Planning, organising, and managing an organisation’s information technology goals is called “IT project management.” The IT sector has grown increasingly, but the rise of new project management methodologies is also due to the high speed demanded of IT projects.

Projects can involve a small team or a larger group. Let’s look at some examples of IT projects that demonstrate this diversity.

• Imagine a company wanting to boost its productivity or sales by purchasing new software.
• Businesses are developing innovative new features to enhance their current software.
• A government agency is developing a system to track population growth. 
• The university is updating its current system to simplify the admissions process for students.

These examples prove that IT project management is not limited to small companies. It’s a dynamic field that spans different sectors and institutions.

The integration of IT and Project Management for Optimal Results

When IT and project management come together, amazing things happen! Organisations can harness the strengths of both disciplines to achieve fantastic project outcomes, optimise resource usage, mitigate risks effectively, and keep all stakeholders happy. It’s a win-win circumstance that combines the best elements of both worlds for ultimate success!

IT and project management integration are now more prevalent in businesses. This development asks whether this integration is worthwhile and yields measurable results. The following example provides insight into the value of merging IT and project management and its impact on organisational outcomes. Within nine months, Microsoft’s XIT Sustained Engineering team improved their productivity by 155%.

This happened because they changed the way they organised and planned their work. In 2005, they were the worst-performing IT team, but they became the best. People attach much significance to this.

“Much of what constrains the productivity of software engineers is not related to the method of engineering but to the management, planning, scheduling, and queuing of work.” “Without adding resources or changing any engineering methods, it was possible to increase productivity by more than 100%.”

From Worst to Best in 9 Months: Implementing a Drum-Buffer-Rope Solution in Microsoft’s IT Department

What does an IT project manager do?

Did you know that as an IT project manager, you oversee a project’s scope, resources, timelines, and budget? Here are some roles an IT project manager performs for a project:

• Plans out a project 
• Risk management
• Communicate with team members and stakeholders.
• Tracking the status of the project 
• Execution of the plan
• Project completion on schedule and within budget
• Prepare contingency plans
• Report Project Status

How does an IT project management process work?

The process is like a journey with specific goals in mind. IT project management involves five key activities that guide you from the beginning, known as the initiation process, to the end, known as the closing process. Let’s dive into them in detail.

Project Initiating

• Defining & authorising the project
• Need considering thought in project selection before initiating it
• Setting the project timeline
• Identify Key stakeholders
• Develop a project charter

Project Planning

• Effective planning ensures timely, budget-conscious task completion
• Allocate resources as required
• Raking potential risks
• Data analysis is crucial in the planning phase
• Obtain the necessary approvals and finalise the project plan.

Project Executing

• Ensures activities in the project plan are completed
• Software is introduced if needed
• Good communication skills are crucial for project execution
• Give team members tasks to complete, and keep an eye on their development
• Top solid management Support is necessary to execute a successful project

Project Monitoring & controlling

• Measure progress toward project objectives
• Control changes and make sure the project’s scope doesn’t lose
• Take actions to match the project plan
• Monitor what’s going well and why
• Use Tools to measure and control performance

Project Closing

• Gain stakeholders & customer acceptance
• Check Did the project meet its goals
• Compile best practices and lessons learned for upcoming projects.
• IT project manager transfers project deliverables to operations staff
• Celebrate finishing the project and hand over any remaining tasks to the right teams.

Closing Notes

Project managers go beyond enforcing rules and using analytics software. They break stereotypes and evaluate internal processes impartially. They suggest steps to improve measurable outcomes and inspire teams. IT and Project management are integrated and closely linked, constantly enhancing each other’s strategies for success. 

Our next article will explore what it takes to be an excellent IT project manager. Stay tuned, and get ready for some valuable insights!