IT projects have an array of active ongoing processes that need to be controlled and are referred to as IT Project Management. It includes dealing with IT infrastructure, information systems, and computers. If you are looking to garner knowledge regarding the same, this article will give you an in-depth proposition on every detail you should know about IT Management.
What does IT Management include?
IT Management can include an array of work, such as:
- Web Development
- Database Management
- Mobile App Development
- Data Mining
- Cloud Computing
- Network Configuration
- Software Implementation
- Hardware Installation
- Network and Computer Security
- IT Emergency Recovery
Every IT project requires an IT Management team that plans, schedules, reports, tracks, and monitors every detail and acts as a template for various IT projects. You will come across a separate IT team in every industry – healthcare, manufacturing, or an educational sector.
You should also bear in mind that every IT Management Team needs a robust software system that can adapt and work within various procedures. ProjectManager.com has won many awards and offers some of the most sought-after features required by IT professionals like Gantt charts, collective kanban boards, and comprehensive reporting. Our software can assist professionals in IT set in an agile framework along with their respective managers who require structural planning.
IT Project Management: How ProjectManager.com can make your life easier
There are various ways of managing an IT project, out of which some are universal. These steps are mostly similar to each other, with extremely minimal differences. The following are a step by step directory regarding how you should be performing it.
1. Identify your requirements
It is crucial to make a note of the basic requirements before initiating any project. You should consider various factors like stakeholder requirements, consider the project scope, and create a budget. Our software gives you endless storage for files where you can attach every valuable paperwork and document related to your project.
2. Team Selection
Once you are done drawing your project requirements, the next step is to build a team. This is one of the most crucial steps, and you should select professionals who have in-depth experience in this field and whose skills and expertise will help you to spearhead the project with the utmost ease. Once you are done selecting the potential team, you need to place them in your software for project management. This will ensure that every communication takes place on a singular platform.
3. Use a Gantt Chart
You can now add tasks on a Gannt chart’s timeline, set milestones, link dependencies, and take a look at the critical path. ProjectManager.com offers you an online Gantt chart with the latest features that helps project managers working in a waterfall set up. Although the entire team is not required to practice this seamlessly as their traditional tool for planning, the project information is generally shared across various views that include kanban boards, calendars, and task lists
4. Use a Kanban Board
A kanban board helps you to control your workflow during the execution of any project. You can now execute sprints, create workflows, and work seamlessly in an agile framework using our software without disturbing your Gantt plans!
5. Monitor your progress
You need to ensure that your progress matches up to your initial expectations. Our software collects real-time information as it gets updated on its dashboard. Project tracking has been made the easiest as we take these data and information and feature health, costs, tasks, etc.
6. Workload management
Managing workload smartly is the key to any IT project. Our software shows you who is loaded with work on their plate while who’s on leave for you to keep everything balanced. It even enables you to reassign assignments directly from the sheet.
7. Attend to changes
It is vital to initiate changes with immediate effect whenever your stakeholders request it. Our software enables you to work seamlessly with your team and epitomize flexibility. For instance, in case of a changed date, simply go to the Gantt chart and drag and land the task to the scheduled date. Upon doing so, the entire software features this change.
8. Obtain reports
Our software offers you a detailed reporting feature that helps you to track reports and keep your stakeholders updated at the same time. Many reports generated can come in highly handy for IT project management, and hence, with our software, you can get all the materials you need at your fingertips with just a few clicks.
You may check this video out to have an understanding of how the software can make things much easier for you professionally.
IT Project Management: How ProjectManager.com can make your life easier
More often than not, IT project management transactions can get into a gamut of unwanted complications that ends up interfering with various other fragments of the organization. This may include human resources, business administration, finance, and an array of different departments within organizational boundaries. These can also include external entities at the same time.
Having a varied software system in an organization is vital, the wavering of which can cause devastating altercations while paralyzing a business entirely
1. Changing Technology
IT is a highly dynamic and volatile industry. If you are into IT project management, then it should be of no surprise to you that you have to be prepared at any given point in time as technology can be quite notorious and go obsolete.
2. Communication
Once you are done drawing your project requirements, the next step is to build a team. This is one of the most crucial steps, and you should select professionals who have in-depth experience in this field and whose skills and expertise will help you to spearhead the project with the utmost ease. Once you are done selecting the potential team, you need to place them in your software for project management. This will ensure that every communication takes place on a singular platform.
3. Maintaining transparency
The focus level that IT requires is sharp, and hence maintaining proper transparency is essential. It is crucial to maintain and conduct appropriate transparency across various channels in the project. It is also vital to exercise clear deadlines with the team – this ensures that your team incorporates the latest technology or responds to changes effectively.
4. Lack of Methodology Understanding and Agreement
Many organizations are trying not to employ IT project management for their respective projects, which can prove to be potentially damaging in the long run. These organizations need to understand that their projects can go haywire without proper methodology or a process. They also need to realize that without the assistance that an IT project management team brings along, they can potentially end up spending more, thus exceeding their set budget and priorities. The first key to having a successful project is to have a professional IT project manager, one who can add a valid definition to roles, tools, and the entire project by itself.
IT Project Management Methodologies
The number of project management methodologies is directly proportional to the number of projects in hand. These can be further bifurcated into two different larger camps, namely, traditional and non-traditional methods.
First, let’s have a look at the conventional waterfall method. This method tends to break down the project tasks into multiple subsequential project phases. These project phases are largely dependent on previous project delivery.
Waterfall Methodology
Maximum IT projects follow this method. It is to be noted that while this happens to be a project management technique that many non-IT projects tend to follow, it is also primarily followed by traditional IT projects at the same time. It has also proven to be a successful model of approach when it comes to linear and formal assignments.
The waterfall methodology was first codified and coined by Dr. Winston W. Royce in a published paper in 1970. This procedure has six different stages:
1.Requirements: This occurs at a nascent stage where they identify, analyze, and document the potential requirements. This “Requirements” Document states an in-depth review of the current happenings and provides a solution to the same. Stakeholders further review this.
2. Design: This is the second stage of the method, and it requires documenting the decisions taken during the initial stages of the design format. This also forecasts everything necessary for project completion.
3. Implementation: The IT project manager and their team then execute this designed document. They stick to the implied specifications, guidance, and timelines.
4. Testing: The project deliverables are then compared with the steps and methods jotted down in the design file and by the stakeholders. It is akin to a quality test. In case the criteria are not met, the team is required to re-initiate the entire project again.
5. Installation: Once the project passes the quality check, it is then released for the targeted audience. By this point, the project is meant to be completely operational.
6. Maintenance: Most of the time, IT projects do not end with their deliveries. They require constant support even after their installation. This can include updates and upgrades. This is often delegated to a different team.
Agile Methodology
An agile framework usually takes place in shorter sprints. It often pivots completely through the project rather than aligning to the plan rigidly. A few IT groups have even incorporated agile in their respective projects.
Hybrid Methodology
This is one of the more popular methodologies as it combines water and agile put as a result of which it creates a platform with higher flexibility and has a structured approach towards an IT project. It is often the right step headfirst based on the various project parameters at hand.
ProjectManager.com is a perfect IT project management software for waterfall or hybrid methodologies as it features both kanban boards for agile enthusiasts and Gantt chart for waterfall enthusiasts. This real-time project dashboard is an added advantage as it leverages the project manager to keep themselves up to date with the team dynamics. It also contains various filters that help you derive progress through different metrics, thus fetching the information you wish to update and share.
Other methodologies
Although not primarily utilized in IT projects, the critical path approach and critical project chain method are worth mentioning. In the critical path method, the tasks have categorized the completion of which would successfully cater to the project goal. A job breakdown edifice is often penned across a Gantt chart, including linked task dependencies to avoid shutting access to teams. This enables the user to understand which task he needs to perform and at what time.
On the other hand, the critical chain management method works backward. It recognizes deliverables and uses past experiences to identify and jot the tasks required to be performed for project completion. This is one of the most effective ways to make use of resources and focusing on the final goal at the same time. However, it is not advisable to labor on an array of projects together as delays can be inevitable and potentially harmful.
IT Project Management Tools
IT project challenges can be battled with the ideal IT project management tools. This can also leverage project managers to control better while enabling the teams with features that are required to be more feasible through ideal collaborations.
The good news is our software has been exclusively designed for IT project management – it contains every tool you require to work seamlessly.
- Waterfall Plans Gantt Charts
ProjectManager.com’s Gantt charts happen to be an exclusive feature that envelopes IT project management akin to a hand put inside a glove. Our software leverages you to connect dependent tasks and delegate them at the same time.
Our software is a significant hit across teams, specially IT teams, as they tend to perform with autonomy and work collaboratively. This has been made possible because they can provide remarks at the task level. These tasks can as well attach images and documents that act as references and can even disappear after completion.
- Live reporting Dashboards
Status updates are instantly reflected across the program as ProjectManager.com happens to be a cloud-based project management software. This implies that your dashboard acts in real time and gives you information accordingly.
Our software enables you to filter various metrics like time, workload, expenditures, etc. and extract the data you require. You can then share these colorful easily readable graphs with your teams and stakeholders. You can even print them for technical presentations.
IT Project Management Roles
There is an array of roles that an IT Project Management covers: stakeholders interested in the project, teams who execute the plan, and the IT project manager who mostly manages, plans, procures, and executes the project.
IT teams are of three types:
- Project Management Team: Although they are not IT exclusive, they are tasked with the project.
- Professional Services Team: They implement software or hardware installations, thus delivering technology to customers.
- Internal IT Teams: They manage the maintenance and deliverables in a company.
IT Project Manager: Job Description
The IT Project Manager has endless responsibilities, some of which include understanding firmware and implementing software integrations. Project Managers are often responsible for building databases, networks, and websites and maintaining data risk security. He must also communicate, motivate stakeholders and teams, apply the ideal methodology, set deadlines, and create a budget. He is also responsible for staying updated with the latest technology and trends, organizational dynamics, goals, objectives, strategies, and practices.
IT project managers need to ensure that the resources are managed well while keeping the quality intact. He mostly reports to stakeholders, higher management, clients, etc while managing the team at the same time.
His work also includes preserving IT assets by implementing back-up procedures and disaster recovery. His salary can range from $55,000 to $1,25,000, depending on his demography.
Skills required
- Technical management
- Technological understanding
- Data Analyzation
- Communication skills
- Employing staffs
- Providing solutions
- Managing data centers
- Creating a budget
- Planning strategically
- Quality management
Is it necessary to have an IT Project Certification?
Certification is necessary if you wish to stay updated with the skill sets and proficiency required to be an IT manager. It can be done through an external agency that would note the disciplinary understanding and experience. A bachelor’s degree may include computer science, marketing, and engineering. General certifications for project managers are also available.
Types of Certifications
The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers a couple of industry-recognized project manager certifications. These may include Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) and the Project Management Professional (PMP). PMI also offers a PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA), Program Management Professional (PgMP), and Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP).
The Open Group’s TOGAF 9, the IASA’s Certified IT Architect – Professional (CITA-P), and OPEN CA certifications are more technical in nature. These enterprise architect certifications are a combination of technical knowledge and business goals.
The TIL and ISACA offer IT governance certifications. These courses are Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT) and Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC).