Project Management for Modern Information Systems

Citation

du Preez, M. (2007), "Project Management for Modern Information Systems", The Electronic Library, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 379-380. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470710754922

The discipline of project management is no longer applied to very large projects, including information technology (IT) projects, only. The project management methods formerly used were also based on “command and control” techniques. It has lately become imperative that formal project management methods and tools be applied to all IT projects. These methods further need to evolve to address the changes in modern software engineering and high‐tech global workplaces.

In order for an IT project to be completely successful the basic definition of project success needs to be extended from simply meeting time and cost constraints for a given scope of work to include aspects such as product quality, stakeholder satisfaction, security, organisational human capital, and long‐term factors such as maintainability and adaptability. Dan Brandon's new book Project Management for Modern Information Systems intends to address this extended project success definition by describing and illustrating practices, methods and tools for IT project management.

Brandon first introduces and defines a project, project management, the manager and project stakeholders. He then continues to introduce the concept of project “critical success factors” by identifying critical IT success factors and introducing the techniques for the management of those factors. The volume continues with discussions on project initiation and selection; project management and software engineering from a disciplinary perspective and with a discussion on modern software engineering and its relation to IT project management. Overall project planning and requirements analysis are formalised before the detail of project planning, particularly the schedule and cost plan, is addressed. Total project risk‐management is then described and illustrated while standard forms for an IT risk‐management plans are developed.

Traditional methods of progress performance reporting are often inaccurate and misleading. Earned value analysis (EVA) has become effective tool for project time and cost management. It also is one of the key metrics in the management‐for‐success philosophy developed in this book via critical success factors and dual stage gates. In chapter 9, Brandon identifies the EVA problem areas and their practical solutions.

Chapter 16 concludes this step‐by‐step discussion on IT project management with a discussion on modern ways that organisations can effectively deal with the complexities of managing IT projects, including the use of project management offices (PMO), project portfolio optimisation, knowledge management, project dashboards, and PMO portals. It also discusses project management from a strategic perspective.

A glossary consisting of IT project management and software engineering terms and acronyms appears on pp. 385‐404. An index concludes the volume.

Project Management for Modern Information Systems is directed to IT project managers, IT personnel aspiring to become project managers, and also to experienced IT Personnel who wish to learn of new project management concepts, methods and tools. The book is also designed as a textbook or reference in graduate or upper‐level undergraduate university programs in IT or project management.