This chapter defines what a project is and looks at what project management delivers. You’ll learn the differences between project work and business-as-usual work, and see why an understanding of your company’s strategy in the widest sense is going to help you be a success as a project manager.
By the time you’ve finished reading through this chapter, you’ll know all about why project management is a highly valued skill within IT and you’ll be in a good place to decide if it’s a career that sounds interesting for you.
WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT?
Businesses never stand still. If you want your company to move forward, you’ve always got to be tweaking a product line or introducing something new. These changes help keep your business competitive and ensure that you can deliver your company’s strategy.
Strategy is what drives businesses to change. Whatever your strategic themes and objectives – to be the market leader for something, or to be your customer’s first choice or to be incredibly profitable – you aren’t going to get there by doing the same things you are doing today. Strategy underpins the changes that your business makes in order to get to where you want to be.
The changes that a business needs to make in order to deliver strategy are called projects. Projects can deliver small changes or contribute to major business transformation.
To be sure we’re all talking about the same thing, this is a good place to define a project.
A project is a unique series of activities that together have a common goal and that must be completed within a defined timescale, a specific budget and to a defined specification.
Projects are different from the day-to-day activity of the organisation because they have a defined start, a middle and an end. They are pieces of work with parameters fixed by their very nature, and while they might deliver an ongoing service, such as a new product line, the project itself will close down once this is complete.
This makes projects distinct from business-as-usual tasks as you can see from Table 1.1.
Table 1.1 The differences between project work and business-as-usual work
HOW IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT DIFFERENT FROM PRODUCT MANAGEMENT?
Great question. And there is often a degree of confusion between the two terms. As we’ve seen, project managers are responsible for the successful delivery of a project, as a one-off piece of work. Product managers are responsible for the life of a product.
A project might produce a product, and the product manager will be on the project team. But then the project manager walks away … and the product manager stays. The product manager ensures the product is successful. They may initiate other projects to improve the product in the future. They work with customers to define how the product should evolve, and they develop any strategies around the product. Eventually, they decommission the product when its useful life ends (and that might be another project).
The easy way to distinguish between the two roles is that the product manager provides continuity for the product. The project manager is involved for the duration of the project.
Businesses can have any number of projects on the go at the same time, depending on their size and the resources they have available.
A programme is a group of related projects that use a similar group of resources and have a similar overall objective (to become a paperless business, for example).
A portfolio is the sum of all projects and programmes in the business, department or division, and often includes elements of business-as-usual operations too.
Programme and portfolio management give you the tools to scale what you do on projects and gain efficiencies in how work is managed. These are looked at briefly in Chapter 5 in relation to how your project management career might develop, but they are really outside of the scope of this book – we’re focusing here on managing projects.
Projects don’t just happen by themselves. Project management is the activity required to get a project going and to keep it going until it achieves its objectives or is closed. Project management involves:
- removing roadblocks so other people can do what they need to do to hit the project’s goals;
- planning, monitoring and controlling projects;
- getting work done through and with other people to deliver a goal;
- making sure projects deliver the objectives on time, on budget and to the required quality.
In other words, project management is getting things done in a sensible, structured way.
- purely an admin role;
- telling people what to do all the time;
- ticking off tasks on a list;
- following processes and expecting everything to work out for the best.
What is a project manager?
Project managers use project management to make things happen.
As we go through this book you’ll understand more and more about how project managers contribute to the business overall by shaping and delivering the work with the project team.
WHAT HAPPENS IF A PROJECT CAN’T ACHIEVE ITS OBJECTIVES?
It would be great to think every project delivered exactly what was expected, but that doesn’t happen in real life. Objectives can change, especially if the organisation’s strategy takes a different direction. For example, you might need to scale back a project or extend the scope. It’s highly likely that what you deliver at the end of the project is different to what was set out in the original business case, but as long as all the project stakeholders agree to the changes, that’s OK.
The other thing that might happen is that the project is closed before it reaches the planned end point. It’s more common than you might believe for a project to stop prematurely. This can happen for lots of reasons. For example:
- The senior manager who started the project leaves the organisation and no one else thinks the project is worth continuing.
- The business strategy changes and the project no longer fits with the new strategy.
- The project takes too long or costs too much and management decides to stop the project as there is no longer an adequate return on investment.
- It becomes clear that the project will never achieve what was hoped for and the decision is taken to stop throwing money and resources at something that won’t deliver anything of value.
If this happens on your project, your role becomes to close down the project, move the project team on to other projects and salvage anything that can be used from what work has been completed so far. It’s also important to learn and record what happened so that future projects don’t end up in similar situations.
WHAT IS IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT?
IT project management involves taking the principles of project management and applying them in an IT context.
This normally means delivering IT solutions and working in an IT environment, either in a permanent, agency or contract role. Projects could involve infrastructure, platforms, security, software or anything in the IT estate. Even changing a switch could be managed as a small project.
However, the vast majority of ‘IT projects’ have a business element as well. We rarely implement technology for technology’s sake and projects should be initiated to support a strategic business objective. You might be rolling out a software update, but that ensures the organisation has a safe and stable infrastructure from which to serve customers. Customer service and business continuity are the larger goals; the technology helps ensure that they can be achieved.
Here are some projects that might look like IT initiatives but that have an impact outside of the IT department:
- PC refresh: Staff need training on new interfaces, hardware and applications. The switch over should be planned with operational requirements in mind so there is minimum disruption to working patterns.
- Change to information security policies: Implications for staff need to be investigated as there might be the requirement to get users to sign to say they have read and understood the new policy, or handbooks in other divisions need to be updated, or existing contracts may need to be refreshed. Users need to receive some level of communication about what it means for them and when they will see new pop-ups amongst other changes.
- Telephony upgrade: Staff training might be required to deal with the change to a new telephone system, especially around accessing previous call recordings or reports. Downtime needs to be managed carefully to avoid operational impact.
For that reason, it’s wrong to think of IT project management as a stand-alone discipline. At worst, doing IT projects in a way that is considered disconnected from the rest of the organisation leads to a ‘them and us’ mentality where IT is somehow separate from the rest of the business. This attitude breaks down relationships and results in decisions being taken that are not always in the best interests of the organisation as a whole.
What is an IT project manager?
An IT project manager is someone who works within the IT division of a company, leading and managing projects that have a large IT or technical element, or those being led (or sponsored) by the IT department. The role can involve different things in different organisations. Here are some examples of the kinds of projects IT project managers would be responsible for:
- An IT-led initiative for a purely technical project, such as looking at upgrading network switches across the global estate.
- The IT workstream or sub-projects within a larger business transformation project or programme. In this case, they would work as one of many project managers or workstream leads on the project, but would be responsible for the IT elements of the project.
- A project being sponsored by IT with a large business change element, such as a PC refresh or software development. As much of the work is technical, the IT project manager may lead the project but work with colleagues from across the business to ensure the project is managed with a ‘whole business’ approach and that change management is carried out effectively.
IT project managers look at their IT projects in the context of the wider business decisions. It’s also essential to look at those projects in the context of the business strategy. Let’s look more at that now.
Why project managers should care about business strategy
IT projects should underpin the company’s strategic direction and support the business objectives – this is a fundamental part of a project’s business case, which is how projects get started.
No matter how small or informal, every project should have a business case that sets out why the project is important for the organisation, and that’s where you should see the link to the strategic objectives.
It’s important that IT project managers understand the corporate strategy and work in a way that is aligned to that as much as any other division of the business would be. There are hardly any projects in the IT arena where business acumen and an awareness of your business context, operating environment and priorities will not help you do your work more effectively.
There has been a major shift in project management over the last couple of years towards an increased focus on strategic alignment and delivery. It isn’t just a discussion for the senior leaders in your organisation. Project managers should be aware of and care about their company’s corporate strategy. Today, project management isn’t simply about delivering what you’ve been told to deliver and letting everyone else deal with the rest of it. Being able to connect your project to the company’s goals is important, and here’s why.
Reason #1: because outcomes matter
For too long project management has been focused purely on outputs.
Outputs are what we call the products or deliverables created by a project – for example, a new smartphone app for car sharing. Outcomes are the difference made by the deliverable: the change we get as a result of the output. In this example, the outcomes would be fewer cars on the road, easier commutes to work, lower pollution and new friendships made on the drive.
It’s old-style thinking to believe that projects deliver outputs and that it’s someone else’s job to think about how to use those to get any benefits out of the work and into the organisation. Project managers who want to actually contribute to the business need to do more than simply deliver what they have been asked to. They need to make the connection between their deliverables and the outcomes they facilitate.
Business savvy project managers – the ones who are winning awards and doing great things with their careers – are the ones who are doing this.
As a project manager, you aren’t in the position to be able to deliver, track, manage and integrate benefits your project delivered, say, over the next five years. And it isn’t your job to do this over the long term. You’ll be whisked off to a new project before the (virtual) ink on the project closure document has dried. That’s the pace of business; there’s always a new project to do.
But that doesn’t preclude you from being business-aware during the project. You can ask the right questions. You can make sure that the business case that initiated your project is watertight and that you keep going back to it. You can ensure that there is a benefits plan that sets out what the project’s outcomes and benefits will be. You can check that the right people know how and when those benefits will be realised, how they are going to track them over time and what to do if it looks like they aren’t getting the benefits they expected. You don’t need to know all the answers; you simply need to ask the right questions.
Additionally, you can recommend solutions, and if they change, you can propose how your project changes to keep pace with new technology. You can add tasks into the project schedule so that business owners find it easy to measure their outcomes. You can check that your project is still worthwhile at every key decision point. You can guard the project’s money like it’s your own and invest it wisely. You can challenge. You can even propose that your project is closed down or paused if something else comes along that has a more positive business benefit. You have a lot of power to make sure that your project does everything it can to get those outcomes.
And you should, because it’s part of your role to help the business be successful.
Reason #2: because it helps secure support for your project
Being business savvy helps you secure support. It’s an easy sell when you can tell a senior stakeholder that their involvement in your project will help deliver some portion of business strategy or it underpins a strategic pillar of the organisation. If you’re trying to convince them to turn up to a meeting because your sponsor has told you to invite them, that’s far harder. We’ll look more at the interfaces between the project manager and others in the organisation in Chapter 3.
Knowing the strategy helps you frame your requests in ways that are more likely to build support for your project and get the right decision for the business overall.
Reason #3: because it builds morale
People like to know that they are contributing to something worthwhile. Linking your project to organisational strategy in a way that your team members can understand helps them see the part they play in the bigger picture.
You may have come across Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs,1 which is a motivational theory. Maslow identified five levels of ‘needs’ that humans are motivated to achieve. Social needs relate to the sense of belonging: playing a part in a project team can fulfil this, but it helps even more if you can meet Esteem needs. These relate to achievement and recognition. People often feel like their achievements will gain more recognition if they are working on a strategic initiative or one that can be linked to the organisational direction, because it’s perceived to have more management oversight and exec support (which is probably the case).
Linking what your team members do to the context of organisational strategy is an easy way to build morale and show your team that they are contributing to the bigger picture in a worthwhile way.
It’s also easier to convince people to make a pivot if it’s in the interest of organisational strategy. Teams tend to understand why something has to pause or resources have to be reassigned if they can see the big picture influence. ‘Because my boss asked for it’ isn’t a helpful answer when you are trying to keep the morale of the team high during difficult times.
Reason #4: because it’s good for your career
Finally, we shouldn’t overlook that being aware of business strategy is good for your career.
Being able to talk about your project in terms that relate to strategy and organisational context will set you apart from the next project manager. In the main, executives don’t care much about dependencies on a Gantt chart or your beautiful resource tracking spreadsheets. They care about the bottom line, hitting shareholder targets, what the markets think and how they are going to get the next massive project done while still keeping the profit and loss accounts balanced. They care about sticking to the strategy.
Someone who can communicate in ways that speak to those drivers will stand out – and this goes for anyone in any role, not just a project role. The fact is, though, that project managers often have more knowledge of strategic initiatives and more influence over senior execs than other team leaders in the business simply because of the work they do and the company they keep. In a project management role you have plenty of opportunities to impress; don’t waste them.
Underpinning all of this is the fact that you have to know what the business strategy is. You can’t support or deliver to something if you don’t know what it is. If you aren’t sure, find out how your project fits into your programme or the longer term plan. Spend a little time understanding what your business is going through and where it wants to be. It will be a lot easier to see where your project fits into the big picture and how your IT project management role is helping to get there.
Emma Seaton-Smith moved into IT project management from a clinical background working as a radiographer. Below she explains how she made the transition.
After my first degree in jewellery design, I researched the possibility of doing Graduate Entry Medicine, but I was excited by radiography and the visual element of beautiful images really attracted me. I wanted to combine these interests and apply them in a very practical profession.
I was a radiographer for nearly a decade. I wouldn’t use the cliché of ‘I fell into IT project management’, but there was a gap in the needs of a changing business where I picked up the slack. The medical imaging company I worked for was bought and as a radiography manager there, I took on a key role in integrating our radiology imaging IT systems into the parent company. I also worked through each of the hospitals in the parent company to get them live with our imaging service.
When my role was made redundant, the parent company took me on in a project manager’s role. It was a job role I’d seen others doing and aspired to. I hadn’t realised how much my skills were valued, so I was thrilled when it was offered.
I completed the PRINCE2® qualification soon after I started my IT role. As a new project manager it helped me to become familiar with the elements of a project and formalise my processes and documentation. I learned the language of the profession, which is a fundamental tool in any career.
Project management is transferable across so many different industries, so even if you move on, the skills you learn will be invaluable to any job role you do in the future.
Emma Seaton-Smith, UK, healthcare technology
SUMMARY
Project management is the activity required to get a project going and to keep it going until it achieves the agreed objectives or is closed. It’s what a project manager uses to ensure a project has the best possible chance of being successful. IT project managers take the principles of project management and apply them in an IT context, although understanding the business strategy for any project will make you more successful at delivering it.
Find a project manager within the IT division of your company and invite them for coffee or a chat to find out more about IT project management in your business. If you aren’t working at the moment, try to find a local networking group near you (there’s more on professional bodies in Chapter 5 and many of them run events) so you can chat to some people who currently do the job.
Watch this
The history of project management in under 3.5 minutes. This short video from the Association for Project Management shows how far project management has come: https://youtu.be/5nrlwYRs5Ko
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IT projects underpin the company’s strategic direction #itpm
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