Project Management for Academic Health Science Libraries - An Introduction

Teresa Jimenez

Trends or Issues in Academic Health Sciences Librarianship

data sets evidence based practice evidence based librarianship diversity scholarly publishing Federal Research Public Access Act copyright & intellectual property information literacy best practices distance students accessibility “ Web 2.0” demonstrating outcomes course management systems electronic resource management electronic health records open access collaboration with faculty emerging technologies institutional repositories federated searching the 3Rs expert searching for systematic reviews changing patron needs changing patron needs virtual services project management measuring quality proving worth bioinformatics tools liaison roles usability Trends or Issues in Academic Health Sciences Librarianship

data sets evidence based practice evidence based librarianship diversity scholarly publishing Federal Research Public Access Act copyright & intellectual property information literacy best practices distance students accessibility “ Web 2.0” demonstrating outcomes course management systems electronic resource management electronic health records open access collaboration with faculty emerging technologies institutional repositories federated searching the 3Rs expert searching for systematic reviews changing patron needs changing patron needs virtual services project management measuring quality proving worth bioinformatics tools liaison roles Trends or Issues in Academic Health Sciences Librarianship

Project Management

Projects:

one-time activities (not perpetual)

many tasks & people

clearly defined start & end dates

unique product

Phases

Defining ( or Initiating )

Clarify objectives & expectations

Perform needs assessment

Establish time estimates

Document & communicate scope

Complete risk analysis

Planning

Breakdown into specific activities & tasks

Team members identified & assigned tasks

Risk planning

Generic Work Breakdown Structure

Planning

Task order and ‘dependencies’ identified

Non-specialized or specialized software

Generic Gantt Chart

Implementation

Communication

From projectcartoon.com: http://www.projectcartoon.com/cartoon/2

Closing

Loose ends tied

Final product handed over

Evaluation

Did we meet our objectives?

What worked well? What did not?

What would I do differently next time?

Further information

(Project Management Institute’s Michigan Capital Area Chapter)

Bibliography & web resources on SlideShare

Bibliography

Allan, B. (2006). Juggling with fast and slow time: Some of the challenges of project management. The British and Irish Association of Law Librarians , 6, pp. 251-255.

This article provides a good overview of project management.

The author discusses the concepts of soft and hard glue, and advocates their use in order to complete projects successfully. Soft glue involves developing relationships using social and communication skills to develop good will and trust. Hard glue refers to more formal communications such as contracts, defining terms of reference, and using project management charts or software.

This article also provided a very useful formula for estimating the amount of time required to complete tasks.

Burich, N. J., Casey, A. M., Devlin, F. A., & Ivanitskaya, L. (2006). Project management and institutional collaboration in libraries. Technical Services Quarterly , 24(1), 17-36.

The authors argue that librarians can complete project more successfully and efficiently by following project management guidelines.

They also argue that librarians need the guidance provided by project management principles because of ever increasingly complex technology related projects that involved many different professionals and departments, and sometimes different organizations.

The authors also describe how project management principles were used to successfully complete two complex, inter-organizational projects.

Cervone, H. F. (2007). Standard methodology in digital library project management. OCLC Systems & Services , 23(1), 30-34.

The author advocates the use of project management principles for more effective digital library projects.

He discusses the authority of the Project Management Institute and its core document, the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).

Cervone also discusses in detail the major knowledge areas in project management: scope, time, cost, quality, human resource, communications, risk, procurement, and integration management.

Cervone, H. F. (2006). Project risk management. OCLC Systems & Services , 22(4), 256-262.

Cervone explains that to understand risk management a project manager must first understanding what causes risks.

He explains two major parts of risk management: identifying and analyzing risks. He also discusses a number of methods that are uses to analyze risks such as matrix-based decision processes.

Cervone also describes the main categories risks tend to fall into: dependencies, requirements, management issues, and lack of knowledge.

Cervone, H.F. (2004). How not to run a digital library project. OCLC Systems & Services , 20(4), pp. 162-166.

A humorous and informative warning. Cervone covers common big mistakes project managers and teams make: not taking the time to really understand the project requirements, not planning, agreeing to a budget and schedule before understanding the requirements or scope, bringing in more people when the deadline looms near, not charting important tasks and dependencies, and not controlling scope creep.

Cervone recommends project management certification, the Project Management Institute, and Gantthead for further information on project management.

Cortez, E. M., Dutta, S. K., & Kazlauskas, E. J. (2004). What the library and information professional can learn from the information technology and Project management knowledge areas. Libraries and the Academy , 4(1), pp.131-144.

This article ends with a very useful summary of the competencies and skills needed by modern LIS professionals. These include four broad areas: technical knowledge, administrative knowledge, social knowledge, and systems knowledge.

Technical knowledge is broken down into technologies and tools, information processes, and business functions.

Administrative knowledge is broken down into management skills both general and specific.

Social knowledge includes interpersonal and group skills and problem solving skills.

Systems knowledge is described as knowledge of development methodologies, implementation and maintenance issues, development phases, and analysis and design techniques.

Kinkus, J. (2007). Project management skills: A literature Review and Content Analysis of librarian position announcements. College & Research Libraries , 68(4), 352-363.

The authors found that a significant number of job ads require project management skills explicitly or implicitly (describe project management skills without using the term project management).

The authors conclude that project management in libraries “is here to stay.”

The authors suggest library administrators make project management training available to potential library project managers and project participants by sending them out for training or by bringing in staff development sessions.

Marill, J. L., & Lesher, M. (2007). Mile high to ground level: Getting projects organized and completed. The Serials Librarian , 52(34), 317-322.

This article provides a good overview of project management.

The acronym PLINC is used to describe the main duties of a project manager. PLINC stands for problem solving, leading, influencing, negotiating, and communicating.

The author emphasizes the importance of WBS during the planning phase. WBS stands for ‘work breakdown structure’ and is used to organize the project in to specific and realistic tasks.

The author recommends the Project Management Institute for further information.

Schachter, D. (2004). Managing your library’s technology projects. Information Outlook , 8(12), 10-12.

The author reports that projects often fail due to poor planning and unclear requirements. She also emphasizes the importance of clear communication and information sharing among all team members.

She was one of the few authors who discussed stopping projects during the defining phase if they are not achievable with the available resources.

Schachter emphasizes that the project manager should not assign blame for failure to meet milestones as scheduled and to discourage team members from blaming each other for problems that occur.

Wagner, P. (2006). The 3 skills you need to have for successful project management. Information Outlook , 10(8), 24-26.

The title of this article is a bit misleading, but non-the-less contains useful information.

Wagner describes the skills a project manager should posses in terms of three broad areas: Tasks, management, and leadership.

Tasks are the ‘hands on part” of librarianship.

She describes the two most important management skills as being interpersonal skills, and the ability to balance quality, limited resources, and limited time.

Wagner emphasizes the importance of “political” and social skills when discussing leadership.

Winston, M. D., & Hoffman, T. (2005). Project Management in Libraries . Journal of Library Administration , 42(1), 51-61.

Investigators found that project management courses were included in the curricula of only 3.7% of the LIS programs examined.

Almost all of the programs offered management courses. The author’s concluded that a number of project management related concepts and skills could be addressed in the general management courses.

Authors suggest that, at a minimum, librarians could use the planning and initiation phases of project management as a guide when responsible for or collaborating on a project.

Web Resources

http://www.allpm.com - All Project Management . Provides free online newsletter, articles, tips, forums, & templates.

http://www.pmblvd.com - PM Boulevard . Provides free newsletter, forums, articles, & personalized profile pages.

http://www.pmforum.org - PMFORUM . Focuses on international project management. Provides news feeds, forums, standards, a directory of organizations, and a library with free access to project management standards, articles, tips & techniques, case studies, and regional reports.

http://www.maxwideman.com/pmglossary/ - Wideman Comparative Glossary of Project Management Terms .

http://www.pmi.org - Project Management Institute . Membership association for the project management profession. Provides training and certification, and publishes the only ANSI standard for project management.