I am trying to find some data that supports my working theory that the less IT projects a project manager has, the more effective the project manager will be. That is, a project manager increases his/her changes of project success by managing (I'm making these numbers up) 2 projects as opposed to 7 projects. I've been able to find a few articles that support this theory (the 'less is more' theory) but only in the construction world. I am looking for IT articles/data. Any thoughts, leads, internal studies, comments, suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you! Saving Changes...
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Michael BrownProject Manager| JPMorganChaseDeerfield, Il, United States
Glenn,
If you look at some of the postings by the TOC advocates, you'll certainly see that idea play out. Multi-tasking, whether in the form of number of projects being managed, or simply working on multiple projects, is one of the biggest single contributors to performance degredation. Take a look at www.focusedperformance.com for some insights! Saving Changes...
Michael BrownProject Manager| JPMorganChaseDeerfield, Il, United States
Glenn,
If you look at some of the postings by the TOC advocates, you'll certainly see that idea play out. Multi-tasking, whether in the form of number of projects being managed, or simply working on multiple projects, is one of the biggest single contributors to performance degredation. Take a look at www.focusedperformance.com for some insights! Saving Changes...
Anonymous
While it seems to be good common sense that the fewer projects the better a PMs performance, can someone point me to industry standard information? Thank you. Saving Changes...
Hannah WolfSenior Program Manager| UbisoftSan Francisco, Ca, United States
This study has been cited in a number of articles about multi-tasking and productivity. Though it is not specific to IT or even project management, it is excellent resource for communicating with managers or others about productivity expectations.
We all know that for developers, mutitasking is a loser tactic. Now, that said, for project managers, SIZE, COMPLEXITY, and RISK (in terms of visibility and business need) should be factored in when determining the number of projects managed by a single project manager. As a general rule, you need to keep your total PM costs within the 5 to 20 percent range of the total project budget him or is managing. I've attached a tip sheet you're free to use that covers the complete SDLC. Saving Changes...
I agree on what Tom has stated. In my industry I find the magic number to be about 3 or 4 projects at a given time. But you have to take into consideration the criteria of the individual projects.
Over the years I have managed up to about 8 IT projects at a given time but there have been times that a single project has taken my entire time to keep it on track.
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Anonymous
A rule of thumb is that you require 20% of your time per project in order to be effective. Generally no more than 4 projects per project manager, as the remaining 20% should be kept free for (or will be used up by) other day-to-day activities outside the direct scope of the projects. Saving Changes...
