Why do we have to plan and manage IT projects? Why bother at all considering the fact that many clients eventually accept whatever the resulting software may be? Why bother at all since time is precious in building the systems rather than planning systems? These are the usual answers of independent or freelance software developers who are excited in tackling or building software projects immediately without the need to sit around and plan first. If you will bother to read my article, you will see the importance of IT Project Management.

I have an experience before in my last year in college where in we have an IT project to do. Since we are excited in building – or finishing? – the product without planning properly, my team suffered a lot in the near end of the project-building time. We failed in building one prototype after another. We also exceeded the time allotment given to us, thus, we suffered financially since we incurred extra expenses, lost the interest of other team members and caused dissatisfaction from out teacher. Learning from my mistakes and applying Project Management in other areas of my life, I would like to share the importance and advantages of IT Project Management to others as well.

Project Management is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities in order to meet project requirements” (PMI, Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), 2000, p.6). These project requirements are like the goals of a project that once met or achieved signifies the completion of a project as well as customer satisfaction. The application of knowledge requires careful sifting, planning, specification and design of these requirements. Through Project Management, software developers will be able to identify, coordinate and monitor tasks, activities and resources to meet the project requirements.

The outcome of Project Management is: scope of work is defined, project feasibility is evaluated (thus, a team can early detect if they are capable of doing a project while considering their skills and resources), tasks and resources are estimated, plans for execution of tasks are developed (through documentation that serves as blueprint also), and progress is monitored.

The advantages of Project Management are: shorter development period, less expenses, quality software products, control in activities and resources, client interaction (since they too are informed of the project’s progress), early detection of risks and potential problems, good documentation (serves as blueprint and reference), and project members are learning and applying teamwork.

Though it usually takes time in planning, in the end software developers are assured of smooth work in developing their IT projects since they already have plans and blueprints in the form of documentations and reports. All that they have to do is implement it in the actual building of their products. Take for instance a carpenter building a small house. Once he has the plan, blueprint, tools, workers and other resources, he can build the house in a jiffy and his construction work will run smoothly.

P. Lobrin
plobrin@gmail.com

About the Author:

The author of this article is Paulita C. Lobrin from Iloilo, Philippines. She is currently undergoing training (and hopefully be employed) in a software development company in Iloilo. To know more, click http://agentsofvalue.com for imformation

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – What You Should Know About it Project Management

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Today web development project management is quickly becoming a requirement for companies, as most of the projects handled by the companies are web based. To fulfil this requirement, web project management software is available now days. It helps in controlling project lifecycle and provides with an arsenal of tools that help your project run smoother, faster and easier. Web development project management software enables teams to collaborate on projects, coordinate activities, control information and monitor project progress with management tools. It also helps the companies in accessing and updating project documents, budgets and timesheets from one key point. With it each project can have its own individual e-form, including customized fields, notifications, handlers, plug ins and SLAs, which can be used for reporting concerns, requesting resources, materials or as a general support portal for all involved in project.

Right from initiation to planning, to execution and controlling, web development project management software helps you in every project management endeavour. With it each project can have central access area to Gantt chart of tasks, metadata, references, resources, documents, forums, permission management, preferences and a comprehensive e-form solution. Its Gantt chart tool enables team members to graphically summarize the project tasks and milestones and also helps in recording information like start date, finish date, task metadata and key dates, resources required, link to a parent task and percentage of completeness. Web development project management software offers notification feature, which alerts users of any recent change. The landing page of web development project management software is the project overview dashboard, which is an extremely useful information area for each user, from where they can with one click get to the project or task that they need.

 

Web development project management software provides web-based access to comprehensive project management tools, helping users to collaborate on projects from wherever they are and it also helps companies to tailor their project management tools to fit the precise needs of their business with easy-to-use administrative tools of web project management software. Easy configuration of metadata with it enables companies to define information captured for each project, to suit their own business processes.  Integration of web development project management with document manager application helps team members to collaborate on creation and development of project document with version control. The plethora of benefits offered by web development project management software makes it the most helpful tool available for businesses today.

About the Author:

Claromentis is a leading Web Development Project Management company operating across the domestic and commercial sectors providing wide range of Web Development Project Management.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Web Development Project Management

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Tags: "project, "software, management", projectmanagement, tools

It is not unusual for people to use sophisticated project management software tools such as Gantt and PERT charts to manage complex tasks. At the other end of task complexity, simpler, more straightforward projects will require a simpler approach and fewer steps to accomplish. The simpler project may be dependent on tasks that proceed it and if broken down to manageable events, will be easier to manage.

When is it time for a Gantt Chart?

Project management may wish to use a tool such as a Gantt chart for such simple tasks and projects. An example of such a project may be the implementation and creation of a marketing plan. A plan for a single owner business may be another example. A Gantt chart may in fact make a simple project more complicated than it needs to be. It could be far more than necessary for such simple planning needs. It will be helpful if such tools are understood by all members of a project in order to maintain good communication among all parties.

For planning requirements that are simple, it is very helpful to use a time table or a plan of action. Ensure that those who are participating should get the plan and the time table so that there are no issues. Members should participate in the time table negotiation and to keep records, the management has to use diaries or calendars.

All such projects will need deadlines and control points when progress is monitored and quantified, although a missed deadline doesn’t necessarily mean that the project ends. The project’s needs can sometimes be further evaluated and negotiated by members. If time points are still missed or if a project becomes too complicated, Gantt Chart may be needed, but members will need to learn how to use this tool.

An action plan is one of the tasks that are needed to achieve a specific project. These action plans are intended to reach an outcome or particular goal. The first step to make possible the attainment of such a goal is copying the actions on a to-do list or action calendar, this fact also leading to the listing of additional goals.

Getting a project on track one it has been derailed can be a challenge. When a task as fallen behind or a worker has then management may need to make compromises to recover the overall goal. The reassigning of resources may be required. The order of tasks may be affected or the specified scope of specific tasks altered.

Reassigning resources can happen to even the best project managers. Sometimes a task may become more challenging than what was originally considered or the resources that were provided are needed for more critical tasks. However, it is possible that if some tasks are no longer priorities than a re-evaluation should be considered to determine whether the planned task is required.

Changing the sequences of tasks is required to face the challenges sometimes. It will look good when we substitute some tasks and leave more difficult tasks for later. The tasks can be rearranged so that multitasking can be enabled when the things are behind.

A Gantt chart can be useful in planning for the possible roadblocks a project may run into. When a manager can see the whole plan laid out before them it may help them to see where problems may arise or where time and resources may be better used. This can help to avoid problems before they arise.

About the Author:

Steve Wilheir is a management and marketing consultant. Consult these resources to learn more about Gantt Charting, Pert Charts, and Project Management Software.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Improving Project Management With Gantt Charts

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Tags: "project, "software, management", projectmanagement, tools