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IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT INTRODUCTION In the "ready! fire! aim!" world of technology, what is the role of that staid discipline, project management? The fact that if you perform by-the-book project management, you will probably not be able to meet your competitive targets for the technology advancement. The project manager has never been a highly touted position in information technology industry. One reason might be that it requires far more discipline than creativity, much like being a drill sergeant in the armed forces. Also, it can be detrimental to your career if you're the manager of a project that fails. According to Kerzner, management responsibilities include the following skills: • • • • •

Planning Organizing Staffing Controlling Directing (Kerzner p.226)

Like many organizations, an IT organization also have to follow the guidelines of project management to have a successful project. There are a several steps that is involved in keeping an IT project on track. This project will list out these steps.

PLANNING Project management is a science that has a track record going back decades. Its core concepts are as old as work itself. No matter how hard you try, you can't eliminate planning altogether. So project management is being forced to adapt to the technology, not the other way around. The most important responsibility of a project manager are planning, integrating, and executing plans. Planning can be best described as the function of selecting the enterprise objectives and establishing the policies, procedures, and programs necessary for achieving them. Planning is a required management function to facilitate the comprehension of complex problems involving interacting factors. The project manager is the key success to a good planning. There are nine major components of the planning phase: • •

Objective: a goal, target, or quota to be achieved by a certain time Program: the strategy to be followed and major actions to be taken in order to achieve or exceed objectives.

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Schedule: a plan showing when individual or group activities or accomplishments will be started and/or completed. Budget: planned expenditures required achieving or exceeding objectives. Forecast: a projection of what will happen by a certain time. Organization: design of the number and kinds of positions, along with corresponding duties and responsibilities, required to achieve or exceed objectives. Policy: a general guides for decision making and individual actions. Procedure: a detailed method for carrying out a policy. Standard: a level of individual or group performance defined as adequate or acceptable.

In order to have an effective total project planning the project manager must have all the necessary information at project initiation. These information requirements are: •

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The statement of work (SOW): a narrative description of the work to be accomplished. It includes the objectives of the project, a brief description of the work, the funding constraint, and the specifications and schedule. The project specification The milestone schedule: includes start date, end date, major milestones, written reports (data item). The work breakdown structure (WBS): the breakdown of the statement of works into smaller elements so that better visibility and control will be obtained. (Kerzner p.535)

ORGANIZING A key factor to good project performance is the project manager’s ability to integrate personnel from many disciplines into an effective work team. To get a good result the project manager must relate to: • • • • •

the people to be managed the task to be accomplished the tools available to perform the job the organizational structure and The organizational environment, including the customer community.

Projects are composed of processes. A process is a series of actions bringing about a result. Project processes are performed by people and generally fall into project management process category, which is concerned with describing and organizing the work of the project. (PMBOK p.27)

STAFFING

Because project managers often work in a high-responsibility, low-authority environment, they must know to elicit top performance from all members of the project team. Before the staffing function begins, five basic questions are usually considered: • • • • •

What are the requirements for an individual to become a successful project manager? Who should be a member of the project team? Who should be a member of the project office? What problems can occur during recruiting activities? What can happen downstream to cause the loss of key team members?

According to PMBOK, when the project management team is able to influence or direct staff assignment, it must consider the characteristics of the potentially available staff. Consideration include: • • • •

Previous experience - have the individual or group done similar or related work before? How did they perform? Personal interests - are the individuals or group interested in working on this Project? Personal characteristics - are the individuals or groups likely to work well together as a team? Availability - will the most desirable individuals or groups be available in the necessary time frames?

A project manager is successful only if the project manager and his team are totally dedicated to the successful completion of the project. This requires that each member of the project team and office have a good understanding of the fundamental of the project requirement.

CONTROLLING Controlling is a three-step process of measuring progress toward an objective, evaluating what remains to be completed, and taking the necessary corrective action to achieve or exceed the objectives. There are three steps included in controlling measuring, evaluating, and correcting. • • •

Measuring: determining through formal and informal reports the degree to which progress toward objectives is being made. Evaluating: determining cause of and possible ways to act on significant deviations from planning performance. Correcting: taking control action to correct and unfavorable trend or to take advantage of an unusually favorable trend.( Kerzner p.227)

In the controlling function it is very important that the project manager understands the organizational behavior in order to be effective and also must have strong interpersonal skills.

According to Doering, the team leader's role is crucial. He is directly involved and must know the individual team members well, not only in terms or their technical capabilities but also in terms of how they function when addressing a problem as part of a group. The technical competence of a potential team member can usually be determined from information about previous assignments. The leader needs a tool to measure and characterize the individual members so that he can predict their interactions and structure his task team accordingly.

DIRECTING Directing involves seven steps: Staffing: involves seeing that a qualified person is selected for each position. Training: involves teaching the individuals and groups how to fulfill their duties and responsibilities. Delegating: assigning work, responsibility, and authority so others can make maximum utilization of their ability. Motivating: encouraging others to perform by fulfilling or appealing to their needs. Counseling: holding private discussions with another about how he might do better work, solve a personal problem, or realize his ambitions. Coordinating: seeing that activities are carried out in relation to their importance and with a minimum of conflict. (Kerzner p. 228)

ORGANIZATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS Most of the projects my organization handles are IT Projects. The project manager serves only as the focal point for activity control, that is, a center for information. The main responsibility of the project manager is to keep all level of management informed of the status of the project and to attempt to influence managers into completing activities on time. However, some project managers are not subject matter experts or they don't follow the rules of a good project manager. As a result to this, some projects don't succeed. To be a good project manager and to complete a project successfully, a project manager must follow the guidelines of project management. According to David Raths, there are a several steps involved in keeping an IT project on track. These are some of the major steps. • •

Get the user involved from the start. Choose your project team carefully.

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Keep the project information in one place. Set regular meeting. Look out for scope creep. Maintain quality standards Don't be afraid to call a time-out. Use a proven tracking system.

For more detail information on the above steps, please visit http://www.itworld.com/Career/1965/IW000313caproject/ The project managers objectives during the staffing are to acquire the best available assets and try to improve them, provide a good working environment for all personnel, and make sure that all resources are applied effectively and efficiently so that all constraints are met. (Kerzner p.162)

CONCLUSION Effective project communication is needed to ensure that we get the right information to the right person at the right time and in a cost-effective manner. Proper communication is vital to the success of the project. (Kerzner p.268) A good project manager should be able to plan, organize, control, staff and direct. In an IT industry such as Sprint, it is important that you get the user involved from the start. Also, be careful when choose your project team. Make sure you keep the project information in one place and set regular meeting to inform the status update. Watch out for scope creep and maintain quality standards. If there is a need, don’t be afraid to call a time-out and finally use a proven tracking system. Senior Human Resource Manager – Global Staffing Organization Overview CHF International was founded in 1952 and serves more than 20 million people each year. With programs in 30 countries worldwide, our reputation has been built on notable achievements and strong relationships with the communities we serve. The results of our work are impressive: improved quality of life, greater stability, increased prosperity - all of the ingredients necessary for sustainable peace. Whether it’s developing infrastructure, housing, agriculture, health, or one of the many other areas we support, our commitment and dedication - like our organization - continues to grow. Our mission is to be a catalyst for long-lasting positive change around the world by helping to improve social, economic and environmental conditions. Our success is based on bringing together people, organizations and resources necessary to ensure steady, sustainable change. Our determination is to recruit highly talented individuals who are

equally committed to making a profound difference in the lives of those who need it most. Executive Summary As our Senior Human Resource Manager, you will play a critical role in the continued success of CHF International and its ability to meet its mission objectives. You will lead the transformation of our global staffing department and develop long range goals and objectives. You will introduce process change and structure that vastly improves our ability to serve at the highest level. You will strategically address our current and future international staffing requirements and introduce systems and procedures that better meet the needs of the organization. You will formulate and administer organizational policies and will evaluate and document best practice. You will work with a staff of three recruitment managers, and two HR coordinators on development and training, to maximize their potential and develop skills and knowledge. We require a confident, strategically minded, organized individual with demonstrated leadership and communication skills; an expert project manager, who is excited and motivated by challenge and by the opportunity to build on our success. This unique opportunity requires skill, diplomacy and outstanding communication skills to navigate the complexities of working in ever changing environments within the developing world. In this position, you will have the opportunity to drive change, make a positive impact and take pride in knowing that your work will be in direct service to the committed efforts of CHF International. Goals for Your First Year: •

In support of new and existing programs, lead the placement and recruitment of highly talented individuals to fill positions throughout the world. Build capacity to increase staffing levels and fully engage with managers and proposal teams to understand objectives and assist with needs.

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Develop long term candidate sourcing strategies, create a process to track current and potential candidates and formulate a system that enables the organization to access the skill sets and the availability of CHF staff already assigned to programs around the world.

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Take a pro-active approach to employee engagement; work with recruitment managers and HR coordinators on development and training with a view to helping each staff member build knowledge and skills. Implement individual plans that include progress and performance evaluation.

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Develop organizational policies and document all systems and procedures. Draw attention to issues and ideas that can further enhance the work environment at CHF.

Essential Experiences and Attributes Experience: • •

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Prior experience designing processes to recruit top candidates. Ability to think strategically about recruiting and use pro-active approaches. Demonstrated ability to understand the needs of the organization and confidently engage in defining expectations and requirements. Excellent team builder; able to develop skills and knowledge. Proven ability to analyze a situation and lead transformation and change by identifying and framing problems as well as a strong understanding of strategic change management. Demonstrated strong leadership. Experience implementing and structuring HR programs and processes.

Attributes: •

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Highly organized and thoughtful in approach, analytical with the ability to make critical assessments. Excellent project management skills. Business minded and able to see the entire picture. Assertive and persuasive and not easily deterred. Able to thrive in a writing intensive environment. When making policy changes, able to make decisions based on sound research. Facilitator and team builder. Articulate and able to drive change. Understands the need for accurate assessment and documentation as well as consistent equitable approaches; willing to stand firm when necessary. Committed to providing the highest level of service.

Required Skills/ Qualifications: • • • • •

International development experience; lived or worked overseas preferred Familiarity with USAID rules and regulations preferred Demonstrated ability to create business partnerships with senior management Ability to travel independently 6+ years experience of policy writing and international recruiting.

What’s Attractive to the Right Candidate? •

A mission driven workplace and an organization intent on providing long-lasting positive change

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Your work helps others to provide critically important resources in some of the hardest hit areas around the world An opportunity to travel and gain first hand experience of the positive impact your efforts will have in some of the developing countries You’ll have goals and you’ll know how they fit into our strategic plan You’ll be working for a financially sound organization We’re proud of the work we do and you will be too

Employee Benefits CHF International offers a generous benefits package: Medical, dental and vision insurance; retirement plan options; disability; 15 days vacation and 10 paid holidays per year; free parking. We are easily accessible to the Metro (Red Line) and offer some reimbursement towards travel costs. To Apply: Search conducted by Staffing Advisors. Please send resume to Gina Schurman /or/ apply online. For each position listed on your resume, please be sure to include both the month and year you started and stopped work – no “2001-2003” ambiguities, please.

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Location: Silver Spring, MD

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This is at a non-profit organization. Principals only. Recruiters please don't contact this job poster. Please, no phone calls about this job! Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.