On even a well executed Project, it has been estimated that the additional business bonus of employing a highly trained, highly experienced IT Project Manager is a saving of around 30% of the total Project cost with delivery timescales 30% faster. The returns can be even greater.
By identifying the problems early and by good planning, pro-active risk and dependency management, a highly experienced IT Project Manager can make a huge impact not only in terms of delivery timescales, but also to the costs of a Project and therefore the bottom line of a business.
I have become increasingly concerned and frustrated by the falling standards in the art of IT Project Management. I call it an art, because when done well, it is really is a thing of beauty. Unfortunately, to the untrained observer, the skill, knowledge and experience employed are often unappreciated or misunderstood.
The recruitment of IT Project Managers with appropriate technical background and skills does not appear to be priority or very important for many organisations. Project Management also seems to have become the IT career of choice for those with few or no IT skills. This should be of great concern to the IT industry as a whole.
Most businesses can expect, at best, an average performance from their IT Project Teams and Project Managers. Many businesses have been disappointed by IT so often that they don’t seem to really mind how badly Projects are delivered as long as they get something delivered eventually.
I have often observed individual Projects taking 2-5 or even 10 times longer than they should with overall business costs in line with this increase. Why do companies accept this type of performance?
The key Project Management skill now seems to be managing the business’s expectations to regard poor or mediocre performance as acceptable or even as good performance.
I was delighted that Prince 2 and other Methodologies were being adopted. In the past only large companies would train their Project Managers. However, a Methodology is not a passport to successful Project delivery or a ‘magic bullet’ to solve a company’s IT Project problems. It only becomes a powerful tool when backed up with the requisite IT knowledge and experience.
I have witnessed many examples of Project Managers blindly following a Methodology in the hope that the Project will be delivered and failing badly. The larger failures are sometimes reported in the press, but this is the tip of the iceberg.
My great concern is that many IT Project Managers have the Project Management qualifications, but have very limited and often no real knowledge or experience of any of the key functions within IT.
I know a number of people working as IT Project Managers whose total knowledge and experience of IT is switching on their PC. They have achieved Prince 2 Certification (an open book exam) and now are employed for their Project Management expertise. They are now learning on the job at their employer's expense. I wonder if these employers have any idea of the real costs involved.
When interviewing recently for a Project Management position, I was appalled by the lack of any real understanding of what makes IT Projects really work. Candidates hid behind their knowledge of process and jargon and few displayed any real knowledge.
I know I am not alone with my frustrations, but the problem appears to me to be getting worse.
No comments:
Post a Comment