While IT isn't large enough to have a dedicated project manager, we do practice accepted project management techniques to ensure that projects are completed in a timely fashion, within budget and with an acceptable outcome. There are many different project management methods available including:
- Agile
- Scrum
- Waterfall
- Kanban
- Extreme Programming
These are all formally recognized methods of managing projects; however, they are all a bit too large and cumbersome for an organization of our size. To that end, we've taken portions of some of these and simplified them to make a project management method that fits our organization. These project management techniques make planning and managing projects easier and more effective. They can be applied to any project, regardless of the field or industry. And used in tandem with project management software, they help save time and reduce costs. We use our IT help desk software to assist us in managing IT projects.
Scheduling
Once an IT project is approved, it needs to be scheduled. As does the rest of the Town, IT works within our fiscal calendar year. Each fiscal year is broken down into quarters. IT projects are placed into quarters based on resource availability and priority. Some projects span multiple quarters. IT project scheduling is done with the assistance of the Town's Technology Steering Committee.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Projects big and small can feel overwhelming at first glance. There’s so much to do. The idea of just jumping in and learning how to swim is how projects drown in lost time and costs. Everything must first get planned before putting it into action. A WBS is a way to organize the work into smaller, more manageable pieces. What that means is the WBS is graphic representation of every task in the project. A Task is an assigned amount of work undertaken within a set amount of time. At the top is the final product with a line that goes down the page to a box (or boxes) that represent the larger tasks which lead to that completed project. Each of these boxes are then attached with lines that go under it to smaller tasks. Tasks can also be called Activities as in the above illustration. The WBS is created in our IT Help Desk software.
Gantt Chart
A Gantt Chart is another visual project management technique, but this one has even more applications for project management. Gantt Charts can help with more than planning and scheduling tasks over a project. We can also plan and schedule entire projects, plan in fast phases (Sprints), significant achievements (Milestones) and actual product or service (Deliverable). Scheduling work and comparing planned versus actual timelines in your project are another benefit of using a Gantt Chart. Our IT Help Desk software creates the Gantt Chart for us after we complete the WBS.
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
PERT is a project management technique used to help with time estimates. Scheduling is important to getting a project completed on time and within budget. PERT manages probabilities by using simple statistical methods. PERT breaks down tasks by using the WBS discussed above, then adds these to the Gantt Chart, identifying activities that are interdependent. From that information, we create a map of the network of activities and their interdependencies. We do this manually as our current software doesn't support PERT.
Critical Path Method (CPM}
CPM requires that we construct a project model that includes a WBS, the duration to complete of each of those tasks, what dependencies link the tasks and their completion, such as milestones and deliverables, for the project. With this information, we can calculate the longest path from the planned tasks to their completion, including the earliest and latest time these tasks can start and finish without impacting the project schedule. Now you know what tasks are critical to the project and which have can be delayed without lengthening the project timeline (Float). Our software doesn't currently support CPM, but it is an enhancement they plan on having available in the future.
So there you have it.
You didn't think so much went into managing a project did you?