| Articles » How to Move Project Management Out of IT |
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How to Move Project Management Out of IT |
| by Dave Paradi |
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| Most project management efforts start in the IT department. As such,
many managers of IT project offices face the challenge of how to move
the project management principles, that work in IT, into the other
parts of their organization that could benefit. The following ten
strategies will help to make that transition easier, by preparing
IT managers to sell the concept of project management and to deliver
the benefits that Project Management promises. |
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| 1. Make sure you have a project management methodology,
not a system development methodology. |
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| In many cases, an IT department uses a system development methodology
and believes it is a project management methodology. There are significant
differences between the two. The first is that most system development
methodologies do not cover the breadth that a project management methodology
covers. System development methodologies may focus on the execution
phase, but rarely involve much in the initiation and planning phases.
As well, many do not cover the closeout phase where critical lessons
are learned. The second difference is in the terminology. Many IT
staff members are well versed in acronyms, and feel comfortable with
them. This is not the case outside of IT, and these terms will tend
to be a "turn-off" for other employees. |
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| 2. Make sure you understand the business side of your
organization. |
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| To forward the cause of project management in the rest of your
organization, you need to demonstrate that you understand the needs
and issues that they deal with. If you do not have a background in
general management, through experience or education, your credibility
will suffer, and you will not be able to convince people that you
can help them with their problems. This may require you to take some
courses to broaden your background, or hire someone with the background
you will need. |
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| 3. Build on success - have stories to share. |
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| If you are not successful at bringing your IT projects in on time,
on budget and meeting the requirements, do not imagine that the rest
of the organization wants to use your methods. You must have success
stories to share with others that demonstrate the real impact that
project management has had on the IT projects. You should be able
to show hard cost or productivity figures to further prove the success.
The reality is that no one will believe the claims you make, but they
will be much more likely to believe the demonstrated success of a
project that used the methodology. |
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| 4. Be prepared to start small. |
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| As you expand beyond IT, remember that the organization is not
going to rush to embrace your ideas just because you say they work.
You will want to start with just one department or area that seems
best suited for this approach. Build success in that area before you
approach other areas. This will take a while, but it is by far the
best way to be able to test your approach in each area and adjust
as you go along. |
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| 5. Start simple. |
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| Just as you want to start small with one area, so too you want
to start simply with only a few parts of the methodology and simple
tools. If you try to use every part of the project management process
with people who have never seen it before, they will be overwhelmed
and they will refuse to try it. Similarly with tools, such as software
programs, if they are asked to use a complex tool, they will think
it is too hard and they will give up on the whole process. Start with
a few key parts of the process, such as the project scope and preparing
a project plan, then you can expand as people are more comfortable.
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| 6. Meet the organization where they are in pain. |
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| The best place to start your efforts is in an area where the organization
is experiencing pain. Perhaps a product launch did not go well recently
or an event did not come off as well as expected. One thing that everyone
in the organization wants to avoid is pain. With pain fresh in their
minds, a department will be more receptive to your ideas if you show
them how project management would help to avoid pain the next time.
Make sure to emphasize that it is not because the people did not work
hard, but rather, because the process needs improvement, and you are
here to show them a process that has worked well for you. |
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| 7. Approach the business in terms of reference and language
suitable to your customer. |
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| When you do meet with your business counterparts, make sure that
you are using their language when you speak to them. Most people outside
of IT do not understand the IT terms and will feel that the methodology
is not for them if you use unfamiliar terms. Even when sharing success
stories, you may need to change some of the descriptions into generic
terms so that your audience can relate. If you do not explain it in
a way they can see the benefit, they will not accept project management.
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| 8. Find a supporter in the business side of the organization. |
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| For your first foray into the rest of the organization, it helps
to locate a senior person in a business unit who sees the benefit
that project management offers. This person will be your "champion"
and will help to guide you through the process of gaining support.
They can give you valuable feedback on how you are presenting the
concepts and can point you in the direction of the areas in the organization
that would most benefit from using project management. They will often
also run interference for you in some situations where detractors
may be attacking your plan. |
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| 9. Look for referrals. |
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| The best compliment you can get is to have someone refer you to
another in the organization. They are willing to put their own reputation
on the line for your cause. Take these opportunities very seriously,
because they represent the best way to grow your influence with others
in the organization. Also, seek these opportunities out, since you
may find out about an area that could use your help, but a referral
is the only way to gain access to the department. Referrals only come
when the person is more than simply satisfied with the work of your
group. If you are not receiving referrals now, check the quality of
what you are producing before you venture into other areas of the
organization. |
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| 10. Prepare to educate the organization in a way they
will understand. |
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| As more people see the benefits of project management, they will
want to learn more, so that they can gain even more benefit from the
techniques. If you have been using a Project Management Training curriculum that focuses
on systems, you will need to change the approach for training non-IT
folks. They need to have the methodology explained to them in familiar
terms and any cases or examples must be from areas that they can relate
to, not from IT. The training course may also need to be broken up
into shorter segments, since some areas of the organization, such
as production staff, cannot all be away on training at the same time. |
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| If you follow these ten strategies, I believe that your efforts
to introduce project management into non-IT areas of your organization
will be more successful. |
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| For more information about this article, please contact bia™ at info@bia.ca. |
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| © Dave Paradi |
