Managing IT Projects

I'm often asked how we manage IT projects. Do we have an Enterprise Project Management Office? A tracking Gantt chart for every project?

The answer is that we do not use a one size fits all approach to project management, we use a suite of tools and common principles that we apply as appropriate depending on the scope, risk, and complexity of the project.

Here's my guide to project management

1. Every project starts with a charter. A project charter clarifies the purpose and urgency of the project which is important for change management. The key leaders, stakeholders, milestones, and risks are clearly stated.

2. Every project gets a single accountable leader. That leader may be the project manager or may have project management staff reporting to him/her. Having a project manager is key to the success of a project. That project manager may use tools such as Gantt charts, workplans, and issue tracking logs. Although some projects are managed through sophisticated Microsoft Project diagrams, most are done on a far less sophisticated basis. Several years ago, we tried to introduce a program management software package and found it to be so burdensome that we dropped it. The main ingredients to our being able to successful, despite the lack of a PMO, are good managers and good communications.

Our managers are good at triaging and adapting when unforeseen demands interrupt work plans. They are also good at keeping others informed. There are a few things that I believe have promoted such good communications:

a. The tenure of our staff, especially at the managerial layer has been excellent. They are a well-oiled team and know when the left hand needs to learn what the right hand is doing.

b. Our office layout promotes communications. We have more conference room space per FTE than anyone in the medical center. This has proven not to be a luxury, but a necessity. It makes it easier to hold adhoc sessions and there are few delays because rooms are available for meetings.

c. We liberally use conference and bridge calls. Bringing people together periodically to make sure things are moving along is of great value.

d. We reach out to our vendor partners and other experts when we need assistance. These folks have helped crystallize our plans when complex problems have arisen.

e. We have a very active change management process that also serves to let the right and left hand communicating. The meetings and email announcements assure others get the word and are able to weigh in with their advice.

We also tend to select a small number of vendor partners, making technology life cycle planning predictable. We are not constantly shifting vendors which would drag on our efficiency.

3. Every project has a steering committee with minutes of each committee meeting. Each steering committee is comprised of key decision makers and stakeholders which build a guiding coalition for each project, a key ingredient for change management. We complete each meeting with a summary of who will be accountable for what, and when it will be done. This assures that the give and take, the digressions, and the range of topics discussed has not confused what has been agreed upon. Every meeting has an element negotiation and we repeat back what was agreed upon to get all parties to acknowledge it.

4. Every project has success metrics which are reviewed frequently. I believe that "the troops do well what their commander reviews". If my top level IT managers are skilled at asking the right questions about high visibility projects, but also pay attention to the basics of operations that keep the systems working, it carries down to the staff. They know they need to pay attention to the details, keep the project moving, and adhere to agreed upon deadlines.

Over the past decade we've had a few projects that were over budget or overtime. In every case, it was because one of the above steps was not followed. By using these general principles, project risk is minimized and all stakeholders are likely to have a better project experience.