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CHAPTER 14
Managing Projects
Importance of Project Management

Avoid system failure
 Fail
to capture business requirements
 Fail to provide organizational benefits
 Poorly organized and complicated user interface
 Inaccurate or inconsistent data

Avoid runaway projects (exceed schedule and
budget and do not perform as scheduled)
Project Management


Project – planned series of related activities;
achieve a business objective
Project Management – knowledge, skills, tools and
techniques; within specified budget and time
constraint
 Scope
 Time
 Cost
 Quality
 Risk
MANAGEMENT CONTROL OF SYSTEMS
PROJECTS
Selecting Projects

Information systems plan (see page 533)

Identify system projects that will deliver most business value;
development must match business plan


Critical success factors

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Plan includes: Purpose of plan; Strategic business plan rationale;
Current systems/situation; New developments to consider;
Management strategy; Implementation plan; Budget
Small number of operational goals; used to determine
information requirements
Project Charter
Selecting Projects (cont)

Portfolio analysis



Used to evaluate alternative system projects
Inventories information systems projects and assets
Seek to have a balance between types of systems and level of risk
(similar to financial portfolio)
Selecting projects (cont)

Scoring models – used to evaluate alternative
system projects
 Assign
weights to various features of system and
calculates weighted totals
CRITERIA
WEIGHT
SYSTEM A %
SYSTEM A
SCORE
SYSTEM B %
SYSTEM B
SCORE
Online order entry
4
67
268
73
292
Customer credit check
3
66
198
59
177
Inventory check
4
72
288
81
324
Warehouse receiving
2
71
142
75
150
ETC
GRAND TOTALS
3128
3300
Business Value of Info Systems




Direct System costs
Tangible and Intangible benefits (see page 537)
Capital budgeting (measures value of investing in
long-term capital investment projects)
Real Options Pricing Models (Can be used when future
revenue streams of IT projects are uncertain and up-front
costs are high; gives managers flexibility)
Managing Project Risk

Dimensions of project risk
 Level
of project risk influenced by:
 Project size
 Indicated by
cost, time, number of organizational
units affected
 Project
structure
 Structured, defined
 Experience
requirements run lower risk
with technology
Managing Project Risk (cont)

Change management



Implementation


Required for successful system building
New information systems have powerful behavioral and organizational
impact
All organizational activities working toward adoption, management,
and routinization of an innovation
Related Information




Change agent: One role of systems analyst
Role of end users
User-designer communication gap
Management support and commitment
Controlling Risk Factors





Identify nature and level of project risk
Manage project with tools and risk-management
approaches
Manage technical complexity
Increase user involvement and overcome user
resistance
Use formal planning and control tools
Management Information Systems
GANTT CHART
FIGURE 14-5
The Gantt Chart in this figure shows the task, person-days, and initials of each responsible person, as well as the start and finish
dates for each task. The resource summary provides a good manager with the total person-days for each month and for each
person working on the project to manage the project successfully. The project described here is a data administration project.
Management Information Systems
PERT CHART
FIGURE 14-6
This is a simplified PERT Chart for creating a small Web site. It shows the ordering of project tasks and the
relationship of a task with preceding and succeeding tasks.
Controlling Risk (cont)

Organizational Factors to consider



Ergonomics and Sociotechnical design; health and safety; standards
Organizational impact analysis
Project management software tools