IT Project Management in Information Technology

Introduction:

Managing IT projects often involves navigating complex environments where development ideas evolve and solutions change throughout the project lifecycle. Traditionally, conservative predictive approaches with strict change controls have been employed, but these methods have yielded mixed success rates.

As IT becomes increasingly complex and diverse, addressing stakeholders' needs with a simple, predictive approach proves inadequate. Instead, agile project management, which adapts to changes throughout the project lifecycle, has shown greater effectiveness in meeting evolving stakeholder requirements.

Effective IT project management is crucial for success. Specializing in this field can be transformative for those aiming to become IT Project Managers or enhance their IT project management skills.

Objectives:

At the end of the IT Project Management in Information Technology course, participants will be able to:

• Determine the applicability of different project lifecycles to IT projects.
• Appreciate the importance of strategic collaboration in IT project design and execution.
• Adopt and adapt techniques from both predictive and agile IT management approaches.
• Identify and resolve common issues in IT project management.
• Measure project progress and communicate status accurately.

Training Methodology:

• Instructor-led training sessions
• Hands-on laboratories
• Case studies and real-world scenarios
• Group discussions and workshops
• Role-playing and simulations
• Interactive Q&A sessions
• Use of project management software tools
• Feedback and assessment sessions

Course Outline:

Unit 1: Nature of IT Projects

• Characteristics of a project
• Basic definitions and project management vocabulary
• IT project lifecycle and development phases
• Management of IT products
• Considerations for geographically dispersed teams
• IT project initiation and charter development
• Requirements engineering and stakeholder interaction
• Requirements gathering and analysis
• Key roles: Product Manager, Product Owner, Business Analyst
• Managing changing requirements

Unit 2: Planning

• Software engineering techniques
• Work Breakdown Structure
• Project scheduling and controlling critical path
• Defining release strategy
• Key roles: Tech Architect, Designer, Developer, Quality Assurance Engineer (QA)
• Quality planning, assurance, and control
• Quality Assurance Plan (QA plan) formulation

Unit 3: Controlling Project Realization

• IT project cost analysis
• Teamwork in software engineering and related issues
• Risk management and uncertainty control
• Waterfall processes and related issues
• Agile software development principles and practices
• Project Management with SCRUM in a changing environment

Unit 4: Control and Closure of IT Projects

• Traditional project status reporting
• Progress dashboards and Earned Value Management
• Value control via Scrum (Agile) and review processes
• Measuring success in meeting requirements
• Confirming achievement and lessons learned
• Improvement through retrospectives