Project Management

Most Project Managers come up through the ranks of an Information Technology (I.T.) department. They have mastered coding, testing. This experience helps prepare them to run projects, but there are still many unknowns for the new Project Manager. The official project request they receive is typically a vague, one-page list of objectives. In addition, I.T. Management cannot afford the time to guide the new Project Manager each step of the way. This paper will assist them in the initial stages of a project.

Defining the Project: Purpose

The first step in any project is to determine the purpose of the project. The project purpose should be a simple statement that is the guiding principle of the project. For example:

The purpose of this project is to reduce the amount of time it takes to enter an order.

Defining the Project: Requirements

With the purpose in mind, the requirements for the project should be set. Often, the users will need to be contacted to clarify the requirements from their initial project request. The requirements should be in business terms, relate to organizational requirements, and be broken down by functional area. For example:

* Improve the response time in Order Entry to improve customer service (Order Services Department)

* Give the sales force the ability to enter orders while at the customer site to improve customer service (Sales Department)

* Decrease the learning curve for new Order Entry Clerks to improve customer service and reduce training costs (Order Services Department)

In each example, "improving customer service" is the organizational requirement that the project requirement relates too. The department (in parenthesis) represents the fu...

... middle of paper ...

.... This technique only clarifies requirements; thus, other requirement gathering methods are used in conjunction with it.

Conclusion

The two essential outputs of the initial stages of a project are:

* Clearly defined, achievable requirements that are in step with organizational requirements

* A reasonable, feasible work plan

Remarks

In order to complete, many projects are finding it advantageous to use a lifecycle approach. One of the reasons software project management remains a challenge is that, as has been all too frequently observed, progress in software development has not kept pace with progress in hardware development. The gap between software and hardware development is partly explained by the lack of standard methods and tools to boost the software development process. In short, "The cobbler's children have no shoes."