PRINCE2 are balanced by the depth
of the PMBOK Guide. PRINCE2 is a scalable, practical, process-based
methodology providing “what” you need to do in project management with
its step-by-step guidance. PRINCE2 as a methodology, can shape and
direct your project management knowledge. Together PMBOK and
PRINCE2 provide a standardised and practical approach to project
management
AGILE
Agile has changed the project management landscape, largely because of its
adaptability: Iterative development allows teams to deliver functional
pieces of a project quickly and adjust on the fly. The main benefit of agile
project management is its ability to respond to issues as they arise
throughout the course of the project.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN THE CLOUD - SAAS
Enterprise applications are moving into cloud technology and this includes
certain aspects of project management. Cloud technology for project
management applications allow for seamless communication and the
ability to track resources and tasks allowing for the ability to track
information at any time and wherever the project manager and project
team is Companies are investing in cloud project management applications
because they realize that employees can be more productive and get more
work done when they can access work information wherever they are.
Collaboration
Communication
Time sheet
management
Task Tracking
Reporting
Real Time Monitoring
Issue management
SETTING UP THE DIGITAL PROJECT
With so many practices and methodologies what will the right way to align
this to a digital project?
A quick guide to setup your digital project
Step 1 Assess the project risk before defining the requirements
Step 2 Define the project size to ensure the correct governance is applied
Step 3 Find the correct suppliers
Step 4 Setup the project folder with the correct phases and the correct
project templates in line with the agreed project size and
approach
Step 5 Register the project with operations
Step 6 Ensure that all of the contracts are signed and stored
Step 7 Finalise the whole project approach with your business owner
Step 8 Take it one phase at a time
As a project manager you can select process and
governance from all of the best practice methodologies.
The important fact to keep in mind that the approach
must allow your project to flow easily
Keep
in
Mind
THE TECHNICAL QUESTION
This is the biggest advantage that project management
provides. The full process of project management allows each
element of the technical requirement to be covered starting
at identifying the business requirements to careful analysis
and design which includes how the technology will be tested
to ensure a quality delivery.
You are able to ensure that the correct team members are on
your project and able to supply the technical information that
you need. This will allow for the correct documentation to be
complied and approved by the relevant stakeholders
The technical touch points are covered during the analysis and
design phase of the Software Delivery Lifecycle (SDLC) and
complied in the technical and design specifications normally by
a business analyst and a technical lead.
Keep in
Mind
One of the challenges that every project manager faces it how quickly
technology changes. You are often faced with the question: “how do you manage
this requirement as a project manager?”
THE DIGITAL PROJECT MANAGER
In theory if you know project management then you ought to
be able to project manage any project – it should be a case of
organising the tasks and monitoring them through to a
successful conclusion.
Being a good Digital Project Manager requires a diverse mix
of skills and experience. And to be effective you need to be
more than just organised and a good communicator.
The ability to prioritise, keeping calm and focused, being
able to let go, not assume too much, being approachable and
having a passion for Digital are all things that when
combined together make for an awesome Project Manager.
Oh, and it helps to have a sense of humour too!
Ian May
Programme Manager
THE RESULTS
By using a structured project management approach for your
digital project delivery you will provide:
Better efficiency in project deployment and roadmap implementation.
Governance on project templates and process management
Improved/increased/enhanced customer satisfaction.
Enhanced effectiveness in delivering services.
Improved growth and development within your team.
A greater standing and competitive edge. within your industry
Opportunities to expand your companies services.
Increased risk assessment and expert management of mitigation strategies
Delivery of quality products
Ability to deliver multiply projects simultaneously
THE LAST WORD
The content of this presentation is based on my experience of managing
projects for major companies in the financial, telecoms and digital
environments
The presentation has been put together to provide project managers and
business owners with a high level overview of the digital project
environment
If you would like further information on any of the points covered please
send me an email requesting what you are looking for
Cliona O’Hanrahan MPM: Prince2: PMBOK
Contact details
Mobile +27 (0) 790371588
Email: [email protected]
Skype: clionaoh
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