IT Project Management by Todd Shyres.

Project Management for IT Projects
Todd Shyres
• Principal Consultant, MBRIDGE, LLC
• Todd@MBRIDGE.com
M MBRIDGE
Consulting Services

Copyright 2015. All Rights Reserved. MBRIDGE, LLC
Professional Background
• Started in Project Management in 2000 as a Technical Consultant for a
Professional Services company.
• PMP (Project Management Professional) Certified in 2002.
• UCLA Anderson MBA in 2008. Graduated with Honors.
• Technical Background
• IT Security – PCI (credit card payments) Auditing and Compliance. CISSP Certified.
• Network Engineering, Linux / Windows.
• Managed Technical Projects across numerous companies and fields:
• Clients: Fidelity, Sony Pictures, Disney, Intuit, LabCorp, Sempra, Etc.
• Types of Projects: IT Infrastructure, Data Center builds, Software Development
projects, Software Integration, IT Monitoring, Security Auditing, Process
Improvement.
2

What is a Project?
• A Project has a start and end, and is not part of the typical routine. The
goal is to create a unique service or product.
• Projects are unique in that this is not something the company usually
does or provides.
• Projects are about 3 things: Scope, Time, Budget.
• We will accomplish X, by Y date, and only spend this much money.
• Change one, and the others change as well.
• The old joke… “We can do it Fast, Cheap, or Good. Pick 2.”
• Yes there is a 4th called Quality.
• Project Management is about guiding a project through it’s phases. And
tracking, and reporting the results.
3

Project Management – Basics
• Project Management requires both hard and soft skills
• Hard Skills: Know how to manage a schedule, budget, and the tools to
get the job done (on-line tracking tools, Excel, PowerPoint, Word).
• Soft Skills: Negotiations, Listening to Others, Driving the team.
• If you are going to manage a project you should make sure you
learn a few fundamentals first. These include things like
corporate culture, where the project ranks as far as priority, and
how critical it is to the business.
• The next page has some tips on these items…
4

Project Management – Basics
• Resources
• Ask for a team with the skills needed to get the job done.
• Make sure the team “gets” the importance of the project.
• Find out the escalation path if there are issues.
• What the end-state is will dictate how you manage the project.
• PM (Project Management) Methodology and Terminology
• Know what kind of methodology the company wants you to use for the
project. Some of these are covered in later slides.
• Break the project into segments or milestones to aim for.
• Corporate Culture
• Take time to listen and find out what the corporate culture is like.
• Work/life balance, how does work really get done, dress code.
5

Project Requirements
• At the end of the project people care about…
1. Did you deliver what we asked for (Requirements)?
2. Would they work with you again?
• #1 is Requirements.
• Make sure you capture them, deliver, and confirm.
• In-N-Out Burger Drive-Thru example
1. Gather requirements. “May I take your order?”
2. Make sure they are correct “You said a burger, fries and shake. Is that right?”
3. Share them out. “I’ve sent them to the team inside who will cook them.”
4. Check-in at 1st window. “You ordered a burger, fries and shake. Anything else?”
5. Deliver and Confirm. “Here is your burger, fries and shake. Have a great day!”
6

Everyone is a Project Manager
Planning a Wedding is an example of Project Management.
• Gather Requirements:
• Scope: Wedding by the beach. 150 guests. Vegetarian options.
• Time: June 1, 2016.
• Planning:
• Document what has to happen, and by when.
• Cake tasting in Feb
• Order the flowers in March
• Build the seating chart in May
• Execution / Control:
• Kick Off Meeting with your wife to talk about the plans.
• Lock in the venue, order flowers, tuxedo rentals, invites, band, cake, etc.
• Close-out:
• Make sure your significant other is happy.
• Go on your honeymoon.
7

Project Managing the Wedding
Some Key Things to Know
• With a wedding you have a deadline, and need to make sure work gets done
before the date. On some projects you will hear “get it done as quickly as
possible” and the work will dictates when it will get done.
• Things will change! If there is going to be a rain-storm the weekend of the
wedding then you may need to change the plans. Be open to that.
• Define Who Your Stakeholders are – in this case it should be obvious. Your
#1 goal is making them happy, within your time and budget.
• Hire a live band. Yes it will cost more $$$, but it’s worth it.
8

What is an IT Project? 1999 Version.
• Just a few years ago IT projects were easy to spot:
• IT Projects would Enable business getting done.
• They were not focused on ROI (return on investment). They supported a
business or application that had an ROI.
• The rolled up to a CTO, or a Vice President of Technology.
9
“IT” is a lever that supports
business getting done.
OUTDATED View
of IT
Projects

What is an IT Project? 2015 Version.
• Hard to define since IT is intertwined with the business it enables.
• In some cases IT and the Business are the same thing
• Company whose only purpose is to build iPhone apps.
• Let’s define IT Projects as those directly related to IT infrastructure, or are focused
solely on technology (this will have to do for now).
• Example IT Projects:
• Software Development
• Infrastructure Projects (networks, storage, servers, data centers)
• Web site development
• Back-Office Systems: Email, billing systems, CRM, software deployments, etc.
• Data Analysis (the infrastructure side)
10

Project Managing IT Projects
A few Years ago “IT” was a team of people doing “IT” work.
Now Technology permeates every aspect of business.
11
• KEYS to Successfully managing IT Projects:
• Learn about the technology -> What it does, and how it helps the business.
• Know the buzzwords, acronyms and companies
• Examples: SaaS, cloud-based, VMWare, agile, AWS, SAP.
• Expect changes. Set up a way to track and report them out.
• Work closely with your 3rd party vendors
• Share On-Going Information with the Stakeholders.
• Keep Things Secure
• Use encryption, secure sites, and strong passwords.
• Talk in a way people that is meaningful to people
• You normally won’t say to a CIO “we wrote 500 lines of code today.” Instead
you might report “we are 45% done, and $25K under budget.”
• Know the Critical Path (next page)

Project Management – Critical Path
• On a project you will have a list of things to get done.
• Chart the tasks out to see how they impact the schedule. If some get done faster the
entire schedule gets done faster. Those items make up the “critical path.”
• In the example below the arrows in ORANGE are on the critical path.
12
Gather the
Ingredients
Pre-Heat the Oven
Bake
Making Banana Bread and Coffee
StirMeasure
Grind
the
coffee
Brew
coffee
Enjoy
Breakfast
Bread
1 hour30 min
Cool
15 min
Coffee

Numerous PM Methodologies
• No one size fits all.
• Learn what is needed, and then decide the approach.
• Different Types are Available:
• Waterfall – defined phases. Output from one phase is an input to another.
• SDLC – Project broken into defined work phases.
• Agile – Do work vertically. See next page.
• Scrum – A type of agile. Lightweight, allows for rapid changes.
• Hybrid – Take the best from multiple.
• Others – There are new ones coming out which you should be open to using.
• If you are running a project then you should fight for the methodology you think will work
best. However, some clients and companies have their own that you will be asked to
work within.
13

PM Methodologies - Waterfall
14
• Called this because it actually looks and acts like a waterfall.
• Good for projects with well defined requirements.
• Typically follows defined phases. Output one of phase is input into the next.
• Does not allow for fast changes, especially as you get into later phases.
Sample waterfall phases (from scrumreferencecard.com

PM Methodologies - Agile
• Agile Framework usually used for Software or Product Development
• Group of methodologies. One of the more popular is called Scrum.
• Used when requirements are changing so can adapt easier to these changes.
• Encourages team-work and self-organization.
• Allows for faster feedback and testing.
• Track scope changes! These happen a lot.
• Track bug fixes (use software to capture these).
• Agile can be used for a wide variety of projects, but is typically used for those
where requirements are not set in stone, or are continually changing.
• Uses “scrum” which relies on self managing teams, building product increments
in short iterations.
15

PM Methodologies - Scrum
• Scrum is one of the Agile methodologies
• Mainly used for Software Dev, but can be
used for other projects with rapidly changing
requirements.
• Projects are divided into Sprints which
typically last 2, or 4 weeks.
• Each sprint should lead to a tested product
iteration.
• Scrum Master, Product Owner
(requirements), Dev Team.
• 7-10 People. Self-Leading Team. Usually
want them in the same room. Want them
dedicated to this effort for the long-term.
Note: graphics from google.com
16

PM Methodologies - Scrum
• Burndown charts showing daily progress
• User stories – requirements in easy to
understand business needs.
• Velocity is how you measure work getting
completed (measured in story points, days,
ideal days, or hours)
• Daily 15 min scrum meetings.
• Very feedback oriented (each sprint ends
with a retrospective).
Note: graphics from google.com
17

Nice view of the scrum process from Digital Humanities LAB at CVCE
18

Sample Project Manager Toolkit
Document Detail Required?
Requirements Tracker Capture & Track the requirements / Scope. Online, DB, Excel. Yes
Project Plan List of things to get done, and dependencies. MSFT Project, Excel Yes
Schedule Show when things start and end. Show Dependencies. Yes
Risk List List of risks and their potential impact. Excel, Online tool. Maybe
Budget Tracker Estimated and Actual Costs Maybe
Task List List of every single work task the team needs to do Maybe
Roles & Responsibilities Chart Resources, Title, Role, their level of involvement Yes
Status Report G/Y/R Status, Upcoming Milestones, Open Issues/Concerns Yes
Communications Plan Chart showing how the team communicates Maybe
Secure Web-Site Secure site to share the key documents and schedule. SharePoint. Maybe
Meetings Necessarily Evil. Has as few as it takes to get things done. Yes
High-Level Project View Shows key milestones, dates, maybe the owners Nice to have
19

Project Scheduling Software
Trello
Microsoft Project
• Lot of choices. Choose which works best for the team.
• On-line Tools
• Easy for team members to access and update
• Cloud based so can access from anywhere, anytime
• Typically a monthly subscription fee per user
• Examples: Trello, BinFire, Basecamp, Zoho
• Off-line Tools
• Most people already have and are familiar with them
• Need to save and email out, or share on a site
• Need to set up control mechanism if others will be
updating them as well
• Buy software one time per user
• Could add more time for the PM
• Examples: Microsoft Project, Excel, OneNote
Binfire
20

Using Charts, Graphs, and Pictures
21
• Do things that get people interested and excited about the outcome.
• Use charts, graphs, and pictures to illustrate points, and / or show progress.
• On the Next 2 Pages you’ll see examples.
People like
graphics. So
use them.

Graphical Representation of a Project Schedule
22
• Allows the team to quickly see the high-level tasks, and overall schedule.
• Shows how long tasks take, so you can focus on the right things.

Graphical Representation of a Process Work-Flow
23
• Visuals can help people understand the Big Picture.

Project Management
The Real Story
24

PM Secrets (that most PMs know)
• If a project succeeds no one says Thank You.
• Don’t fail alone. If things are falling apart pull in help ASAP.
• The #1 question will be “when will it be done?” So keep the end-date in mind.
• People will ask for mundane things… and expect you to get them.
• I’ve been asked to get sodas, make print-outs, turn down the AC.
• People will try to hand you their work, or tasks not in your scope.
• You need to learn to push back (gently, then strongly)
• Ex: “We can write your software but only if you get my team new laptops”
• You need to keep checking in on people. They are BUSY and need reminders.
• Lead as much as you can, but know your main job is tracking & reporting the news.
25

More PM Secrets
• If there’s a problem, let others know immediately. Don’t cover it up.
• Don’t let others influence who you are as a person.
• Avoid scheduling too many meetings. Do just enough to share the info.
• Know your role, and stick to it.
• You are not the one doing the software engineering work. You are responsible for
tracking & reporting.
• Know your project does not represent you as a person.
• Let the engineers talk tech. You shouldn’t try to fake the details.
• Not asking enough questions. If it sounds like an excuse, it probably is.
• Not adding in a small buffer.
26

Real World Project – Data Center build
• Brand new Data Center in N.W. US. to host online applications
• Sites get around 10 Million unique web-visits a month
• Project Managed the Network Plan, Design and Build.
• Used the Waterfall method as had solid requirements.
• Initiation -> Planning -> Design -> Test -> Purchase -> Build -> Test -> LIVE
• 18 Months. $25+ Million Budget. 14 Technical Engineers.
• Project Task list was over 1,200 lines long.
• EVERY Risk we thought up actually happened.
• Winter Storm, people got sick, gear showed up broken.
• The next one we did took about half the time.
27

Real World Project – Data Center build
High-Level View of Schedule and Milestones
28
Helpful Charts and Tools
• For such a large project we built charts to help
illustrate milestones and progress.
• The charts helped us track actual work
completed along a time-line.
• For Resource Management we tracked all
resources including skills-sets, hours, and the
budget.
• The Resource chart also allowed us to work closely
with resource managers to communicate when we
would need the team.
Resource
Tasks List and
Costs

Q&A
29
If you have questions reach me at Todd@MBRIDGE.com
Not an actual likeness.

IT Project Management by Todd Shyres.

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