Read from CIOs: do it project management to avoid six mistakes

I. Demand research phase

1) in the software industry, all work is in the demand research phase before the interface design is officially presented to the customer;

2) In fact, the construction industry has set a precedent for us: Before a customer buys a house, he must first look at the model room and model. You can't see anything about the house. Do you dare to buy it? Unless you are not yourself !;

3) The customer's thinking is divergent to a certain extent, and the system has not yet been formed. It must be carried out through consulting: the customer's own solution should be launched, rather than making projects based on the customer's requirements;

4) You must see the software demo for the model room to the user before the demand research is over !;

2. Project Management

1) A Project is a task completed by a human at a limited time. Remember the three keywords to grasp: people, time, and events.

2)Project ManagementIt is what the participants use (knowledge, skills, tools, and methods) to do this well.

Iii. Project Objectives

1)First, the project has not been clarified from the start;

2)Second, although it is clear about the project's goals, it is not related to or even harmful to the completion of the project goals.

3) The most important task for a project manager is"Tracking and Control", Always grasp the project direction, ensure the smooth implementation of the project plan, and control the deviation within the controllable risk range.

Iv. ProjectPlan

1) plan, plan, and re-Plan ", this isProject ManagementBest practices

2)Project ManagementThe planning method combines project activities, duration, and required resources organically, and has a strict sequence, milestone, and key path, it can clearly remind all members of the project at what time and what to do to ensure that each project task is executed. by tracking the execution of the plan, the Project Manager can clearly understand the project progress and deviations, assess and effectively control project risks in a timely manner, so as to ensure project success.

3) project plans cannot be imagined out of thin air,Only when the software demo is generated can the requirement be clear and the scope be determined. These situations determine that the IT project plan needs to be corrected in a timely manner based on the actual situation of the project..

 

Error 1: The Wrong demand investigation phase makes many projects unable to end forever!

In the software industry, all work is in the demand research phase before the interface design is officially presented to the customer.In fact, the construction industry has set a precedent for us: before buying a house, customers should first look at the model room and model. They can't see anything about the house. Do you dare to buy it? Unless you are not yourself!In the software engineering conceptual model we have learned, there are three phases: demand research, demand analysis, and outline design. When the customer delivers the business modules they want to manage, as well as the business data, processes, and forms related to them to you, do not define this stage as the end of the investigation, write the specification. A large number of practices prove that the demand workload derived from the outline design stage is the previous 5 ~ 10 times, or even more, because it depends on the business communication capability and modeling level of the designer. Project management personnel with rich implementation experience concluded that the implementation of software projects in China must be carried out through consulting: to launch their own solutions, rather than making projects based on the customer's requirements. This is a good solution, but it cannot solve the problems of all implementation projects. The premise of this solution is either that the project implementer has a mature business model or a mature product (including a mature business model). Otherwise, it is impossible. However ~ Five years of implementation experience and theoretical summary in the same industry and field, no it enterprise can meet such requirements. In fact, the deep reason for this conclusion is that most enterprises in China do not have mature management ideas, let alone perfect business models. Therefore, the customer's thinking is divergent to a certain extent and has not yet formed a system. Even some customer leaders may have a lot of new ideas in their minds. They may want to add them in the implementation process of enterprise informatization. This is to control the scope of the project and the implementation effect of the project, may be the beginning of a disaster. Therefore, to do a good job in implementation projects, implementers must have good business modeling capabilities to quickly present a reasonable software prototype to customers-software demo. Remember:For software implementation projects, you must see the demo of the model room for the user, so that the demand research is complete!

Error 2: There are not a few people who do not need to master the project management view.

According to observations, the reason for this is that the real concept of the project is not clear, and the concept of management is "mythical", which makes management an uncertain, something that is not generally done by people. First, it is necessary to popularize the concept of the project. Many people have defined a project. The project management Bible PMBOK's third edition (version 2004) defines: "to create a unique product or service, or complete temporary efforts for a unique task ". PMBOK provides detailed explanations and examples for this sentence. It is very rigorous. For more information, see PMBOK. because they are all translated definitions, it is easy to get people involved in the translation. In China, it is not ruled out that professionals who have obtained the PMP certification certificate still cannot figure out what the project is. Here I only want to use the most popular Chinese language to describe what is project and project management.A project is a task completed by a person at a limited time. Remember the three keywords to grasp: people, time, and events.Project ManagementIt is what the participants use (knowledge, skills, tools, and methods) to do this well.Once you understand this, you will understand that from everyday life's eating, drinking, and drinking to national management, projects are everywhere, and project management is everywhere, you will understand that everyone needs project management, you can understand how much project management will benefit, and the use of project management thinking will be invincible! However, we need to remind you that the current PMBOK integrates the project management knowledge of the traditional manufacturing industry, construction industry, IT industry, and other industries, which is big and comprehensive, but not well targeted, therefore, many people think that PMBOK is too theoretical and it is useless to learn many things. Ipmp is now another internationally renowned project management certification, which is rated based on job capabilities and is not broken down for the industry. Therefore, no matter what PMP or ipmp is, many people will have the same confusion. It is understood that PMI is ready to make such improvements, which is a good news.

Error 3: "forgot" project target

What do you think of this question? Many people may think that such an error would happen? Almost no one will think they have made this mistake! There are two scenarios for "forgot" project goals:First, I did not know what the project's goal was from the very beginning. Second, although I knew what the project's goal was, I did nothing or even harmful to accomplish the project's goal."Keep in mind the project goals" is an Important Thought in project management. All the activities of the project are centered around this. However, with the gradual development of projects, especially complex projects: many people, many tasks, and long periods of time, many project managers will gradually forget the project's big goal due to their personal preferences, typical examples are: technical project managers will indulge in technical details, and spend a lot of time learning new technologies or worrying about solving technical difficulties; A popular project manager gets angry with the team because of a lot of things that are not worth the money. A wide-eyed and face-loving project manager will hate a team member for their unintentional bid, from then on, I always put on small shoes for the team to build gangs and do not unite. What's worse, such as games and wine lovers. All of these results are the same whether they are immature, lack of management experience, and lack of management capabilities, that is, project problems or even failures. The most important task for a project manager isTracking and Control", Always grasp the project direction, ensure the smooth implementation of the project plan, and control the deviation within the controllable risk range. However, there are always too many unexpected factors in projects, especially those with long cycles. People often use "sleep and sleep" to describe that risks will increase over time, therefore, the project manager must be clear-headed at all times and do nothing that is not beneficial to the project. Any project is constantly faced with "Opportunities" and "Temptations" during its development. The project manager must be able to clearly define the project objectives, only in this way can we clearly identify what is the "opportunity" for project success and what is the "Temptation" that brings risks to the project, so that we can avoid detours and succeed as soon as possible ., Project management problems. "People need to be reminded constantly", which is determined by human nature. Smart people can constantly reflect and remind themselves. Stupid people will be reminded by setbacks and external "Warnings", which forms a difference between "success" and "failure.

Error 4: the plan cannot be changed

How can we ensure project success? "Plan, plan, and re-Plan ", this isProject ManagementBest practices! Therefore, project management generally knows how to prepare a project plan, and many people can use the project tool skillfully, understand the "80 hours" or "40 hours" rule, WBS and Key Path concepts. Every project manager remembers the principle that "once a plan is formed, it will be executed in strict accordance with the plan, without being influenced by someone or something, we also understand that "this will not only reduce the waste of a large amount of resources, but also ensure the quality of our products." Therefore, many project managers reject or even refuse to change their plans. Stick to the principle. It seems that there is nothing wrong, but is it true?

To find out whether it is necessary to do one thing, we must first find out two questions: 1. Why should we do this? 2. What are the benefits of doing so?

First, let's ask what the purpose of the plan is? We know that planning is the best practice of project management. Planning is a means and method to ensure the success of the project. There is only one purpose to do this, that is, to "ensure the success of the project ", but the premise is that this plan is "thorough and feasible ". strict implementation of a well-planned and feasible project plan can ensure the success of the project. Many project managers remember the above "strict implementation" principle, but forget this premise.

The second question is, what are the benefits of the plan?Project ManagementThe planning method combines project activities, duration, and required resources organically, and has a strict sequence, milestone, and key path, it can clearly remind all members of the project at what time and what to do to ensure that each project task is executed. by tracking the execution of the plan, the Project Manager can clearly understand the project progress and deviations, assess and effectively control project risks in a timely manner, so as to ensure project success.

Now that we understand these two points, let's look at it projects. For most IT projects, especially software implementation projects, there are situations where the scope is not clear enough and the requirements are not clear.Only when the software demo is generated can the requirement be clear and the scope be determined. These situations determine that the IT project plan needs to be corrected in a timely manner based on the actual situation of the project.. How to compress the time to determine the scope and develop a feasible plan as soon as possible.

Developing a thorough and feasible plan is a manifestation of the excellent ability of the Project Manager, especially the preparation of WBS, which is very difficult for complex projects. When talking about the management experience of the 2008 Olympic project, project expert Cao Lei mentioned that the most difficult part of the Olympic project is the establishment of WBS (see the PMU website's interview with the 2008 Olympic project ). To ensure the success of the project, we must ensure that every activity of the project can be smoothly executed. Therefore, when there is a change in the project situation and there is a need to change on the basis of the original plan, it is necessary to add the new task to the plan, correct the plan, ensure the integrity of the WBS, and ensure that the plan is well-planned and feasible, the subsequent work is strictly enforced.

By the way, some project managers may go to another extreme: they do not plan a project because of their uncertain requirements. This is also an incorrect understanding of the plan. Even if the plan is not well-planned, it can remind us of the major objectives of the project and ensure that the actions taken by the project team do not deviate from the general direction. Any large project can be split into many small projects. The "progressive details" of WBS is also one of the tasks that must be completed by the project. The duration of all tasks must be estimated, even if it is not accurate enough, it can at least be used as an accumulation of experience to prepare for accurate estimation in the future. Therefore, there must be a plan at any stage of the project.

Error 5: The project must be profitable

"The project must be profitable". This sentence has been regarded by countless IT project managers as truth and is doomed to create many tragedies! In order to achieve this goal, many IT project managers are even carefully studying the thick black school, learning how to make the younger brother enthusiastic, tired than the "migrant workers, in this way, the lowest cost is used to create the largest profit. As a management method at the tactical level, project management must serve the general direction at the strategic level. A mall may fail if it wins. In order to win the strategy, many battles must be defeated to "lure the enemy into depth. It doesn't matter if you lose a battle. The key is to find out the level and extent of the defeat, clarify the real objectives of this battle, and then fight this battle, in this way, we will not end up with a situation where "not only damage the troops, but it still fails to lure the enemy into depth.

It is an essential step for every company to develop and seize the market, gain a firm foothold in the market, and explore the market. Many projects, for the company, aim to seize the market, and even "seize the food ". for such a project, the first requirement of the company from the strategic level is definitely not profit, but how to take the market and then gain a firm foothold. The project manager must understand this strategic intent.

"Balance" is the most important idea of project management,Balance the three elements of "quality, time, and cost" from the pastTo the present, "Meeting the needs of relevant stakeholders", all the best practices and theoretical research results will never advocate extremes "! Profit is only one goal of a project, and we must understand that there is a distinction between "short-term profit" and "long-term profit". A project that is too single in pursuit of profit is doomed to fail, companies that excessively pursue profits will not last long.

The cost cannot be saved, and the cost should not be spent for one minute. The Project Manager puts the cost within a reasonable "budget", that is, the cost control is successful. In order to make a profit for a project destined to "lose money", the team members can try their best to compress costs with their brains, so that they can work overtime and work hard. At the end of the day, the project is finished, people are also gone, and it is very likely that the quality of the project is unqualified due to the rush of work, and the customer is not satisfied, it is really "lost "!

The project team must be passionate and efficient, and never be lazy. The project manager must grasp this degree and never go to the extreme. Balance is an art and an important yardstick for demonstrating the ability of a project manager.

 

Error 6: Remember "science" and forget "effective"

If you learn how to use it, you will be afraid of using it. Whether it is products, technologies, or management methods, there is a phenomenon that ignores the reality and uses it blindly for the sake of being "advanced" and "scientific, as a result, "advanced" and "scientific" technologies and tools not only do not increase production efficiency, but become cumbersome. This situation is everywhere, and there are also a large number of IT projects.

A large number of failed ERP projects in China are typical of such errors. Some people think of the ERP project as the "top-notch" project, which means that only the leaders attach importance to and promote it can succeed. Leadership support is an important condition for project success, but it is certainly successful without leadership support. Some projects are blind to leadership decision-making mistakes.

Failed. The implementation of an information project is a major reform for many enterprises. All employees need to adjust their thinking, skills, work habits, and other aspects. If the quality of employees in an enterprise cannot keep up with, even if there are all kinds of training, but regardless of the basic staff and "learning curve", users cannot really master the new system, and the result will only increase the burden on users, but cannot produce the expected results. After learning some new technologies, many IT project managers always want to practice them in the project immediately without carefully analyzing whether these technologies are required or not in the project. IT technology is changing with each passing day, and new theories are constantly put forward and translated into China. When some project managers are not very familiar with these technologies, they dare to boast that they are "scientific" and "advanced ", then, it is mandatory to practice in the project. This may be the project manager of Party A or the project manager of Party B. Examples of project failures caused by incorrect technical selection are available in China, and there are still examples! There is absolutely no shortage of preparation. A new technology will be introduced in a wide range. It will not be available until the project time is over half the time. At that time, everything will be late. There is a "learning curve" for mastering any new things. The time limit of the Project is an element that the project manager must keep in mind at all times. A poor grasp will bring great risks to the project.

Concerning specific IT project management, PMBOK's knowledge system can be described as broad, and there are some other new project management tools, which cannot be said to be not advanced, but which knowledge, tools, and methods are suitable for this project, the project manager needs to carefully analyze the facts and then filter and use them.

Modifying titles such as "science", "advanced", and "Easy to use" is not the primary reason for selection. "need", "applicable", and "effective" are the primary considerations. Many IT project managers have the courage, courage, and courage to introduce new tools and methods in practice because they are young. Dare to try is not a bad thing, but the risk of the test must be well controlled. For the project manager, all decisions should be made around the project objectives. The primary task of the project manager is to ensure project success. If new technologies and tools can be introduced at the same time, the knowledge and skills of the team members can be increased, the efficiency of the project team can be improved, and the product quality and reliability can be improved, it is definitely "icing on the cake", but it is absolutely not allowed to "icing on the cake" and cause the project to get out of control or even fail. "I picked up sesame seeds and lost watermelon "!