Crossing the IT Divide

Many managers of IT project offices face the challenge of how to move the principles of IT project management into the other parts of their organization. So, how do you get there? These 10 steps will help IT managers sell the concept of project management to the rest of the organization while clearly showing the benefits project management offers.

1. Use a project management methodology, not a system development methodology.
In many cases, the IT department uses a system development methodology, believing it is a project management methodology. There are significant differences between the two. The first is that most system development methodologies are not as broad as a project management methodology. System development methodologies may focus on the execution phase but rarely involve much of the initiation and planning phases. Many system development methodologies entirely ignore the closeout phase, where critical lessons are learned. The second difference is in methodology terminology. Many IT staff members are well versed in system-specific acronyms and feel comfortable with them. This may not be the case outside of IT, and these terms will tend to be a turn-off for other employees.