Importance of Project Management in IT

IT organizations provide a certain amount of project management training, but it is often not enough. The truth is, executives in Information Technology can underestimate the extent of training required to keep project managers operating at peak efficiency. It's not that these executives fail to see the benefits of additional training; rather, it's just a case of being distracted by competing priorities. It's easy for a CIO to presume that management of projects training is an ongoing practice in the organization. If there are no complaints, he or she can reasonably assume that standards for project management are completely in check. However, this can be an incorrect assumption. The only way to increase success rates for project delivery is to ensure a corresponding increase in the practice of disciplined management of projects.

There are two schools of thought as to the use of a particular methodology. Some people believe that a single methodology can be used without alteration for different projects. Others believe that a methodology needs to be adjusted to suit the unique needs of each project. In the IT industry, the norm is that previously used methodologies be adjusted to make sure that the project is successful. However, before making any such adjustments, Executives in Information Technology should ensure that their staff understand the methodologies as they were previously implemented. Then and only then, can effective alterations be made.

Companies often appoint experts in managing projects, on the basis of their past experience and exposure to the related field. The company expects them to perform on the assigned projects, without any future guidance or support from them. They also expect the managers to finish the project within the specified time limit. The shortcomings with this sort of appointments are, the skills in managing projects are not the only requirement for finishing the project on time. There are also other parameters like the size of the firm, the working conditions, availability of supplies, location of the firm etc, decides the successful completion of the project.

Many organizations will employ an experienced project manager and not provide any training programs. It is always better to initiate a training program to the project manager in order for him to understand the company and its objectives. Moreover the corporate world changes and evolution is very eminent, so a training program is a must to keep them aware of changes happening around the world.

It is best if experienced managers of projects do not spend too much of their time training new recruits. Even though skilled project managers may be able to pass on the most knowledge of current project management methods, it is likely that they won't have enough time to both teach new recruits and fulfill their existing responsibilities. For this reason, it is best that they focus their full attention on their current jobs.

Advanced knowledge in IT sector itself, is not an adequate criteria for considering a technical staffer as project manager. There are a lot of shortcomings for this type of arrangement. The Executives in Information Technology should keep this in mind and abstain from such arrangements. Having in-depth knowledge will not help the technical staff to oversee or deliver the project on time. Even though they have under gone various training in IT sector, that will not help them to handle the various tasks, involved in the role of the project manager. These experts are beneficial and helpful, for the proper delivery of the project. In short, the methods of project management are difficult to be tackled by an untrained, novice expert