Need for rapid delivery leads to project management shake-up

IT project management is undergoing rapid change, driven by the demand for faster delivery and more accountability. This is the report from Richard Firth, chairman of MIP Holdings, the enterprise software development company.

"Organisations are going for a phased approach based on regular tangible deliverables," says Firth. "Large two year-long projects are broken down into smaller projects, spread over periods of 10 or 15 days. This provides users in the IT environment with tangible deliverables early in the project`s lifecycle. As a result, users can establish early in the project whether the project is on the right track."

In addition, there is a growing realisation that without a sponsor for the project at the executive level in the client organisation, the project has no chance of success since the sponsor needs to obtain buy-in and internal support from the top down.

"There has also been a move away from the tradition of making the financial director responsible for IT. Many companies now appoint an IT director whose sole function it is to oversee IT activities. A key aspect of any project he needs to consider before mandating is whether there is any true business/cost benefit for the company in the project. Management realises that allowing technology to drive the business has resulted in expensive upgrades of software and hardware, with little to show in terms of improved productivity."

There has also been a realisation that project management is a full-time job that should not be foisted onto anyone who has another job function within the organisation, including programmers.

"Programmers are the last people who should put in charge of a project," says Firth. "Programmers often lack the people skills needed for the job. A good project manager needs to be able to communicate with management at a senior level and then negotiate and motivate at a junior level.

The trend now is to appoint non-computer people who have excellent management skills as project managers, says Firth. The main objective of the project manager now is to keep the project on track and within cost by monitoring smaller key task deliverables and reporting them in to the executives.