Project procedures

About 18 months ago, Inflow announced big plans to build its own enterprise management system. The modular system would let the network service provider monitor its environment and its customers' products and applications, and integrate with its partners.

Then came the dot-com bust. "The world changed underneath us," says Yousif Asfour, CTO at the Denver firm.

Instead of scuttling plans, Inflow took an incremental approach to the project, breaking it into small chunks of deliverables that could be accomplished in a few weeks and add value. Three months later, instead of a doomed network project, the new management system was in place in the company's 18 data centers.

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This kind of proactive approach to managing IT projects is especially essential today as network executives scramble to cope with doing more with less. The task has been complicated because IT has been slow to accept the importance of implementing solid business processes and practices, experts agree.

Asfour compares managing IT projects to navigating a raft through a river full of stones. In a good economy the water level is so high, navigation skills aren't that important. But as the economy worsens, the water level drops, exposing the stones. "To avoid the rocks, you have to become more efficient at navigating your raft," he says.

Inflow's IT department could shift gears quickly in a downturn - the company had a 15% workforce reduction - because the company has built in efficient and nimble business processes. "You can't avoid change. Build it into your plan," Asfour says.

Understanding the business proposition behind why a client wants a particular rollout is one way e-business integrator Ciber deals with the ups and downs of the economy. Then, as economics shift, a project can be staged and phased to meet shorter-term business goals at less expense, notes Steve Kinstler, Ciber vice president.

Also adding to Ciber's agility, staff resources are shared among different IT projects.

However companies choose to deal with the recession, wholesale canceling of projects isn't the answer, says Gopal Kapur, founder and president of the Center for Project Management. In tough times like today, companies cancel close to 60% of IT projects, up 20% from normal.

Those are dismal figures anytime, Kapur says, and he attributes the problem to companies having poor or no project planning, processes, monitoring and the like.

To properly manage your array of IT projects, start by gathering high-level executives and discussing each project on the list. Which corporate strategy does a project contribute to, and how much? If one is duplicated or not aligned to a strategy, consider canceling it. Perform these assessments at least once per month, and more frequently in rocky times.

And just as a nurse monitors a patient's vital signs, Kapur says keep a close watch on ongoing projects. Projects need regular monitoring for factors such as actual cost to date vs. estimated cost, on-time performance and deliverable problems.

Managing a robust project portfolio is standard operating procedure for Prudential Financial's IT department. No matter what the external economic conditions are, the Newark, N.J., financial services company has formal and written processes.

"One of the phrases that we use is 'Plan the work, then work the plan,' " says Beth Ouellette, vice president of IT.

Part of Ouellette's job is to regularly review hundreds of projects with the help of monthly status reports from each project team. The report template addresses the following issues:

Is the team following standards for infrastructure, technology, project management and deliverables?

She also sits down monthly with CIO William D. Friel to go over the reports and determine if projects are on track, need changes or clarifications, or should be scrapped. "As issues arise, we address them right then and there," Ouellette says.

HOW DO YOU FILTER OUT HALF-BAKED IDEAS? Proactive IT project management means asking these kinds of questions about a project, says Gopal Kapur, president of the Center for Project Management: • What are the reasons for the project? • Which specific policy is the project linked to? • What are the specific objectives and benefits? • What are the measures for success? • How realistic are the deadlines? • What conditions denote that a project is runaway or out of control? • What are the shutdown conditions? • What are the implications of doing nothing?

7 SINS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT 1. Mistaking half-baked ideas for viable projects 2. Dictating unrealistic deadlines for a project 3. Assigning an underskilled project manager to a highly complex project 4. Not ensuring solid business sponsorship 5. Failing to break projects into chunks 6. Not implementing a robust project process architecture 7. Not having a comprehensive project portfolio Source: Center for Project Management

Marks is a freelance writer in Littleton, Colo. She can be reached at sjmarksco@aol.com.