Information Systems

Project Management
(course code: INSY4101)
By
Temtim Assefa, PhD
September 2023
 Course objectives
• Up on successful completion of the course students will be
able to:
– Understand and value the essence of Project management
within the context of organizational information systems
– Describe the project management phases and the various
processes of project management
– Develop project proposal/ project plan
– Understand the concepts, experiences and practices of
managing IT related projects

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 Teaching Methods
• Lectures,
• Student presentations,
• Group discussions,
• individual and group project work
• Browsing online materials

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 Course Assessment
Assessment %
• Tests 20
• Individual assignments 10
• Group Work (on project plan) 20
• Presentation 10
• Final examination 40
Total 100%

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 Reference Materials
1. Information Technology Project Management (9th Ed). Kathy Schwalbe.
2019. Cengage Learning.
2. Information Technology Project Management (5th Ed). Jack T. Marchewka.
2016. Wiley.
3. Project Management: A Strategic Managerial Approach (10th Ed). Jack R.
Meredith, Scott M. Shafer, Samuel J, Mantel, Jr. 2017. John Wiley & Sons.
4. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (6th Ed). Project
Management Institute. 2017. PMI.
5. Lecture slides
6. Internet resources
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Unit one – Project management
introduction

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 Unit objective
• At the end of the unit, you will able to
– Explain the concept of the project.
– Benefits of project management
– Characteristics of a project
– Identify the difference between project and
program
– Identify constraints of project management
– The impact of project constraints on project
management
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 Introduction
• The world as a whole spends nearly $10 trillion of its
$40.7 trillion gross product on projects of all kinds
• More than 16 million people regard project
management as their profession
• The overall information and communications
technology market grew by 6 percent to almost $3
trillion in 2010

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 Motivation for Studying Information Technology
(IT) Project Management
• IT Projects have a terrible track record, as described in the
“What Went Wrong?”

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 Advantages of Using Formal
Project Management
• Better control of financial, physical, and human resources
• Improved customer relations
• Shorter development times
• Lower costs
• Higher quality and increased reliability
• Higher profit margins
• Improved productivity
• Better internal coordination
• Higher worker morale

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 What Is a Project?
A project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
unique product, service, or result” (PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, 2012)

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•Information Systems Project Management
 Project Attributes
• A project
– has a unique purpose
– is temporary
– is developed using progressive elaboration
– requires resources, often from various areas
– should have a primary customer or sponsor
• The project sponsor usually provides the
direction and funding for the project
– involves uncertainty

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 Project and Program
Managers
• Project managers work with project sponsors,
project team, and other people involved in a project
to meet project goals
• Program: group of related projects managed in a
coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not
available from managing them individually (PMBOK®
Guide, Fifth Edition, 2012)

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 Program and Project Portfolio
Management
• A program is “a group of related projects managed
in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control
not available from managing them individually”
(PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, 2012)

• A program manager provides leadership and

direction for the project managers heading the
projects within the program

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 A Portfolio
• A portfolio is a collection of projects and/or
programs used to structure and manage
investments at an organizational or functional
level
• They can be managed at an organizational or
functional level.

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 Portfolio Management
• Portfolio management is the selection,
prioritization, and control of an
organization’s programs and projects, in
line with its strategic objectives and
capacity to deliver.
• The goal is to balance the implementation
of change initiatives and the maintenance
of routine business activities
• The purpose is to maximize return on
investment. •Information Systems Project Management •16
Project Portfolio
Management
Organizations
group and manage
projects and
programs as a
portfolio of
investments that
contribute to the
entire enterprise’s
success
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Sample Project Portfolio Approach

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 Project Management Offices
• A Project Management Office (PMO) is an
organizational group responsible for coordinating
the project management function throughout an
organization

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The Triple Constraint of Project
Management

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Additional reading

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 Assessment questions
• What is project?
• How it project differs from other projects like
bridge projects?
• What is the characteristics of a project?
• What is the impact of different project
constraints on your project management?
• Why do you initiate a project in the
organization?
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 Individual activity
• Browse the Internet and pick one IT project,
write a short note about the project:
– Its purpose
– Its success or benefits to the organization
– Challenges encounter while executing the project

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Unit two – Project Management
process

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Project Management Processes
• Project Management encompasses five processes
1. Initiating
2. Planning
3. Executing
4. Controlling, and
5. Closing

• Nine knowledge areas

•10-25
 What is Project Management?
“the application of knowledge, skills, tools and
techniques to project activities to meet project
requirements” (PMBOK® Guide, Fourth Edition, 2012)
Stakeholders Core Functions

Facilitating
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Functions
Project Management Knowledge Areas
• Knowledge areas describe the key
competencies that project managers must
develop

– Core Functions

– Facilitating Functions

– Integration Function

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 Project Management Tools
• Can be software tools like Microsoft Project
Management
• Used to create the project baseline plan
• Record project progress to register completed
tasks, used costs, etc.
• Generates reports when required
• Generate also variance reports
• Has also embedded tools like Gantt Chart and
Network diagram for visual representation

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 Project Management Tools and
Techniques
• Project management tools and techniques assist
project managers and their teams in various aspects of
project management

network diagram

Gantt chart

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 What Went Right? Improved
Project Performance
40%
35%
37%
30%
31%
25%
20% 1994
21% 2010
15%
10% 16%
5%
0%
Successful IT Failed

Why the Improvements?

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 Project Success
• There are several ways to define project
success:
– Triple Constraint
– Customer/Sponsor Satisfaction
– The results of the project met its main objective

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 What Helps Projects Succeed?*
1. User involvement
2. Executive support
3. Clear business objectives
4. Emotional maturity
5. Optimizing scope
6. Agile process
7. Project management expertise
8. Skilled resources
9. Execution
10. Tools and infrastructure
*The Standish Group, “CHAOS Activity News” (August 2011).
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Information Systems Project Management
 The Role of the Project Manager
• Job descriptions vary, but most include
responsibilities like planning, scheduling,
coordinating, and working with people to achieve
project goals

• Remember that 97% of successful projects were led

by experienced project managers, who can often
help influence success factors

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Suggested Skills for Project Managers
• The Project Management Body of Knowledge
• Application area knowledge, standards, and
regulations
• Project environment knowledge
• General management knowledge and skills
• Soft skills or human relations skills

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 Ten Most Important Skills and
Competencies for Project Managers
1. People skills
2. Leadership
3. Listening
4. Integrity, ethical behavior, consistent
5. Strong at building trust
6. Verbal communication
7. Strong at building teams
8. Conflict resolution, conflict management
9. Critical thinking, problem solving
10. Understands, balances priorities
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 Careers for IT Project Managers
• In a 2012 survey, IT
executives listed the “nine
Employees Rank
Total Current

Growth Rank
Job Categories
hottest skills” they planned
Big Data / Analyst 6 1 to hire for in 2013
3 3
Business/Systems Analyst

Database Admin / Analyst

7
(tie)
3 (tie) • Project management was
Networks / Security
5 5 second only to
Project Management
4 2
programming and
2 6
Software Development
1 7
application development
Other IT Skills( Primarily
Help Desk)

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 The Project Management Profession
• The profession of project management is growing at
a very rapid pace
• It is helpful to understand the history of the field,
the role of professional societies like the Project
Management Institute, and the growth in project
management software

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 Project Management Certification
• The Project Management Institute (PMI) is an
international professional society for project managers
with 380,000 members worldwide in 2012
– Project Management Professional (PMP) has documented
sufficient project experience, agreed to follow a code of
ethics, and passed the PMP exam
– Certified Associate in PM (CAPM) is achievable with less
experience
• CompTIA offers another certification option
– CompTIA Project+ has less requirements but is not as well
recognized as PMP
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 Project Management Software
• There are hundreds of different products to assist in
performing project management

• Three main categories of tools:

– Low-end tools
– Midrange tools
– High-end tools

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 Project Management Software
• Various software includes:
– Microsoft Project Management
– BaseCamp
– Clarizen
– Collabtive (open source)
– dotProject (open source)
– OneDesk
– Genius Inside
– PlanBox

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