Building a better project

Project management standards add accountability and improve control over IT deployments.

By Bonny Georgia
Network World, 03/12/01

Managing a project without a concrete project management system makes it virtually impossible to keep team members on the same page, never mind deliver jobs on time and under budget. Just ask Brandy Mitchell, IT project manager at Arvest Bank Operations, a regional bank with branches located throughout Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

"Without a standard software package [or process], the project managers have struggled with being able to provide comparative information across departments on the projects they are working on," Mitchell says.

Arvest's IT division is now managing technology conversions of new bank acquisitions and establishing branch network architectures. Application development and designing special account management tools for individual banks also fall under the IT umbrella.

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In an effort to streamline tasks and improve communications between these diverse project teams, Mitchell is spearheading the launch of a project office for the firm's IT department in Lowell, Ark.

"We hope that having a standard process and [project management] tool will allow us to create a clearer picture of what we are working on and how our resources are being used," Mitchell says. "Our plan is to implement a system of accountability and weekly or monthly reporting, so we can better control what projects we're working on, when those projects are due, and roll them out on a more timely basis."

The monumental task of building the bank's new project management system has been broken down into several carefully defined, task-oriented steps.

The first milestone was defining the internal project management process. Mitchell hired a consultant who helped the IT group map out a methodology addressing how they would receive project requests from inside and outside IT, how each request would be routed through the department, and the rules governing assigning teams and resources to different tasks.

The next step was to choose a project management application. Although many Arvest managers were already using Microsoft Project 2000, its limited support for distributed teams made a Web-enabled tool more attractive. "We went looking for a Web solution because we enlist project managers and team members from across several states. [Microsoft] Project Central requires a module to be installed at the end-user level, which we found more cumbersome than we wanted," Mitchell says. "Furthermore, we needed an online document warehouse."

Two applications, Inovie Software's TeamCenter and Primavera Systems' TeamPlay, provided the collaboration, features and Web functionality Mitchell was looking for. TeamCenter's pricing best suited the company's budget. Deployed as a project management portal, TeamCenter costs $15,000 per server and $350 per user. Mitchell has earmarked $32,000 for implementation and 40 TeamCenter seats.

The TeamCenter deployment on an existing Unix server at Arvest went smoothly. Mitchell is happy with performance, and is now identifying special team needs and developing customized reports.

The final and crucial step is the implementation of a corporatewide training program to ensure that the new project management system does not fall flat.

"Our staff needs training not only on how to use the software but also on the project management process in general. In order for this to work, we must convince them that it's important to keep up with and report on projects every step of the way," Mitchell says.

Although it's too soon to tell if improved efficiencies will reduce IT costs, Mitchell believes the new project office system will lead to smarter IT resource allocation and improved customer service for internal departments and Arvest Bank's depositors. Early results are encouraging.

One of the first IT projects to follow some of the new PM processes was the development of a new corporate checking account called Prime Sweep. The bank recently launched the product ahead of schedule, much to Mitchell's delight.

"Our team set a target rollout date of March 1, even though they were skeptical that it would be completed by then. Putting a plan together kept the team focused on the dates they had set for themselves," she says.