Managing projects is a very important piece of implementing
or improving information systems. How well a company manages their IT projects
will be a direct impact on the bottom line and a result of the effectiveness of
the information technology system. It is very costly and risky for any company
to invest in a new IT undertaking and if the project is not managed correctly,
the system may not do what it was intended to do. A failed or poorly managed
project can also result in increased costs and time, lack of technical
performance, and the system not meeting the pre-conceived standards.
The
text defines a project as, “a planned series of related activities for
achieving a specific business objective. Information systems projects include
the development of new information systems, enhancement of existing systems, or
upgrade or replacement of the firm’s information technology infrastructure.”
Project management is refers to, “the application of knowledge skills, tools,
and techniques to achieve specific targets within specified budget and time
constraints.” (Laudon 530).
My
first personal experience with project management and IT systems occurred in
the last year at my job at Chesapeake Energy. I’ve never experienced an IT
department so large with different business areas of expertise. My department
has our own IT team to help us with all of our needs. The project manager, Dax,
first identified all of the key players for the idea to develop a new database
tool that would allow us to easily set up partners for well reporting access as
well as streamline current processes. He met with the management for each of
the key areas to identify their needs and how they were using the current
system, which consists of varying excel spreadsheets that were often not sent
to everyone they needed to be included.
Then, Dax called together a meeting
to discuss the idea and asked for approval to go forward. He began working on a
template example and the workflow of the new application. He once again met
with everyone involved and asked how the app would help them or potential
issues they foresaw. After this process, he revised the example and had another
large group meeting. Then, he developed the different phases of implementation
for the app and what would be added during each phase. The group met together
again, gave approval, and the app was given a month for testing from the key
users. Another version of the app was updated and after final approval, went
live. The entire process took just over a year and all of the meetings were
annoying at times but necessary to the final product.
This is a great first-hand
experience at effective project management and the importance of doing it right
the first time. The app has proven very effective and since then, Dax has been
promoted. As long as project managers keep in mind the major variables of
scope, time, cost, quality, and risk, they will effectively implement an
information technology project.
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