PM skills for moving to Infrastructure as a Service?
Leam HallPM Apprentice| Smartronix/DoDPulaski, Va, United States
I'm new to formal project managment and my Operations Team is moving towards Infrastructure as a Service. Moving with fits and spurts; everyone wants to get there but there's no actual PM assigned to the transition.
Any advice on things to look out for, ways to show management the ROI so they stay bought in, etc?
Thanks!
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Wai Mun KooPMO Director| Intergraph PP&MSingapore, Singapore
Do you have a business case and project charter to go along? Saving Changes...
Leam HallPM Apprentice| Smartronix/DoDPulaski, Va, United States
Nope. We have very little Project Documentation. One issue is trying to carve out enough time to do the documentation that the effort is worth the time. Would you say the Business Case is the first real leverage point? Do you have any metrics to include in the BC?
Thanks!
Leam
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John ColePM II| County of RiversideRiverside, Ca, United States
I agree with the others and would like to expand. A business case is your first real attempt at describing what the business problem is and what you intend to do about it. Notice I said business problems...keep technology jargon out of the document as much as you can.
In my experience, directly intertwined with the business case is the concept of sponsorship. Who owns this product/service? Who wants to move to the IAAS model? Why? What are the drivers of this as a solution? How does the sponsor believe this will affect the business once this move is made? Why does the sponsor believe IAAS is the answer? Are there other options? If you can't get the answers to these questions, you do not have buy-in.
Lastly, I don't have specific metrics you should use in a business case - a quick google search should be able to get you there. But, if you delve into the questions from above, you should be to derive your own metrics. I would suspect that it has to do with cost savings or resource/skill management issues. Your metrics will show you. But I could just as easily write a business case from a security or corporate liability (ie, we shouldn't be in the business of infrastructure) perspective, so your sponsor and your metrics will show. Or are you moving to the IAAS model in order to provide better products and services to your customers? Your sponsor and metrics will show you.
Does your organization have a PMO? Get acquainted with a current project manager in your organization and ask for a project charter template. Usually it is a two page document that will outline the scope, benefits, objectives, key milestones, critical success factors, costs, stakeholders etc. You should be able to describe what the project is about in two pages or less. Where do you get the information from?; your team, sponsor, strategic plan, division management.
gantthead.com has a great website; peruse it for some tips and tools.
