01-What Is IT Project Management

IT Project Management What is IT Project Management
What is IT project management?

IT project managers are adaptable and resourceful leaders. Carrying complex projects
over the finish line isn’t an easy task, but the right leader does it time and time again.
As an IT project manager, you create user-friendly and flexible technology for
consumers while also tracking the progress of your team members. How do you do it
all, we wonder? We’re guessing your secret is IT project management software.
Having the right IT management software can be the key to project success. Our guide
outlines what IT project management is and provides tips for managing IT projects.
What is IT project management?

IT project management is the process of managing, planning, and developing
information technology projects. IT projects exist within a variety of industries,
including software development, information security, information systems,
communications, hardware, network, databases, and mobile apps.
IT project developers deliver a product or service, while managers handle IT project
management. Managers are in charge of communicating expectations and keeping
projects on track and on budget to ensure the IT projects run smoothly.
What are the 5 phases of IT projects?

As an IT project manager, you can accomplish complex tasks more effectively using
the five phases of IT project management. Each phase has different milestones that
drive the project life cycle forward. Whether you’re managing sprints for an Agile
project or process rollouts—map out your next project using the five phases below.
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1. Initiation
During the initiation phase, determine the need for the project and create a project
proposal. The project must also be viable for the team and the company at large.
During this phase, make sure to also confirm the project is worth the allotted time and
resources before moving forward.
2. Planning
The planning phase is a collaborative effort between you as the IT project manager
and your team. Planning for the project involves setting budgets, identifying risks, and
creating clear goals for what you hope to accomplish.
A roadmap template can help you plan goals that you can then refer to throughout the
project life cycle.
3. Execution
The execution phase is when the team sets deliverables for the project. IT project
managers play a crucial role by delegating tasks to hit milestones and keeping
communication open among all team members.
Use team collaboration software to ensure everyone is on the same page about who’s
doing what by when. You may need to revisit the project plan during execution, as
projects often experience changes during development.
4. Monitor and control

During the execution phase, use IT project management software to track your team’s
progress in real time. This involves monitoring the time, cost, scope, quality, and risk
of the project itself. Using your project roadmap, you can evaluate whether the project
is on track with your project proposal and goals, or course-correct if necessary.
5. Closure
Once the project is complete, the closure phase begins. In this phase, ensure all work
has been completed, approved, and moved on to the appropriate team. It’s also
important to take some time to review any lessons learned during the project and
determine what went well and what didn’t. The closure phase is crucial because it
empowers your team to review and improve future methodology.

What does an IT project manager do?

As an IT project manager, you must know how to communicate with everyone in your
organization. You’ll be working closely with members of the IT department but you
may also be in charge of discussing your team’s work with other teams.
• Ensure the product functions: The goal of every IT project is to deliver a functional
product that meets the customer’s needs. IT project managers are the first point
of contact if things go wrong with a project, which is why you must prioritize
functionality above all else.
• Assign tasks to team members: A project manager is a team’s go-to person when
determining what their roles and responsibilities are for the project. As an IT
project manager, take some time to understand IT teams so you can assign tasks
effectively.
• Track progress and performance: Once each project begins, project management
professionals must track team performance, the project timeline, the budget, and
how well the project is meeting its goals. IT project managers can use project
management software to assess competencies and assist with professional
development.
• Lead Agile meetings with stakeholders: A stakeholder is often influenced by the
outcome of the project. This could be senior management, a customer, or a product
tester. As IT project manager, you’ll communicate with stakeholders and give
them frequent status reports on the project.
Challenges faced by IT project managers

You’ll face a fair number of challenges in your role as IT project manager, but with the
right management tools, you can feel confident in your ability to address issues
quickly.

Time and budgeting

Time and budgeting are some of the biggest challenges you may face in IT project
management. Without realistic deadlines for a project, you risk delivering a product or
service that is of lower quality than it could be.
Not having the resources to complete the project can also make teams and customers
suffer. You can reduce time and budgeting challenges by prioritizing these items in the
planning phase.
• Scenario: Senior management would like your team to perform a company-wide
software migration within one month, but you’ll need an additional month
because your team is too small and inexperienced to complete the migration in the
allotted time frame.
• Solution: Use IT project management software to keep senior management
informed about your team’s availability and experience. That way, management
can prepare a more realistic timeline when assigning IT projects.
Scope creep
Scope creep occurs when the original goals of the project become overshadowed if
stakeholders continue adding new requirements and deliverables. It can potentially
derail a project and requires constant manoeuvring.
To reduce the frequency of scope creep, set strong project objectives from the
beginning, have a change control process in place, and do your best to communicate
with stakeholders every step of the way.
• Scenario: Your initial project goal was to improve outdoor Wi-Fi at your
company’s headquarters so employees and visitors can work from anywhere.
During project execution, stakeholders ask you to expand the outdoor Wi-Fi reach
to the operations centre across the street and also allow download capabilities.
• Solution: IT project management can give clear project objectives at the start, so
your stakeholders will know what can be accomplished during this project. For
example, they would understand that requesting an extension of the outdoor Wi-
Fi reach is reasonable, while requesting download capabilities is too extensive.
Miscommunication
Because IT project managers function as the go-between among team members,
departments, and stakeholders, miscommunication can become a challenge if there
isn’t an organized process in place to keep everyone informed. Prioritize
communication using IT project management tools to lead your team to success.
• Scenario: Your company agrees to work with a local school and improve their
learning spaces with increased access to technology. The project involves
installing Wi-Fi and donating 100 computers to the school, but your senior
manager thought you were only donating 10 computers.

• Solution: Prioritize communication at the beginning of a project. Sharing frequent

project status updates with IT management tools can ensure everyone is on the
same page through the project life cycle.
Read: 12 tips to effective communication in the workplace
Risk management
Managing the risks of an information technology project is a necessary step in the
initiation phase. During this phase, you must come up with alternate plans should your
initial goals fall short. If you don’t manage risk on the front end, you’ll have a hard time
picking up the slack when things go awry in real time.
• Scenario: Your team creates an online scheduling portal for patients at a hospital.
You predict everything will run smoothly, so you’re shocked when a bug in the
program causes cardiac patients to see gynaecologists and neuro patients to see
urologists.
• Solution: With proper risk management, a plan is in place to quickly and
effectively resolve the bug. Fixing the bug also means reassessing and identifying
potential new risks raised by the fix. Risk analysis is an essential part of IT project
management—try using a risk register to identify risks before they occur.
Changing technology
Complex IT projects can take months or years to complete. One challenge in IT project
management is keeping up with transforming technology as a project takes place.
The project scope of your initial IT project must be flexible in case the needs of your
customer change while your project is in development.
• Scenario: Your team takes on a long-term project to improve the GPS systems in
cars. While working on this project, GPS phone apps come out allowing drivers to
see traffic in real time. Your GPS system doesn’t include traffic, and including this
feature would considerably extend your project length.
• Solution: Changing technology can’t be stopped, so your IT project must be
flexible. In this example, your team would need to decide whether pivoting the
project is a good business strategy to compete with advanced GPS phone
technology.

What is an example of IT project management?

An information technology team is developing a new iPhone application to help
employees clock in at work. When putting together the project proposal for the iPhone
app, the IT project manager consults with the app creator while also considering the
needs of the end user.
In this IT project example, we’ll use the five phases of project management to bring
the iPhone app through development.
• Initiation phase: The first step is to ask questions. Dig deep into how the app will
help solve a problem. Consider how this iPhone app can provide a solution for
employees and employers. Is creating this app viable for your team given the
designated time and budget?
• Planning phase: Next, you begin the planning phase. To do so, determine the
budget it will take to make the app and assess who on your team can handle the
coding of the app.
• Execution phase: The most important part of executing the plan for your iPhone
app is to identify your overall project objectives. In this example, your project
objective is: “The goal of this time-tracking application is to provide an easily
accessible way for employees to clock their work hours and to help employers
keep track of their team’s productivity.”
• Monitor, control, and closure phases: Use IT project management tools to monitor
your team’s progress. With effective project management software, you can look
back at the data during the closure phase.

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What are the 5 phases of IT projects?

What are the 5 phases of IT projects?

What does an IT project manager do?

What does an IT project manager do?

IT Project Management What is IT Project Management

What is IT project management?

What is IT project management?

What are the 5 phases of IT projects?

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4. Monitor and control

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What does an IT project manager do?

Challenges faced by IT project managers

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Time and budgeting

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• Solution: Prioritize communication at the beginning of a project. Sharing frequent

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What is an example of IT project management?

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