Even with the best of intentions, managing property management glen ellen ca in the Information Technology arena will always include elements of chaos. As a Project Manager you have a responsibility to effectively manage your project in a way that meets customer and stakeholder expectations.
Managing the expectations of your customers and stakeholders is just as important as understanding the vision and expectations of the initiative. Because you most likely do not have control over many of your resources, Stakeholders, Customers and Sponsor – identified process is the way in which you can successfully manage technical projects.
Identified process and communication of identified process will provide the parameters, expectations and the governance you need to be successful. In my experiences, failed projects all have had the same common thread; there was either a lack of defined process or identified processes were not properly communicated and adhered to. The good news is defined project management processes are available and made to be leveraged. The Project Management Institute (PMI) and Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI) offer best of breed industry standard process in both Project and Organizational Management.
A project is defined as is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end and often constrained by funding or deliverables. The following ten principles are essential and must be utilized for your project to succeed.
The Project Sponsor has the most interest in the project; in most cases the project is fulfilling business needs for the sponsor. Therefore, the Project Manager and Project Sponsor have a partnership and shared interest in the success of the project. In addition, the Project Sponsor usually controls resources and works directly with or supports the Project Stakeholders. Usually Project Sponsors are not understanding of the level of detail and commitment needed to successfully manage a technical project. The Project Sponsor must be engaged and fully understanding of the project scope and approach. In as much as the Project Sponsor needs to understand your commitment and approach, you need to understand the Project Sponsors commitment and expectations. Through the Project Sponsor, the business group must also have a clear understanding of their needed commitment and project approach. If the program does not understand and has not allocated time needed for their tasks, the project will most likely be delayed. A knowledgeable business team member will be required in many of the project phases including: analysis, JAD sessions, planning, design and testing.
All stakeholders meaning all people affected by the project and or initiative must be identified. This is critical. Even successful projects can be a disaster if the initiatives are not understood at an enterprise level.
It is critical that every project have a clearly defined scope that details all deliverables in relation to the business needs being met. The scope will be agreed on by the sponsor and all stakeholders, including Project Team Members. Any changes to the project scope will be addressed through the change management plan (discussed later).
