e-project management - different from what came before?
Mike Cooper PMPPrincipal Project Manager (retired, sort of)| New England Project ServicesWestford, Ma, United States
This is personal "research" stuff. I have already conversed with a variety of my colleagues / clients / friends on this topic, and was interested to know if anyone on this forum has views to share.
I have been getting interested in whether project management on e-projects is any different than project management before the Internet came of age in the business world. I read of people stating the need for greater speed and flexibility, lack of precision in requirements, rapid prototyping, not being committed to specific technology, etc.
My curiosity is to try and distinguish between genuine differences and things that people say are different but are really not - project managers have always needed to be flexible, minimize beaurocracy, handle vague requirements, etc.
My own view, which seems to be backed up by comments from others so far, is that traditional project management is very much needed, but there are some specific areas to pay particular attention to on these types of projects.
Comments, anyone?
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Michael BrownProject Manager| JPMorganChaseDeerfield, Il, United States
I probably side on the side of "conservativism" on this topic. Although the technology has changed as have some of the development techniques, I've seen far too many clients and project teams "abandon" project management basics under the guise of "internet projects are different - they're fast and ever changing." Haven't we been hearing that for decades? Wasn't that the case with Client/Server development, OOAD, etc.? By-in-large, lack of solid requirements gets you exactly where you would expect - a half-functioning system which requires (considerable) re-work, re-design, etc. I'd be particularly curious to know how many hours of "re-work" or "re-design" are being accumulated on "net-based" products which fail to meet customer expectations simply to meet a "time-to-market" deadline. Saving Changes...
To me the difference in managing web base projects is in the detail as to what you do in each phase. There are big differences in building a web site on the internet or intranet and building a client server system. There are good design and development practices that should be used so that you have a good product at the end. So a PM must understand the nature of the project in order to manage it correctly. The basic skills and control issues are consistent for the PM on any project. Saving Changes...
Anonymous
The primary difference I am finding is that internet technology projects seem to have a shorter life cycle. Therefore, the project management deliverables, processes, etc., that you typically conduct for longer duration projects may still apply, but they need to be adjusted to account for the compressed timeline. If you align yourself with an architect who really knows his/her stuff, then you can extract the real project managment information you need to create your PM tools, deliverables, plans, etc. I would say that if you are a really effective project manager, then you will only need to adapt your proven skills in a more condensed form. Don't spend 2 weeks developing a detailed project plan, risk assessment, etc., if your project is due in week 4. Saving Changes...
Michael BrownProject Manager| JPMorganChaseDeerfield, Il, United States
Sounds like everyone is saying the same thing. Basically, the projects have shorter life cycles, therefore keep the amount of effort per deliverable or task proportionate. Isn't this the case with ANY project though? Having the right architect or technician is important no matter what the project might be. It doesn't sound like this is any different than building a shed compared to a skyscraper - you still need the right design, and need to keep the effort in line with the duration of the project as a whole. Am I missing something here? Saving Changes...
Mike Cooper PMPPrincipal Project Manager (retired, sort of)| New England Project ServicesWestford, Ma, United States
Personally I don't think you are missing anything; as I mentioned at the start, I think the basics of project management are still required.
As to the comment that these projects tend to be shorter in duration, one of my colleagues (Paul Evans)commented as follows:
"What has happened is that the first set of e-business projects were smaller and simpler so that less formal project management process has been able to succeed.
What I am seeing now is that as e-business projects are becoming more complex and involving true backend integration the need for formal (or traditional) project management is increasing. Looking at other players in this space they are also ramping up their capabilities in PM."
In my experience as a web producer, you still need the solid basics of specifications, people management, budgeting, scheduling and tracking to successfully deliver a project, so e-projects don't differ at all from traditional IT projects in this respect.
Instead, you need to have stronger fundamentals to keep to your principles when clients insist on cutting the strategy and requirements phases short, so that you can start coding right away to meet your two-week deadline.
The ones that claim otherwise would probably only be dealing with 5-page sites, and not dealing with global Oracle-backed and Cold Fusion-powered e-business transaction machines linked on five continents.
You have to keep in mind that you have to build in the requirement for more prototyping, since ease-of-us is a moving target, depending on which focus group or information architect you're talking to.
And you have to learn to say no when the client insists on having a full-screen immersive BOB-style Flash interface to his e-commerce auction site. Saving Changes...
The biggest difference between web-based and traditional implementations is the lack of desktop installation. This means that every time a user launches their browser, they get the latest version of your software. This is the big payoff for web-based application design (it's definitely not the GUI!). It can also lead to sloppy, untested, unstable applications. The benefit is lost (or at least compromised) when you require users to download readers, plugins, add-ons, etc.
In terms of product management, this means pay special attention to browser compatibility issues, bandwidth requirements, backend architecture, etc. And if you're building for an intranet, make your first "web project" be the establishment of a high, stable, internal browser standard. If you're building for the www, limit the client requirements (on all counts) to delivering functionality. For example, Secure Sockets Layers, for a banking application, is a reasonable expectation. Supporting Flash is not.
In terms of Project Management, you do, I believe, need to understand the time-to-market pressures. Reduce unnecessary overhead. Invest in reusable processes and templates. And for gosh sake, strip away all the unnecessary approvals. If the need is so "hot," then help the stakeholders to understand that it can't sit on a VP's desk for two weeks waiting for a signature. Line up the ducks and load.
I am actually writing an article on this very topic.
I have had the fortune on being involved with managing web-based projects since 1997. The basis of my article is that first and foremost project managers (and others in the development community) must understand that there is a relationship between project management and product development. The PMBOK touches on this briefly by showing that every project will go through the exact same set of project phases. Depending on the type of project, you may elect to use a specific type of software development lifecycle.
When we look at e-business/e-commerce projects they are merely a different form of client/server systems. What is different is that these projects have certain challenges and barriers to success that the project manager must factor in. Also there are what I called success enablers that the project manager might take advantage of in order to address the challenges.
Bottom line strong project management skills win hands down, but we must factor in the unique characteristics of e-business/e-commerce projects as we decide on the project processes, procedures, and quality assurance efforts that are employed within the project in order to ensure a successful project.
Some key challenges of an e-business project include time-to-market, speed of development, changes in business processes, immature technologies, cross-discipline project team skills, broader audience base, new style of maintenance and support needs, etc.. Saving Changes...
Senthil SPM III| GGS Information Services IncChennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Good question. In my opinion, Project Management on e-projects have just become more intense and agile than the traditional approaches of Project Management. Saving Changes...
