After teaching Information Technology Project Management more than 100 times, I must say that the most common feedback I get is related to the technology project plan. Students, who are aspiring project managers and senior project managers, frequently state that their organizations do not grant them enough time to create effective technology project plans. In this post, I’ll suggest three things that you may find helpful.
First, a question. Why do so many organizations expect IT engineers and architects to develop complex solutions without granting them the time required to plan well? I think it boils down to a simple answer: they don’t understand just how complex IT projects can be. The assumption seems to be that technology is plug-and-play and it all just works together. This thinking may be the result of our poor communications, but it must be remedied. Hence, my first suggestion:
Begin to communicate the complexity of IT solutions.
You may find that you are granted more time to create the technology project plan if you help the sponsor understand how complex the technology really is. For example, you may say something like, "Did you know that there are more than 2300 bricks in a 16 x 28 foot wall? Imagine the planning that goes into choosing all the right bricks and materials needed for an entire two-story colonial home. The application we’re developing is a lot like that. It will have more than 46,000 lines of code in the end. If we make cuts on the planning, the end result will only suffer for it." This analogy brings me to my next suggestion:
Draw on past failures.
Now that’s something you don’t hear every day; however, it’s very important. Many IT project failures can be directly linked to poor planning. Reminding the sponsor of this reality can help you buy the needed planning time for your next project. You can also encourage the creation of a better technology project plan by following this recommendation:
Point out the cost of not planning.
This suggestion may sound similar to the previous one, but we’re actually going to focus on a different perspective. Rather than drawing on past failures, we’ll point out the rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimate for the project in question. Imagine the ROM estimate is between 1.2 million and 1.5 million dollars. Choosing the wrong hardware or software early on, in such a large project, can easily cost over $100K. Point this out while requesting time for planning; however, keep this in mind: if you use this technique and still select the wrong hardware or software after extensive planning, you may have ruined your project management career in that organization.
These three solutions will help you gain the needed planning time, but you will need to ensure that you have selected trusted team members who can help you create an accurate technology project plan. Assuming you have, you’re now ready for project management success.
