I'm taking a job as a PM on a software implementation team and have not done a software implementation before. I'm a PMP who has led product launches and other kinds of projects and have worked in application software companies (including product management and development). I would greatly appreciate some resources to help me ramp up quickly on the typical structure of a software implementation project. Any suggestions to help me hit the ground running in this new area would be very welcome. Thanks very much. Saving Changes...
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Alan CaseySenior Project Manager| Ford Motor Credit CompanyDewitt, Mi, United States
Little help . . .
Is this team inplementing COTS or Vendor Supplied software and doing the system integration work? I assume that is what you mean by Implementation Projects.
If yes, then I would focus on the following:
1. Learn the software - go through and CBTs and watch any training videos,
2. work to understand the operations perspective. Software Developers are risk takers and can move very fast. Implementaion projects require close cooperation with operations staff who are risk averse and all about moving in a slow and controlled way. This is a Common issue in application development and it is only worse with COTS implementations.
3. Be ready to work with Systems Engineering folks. Plan to provide requirements for whatever hosts you require and answer lots of questions. If you are not up on common internet engineering stuff - do a self study. If you don't know anything about DHCP, SMTP, SNMP, Etc. or if you don't have a basic understanding of ports and protocols - study up.
4. Prepare to work with security professionals. Try to understand their perspective and be ready to spend some time doing things like advocating for exceptions with a technical review board. Get metrics from earlier efforts to determine howlong to budget for things like security scans (PCI Scans) and remediation.
When you get on site, make sure you have someone from each area on your team (Business, Systems Engineering, Operations, Security) and use them to get all the details into your plans.
If all this sounds fun to you - we have a lot in common.
Have fun! Saving Changes...
Bruce LoflandSoftware Developer| SprintLenexa, Ks, United States
Ask your team how they normally do it or recommend it be done on your project. Validate this with other PMs in the organization. If they have done project management before, they will probably have a good idea about the general framework.
There are several frameworks, often called SDLCs, that you can use depending on the culture and history of software development at the organization. Waterfall, RUP, and Agile/Scrum/XP are some examples of these.
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Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
