Managing IT Projects

Description:

Course overview

This course addresses the project management challenges unique to IT. Learn to use project management “best practices.” Apply effective techniques for requirements definition and management, planning and scheduling, as well as methods to identify, analyze, and manage risks. Discover techniques for determining resource requirements, ways to best work with vendors and contractors, and tools to track and control the project. Recognize what must be done to complete your IT projects on schedule, within budget, and according to performance specifications to ensure client satisfaction.

Prerequisites

• Some project management experience is helpful but not required. Project team experience is very desirable

Audience

• This course is intended for project managers involved in IT, software development, and communications projects. It is especially suited for people seeking project management certification

Benefits to you

• Develop project plans
• Identify advantages and disadvantages of different systems development models
• Employ scheduling techniques
• Identify the critical path
• Manage project conflicts
• Use different estimating methodologies
• Identify, assess, and mitigate project risks
• Develop a risk management plan
• Manage changes to project scope throughout the project life cycle
• Use earned value techniques
• Establish software project metrics and a measurement program
• Explain the challenges associated with hardware, telecom, and systems integration projects
• Close a project and capture lessons learned

Course outline

Project Management Overview

• Identify the five processes of project management
• Identify critical IT characteristics
• Explain the triple constraint

Project Initiation

• Define initiation and its objectives
• Prepare and use a project charter
• Document assumptions and constraints

Methodologies and Models

• Identify key characteristics of systems development models
• Explain the difference between life cycles and process groups
• Select a systems development model

Project Planning, Scheduling & Estimating

• Develop an effective Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Develop effective time and cost estimates
• Prepare a project schedule and determine the critical path

Effective IT Project Teams

• Discuss project organizational structures
• Identify roles and responsibilities of project stakeholders
• Explain the challenges and advantages of virtual teams

Project Risk Management

• Prepare a risk management plan
• Identify, analyze, and prioritize risks
• Apply appropriate risk strategies

Project Monitoring and Control

• Establish baselines for project control
• Apply percent complete project reporting
• Use the basic concepts of earned value

Infrastructure Projects

• Compare and contrast different computing environments
• Describe the challenges in a client/server environment
• Explain the importance of controls and security

E-Business Projects

• Recognize the differences between E-business and traditional projects
• Identify critical success factors and high-risk areas in E-business projects
• Determine the key project management issues in E-business projects

Software Projects

• Explain different estimating approaches
• Establish software metrics
• Define the software CMM®

System Integration Projects

• Recognize the systems integrations challenges
• Identify key integration and testing issues
• Describe what must be done to sustain the system

Project Closeout

• Determine when the project is complete
• Prepare a closeout plan
• Identify and document lessons learned