Leading Projects

IT projects at Elon generally require a team of people who represent departments across campus within and outside of the Information Technology division. As we continue to strive for consistency and develop standards of work, this article is intended to assist the "unofficial" project managers in leading IT projects. 

Project Team

Once a project has been accepted, a project group should be identified. The executive leadership team in IT will select the project team members as well as who will lead the project. Each team consists of the following roles:

• Sponsor - individual who provides support for the project and is accountable for enabling its success.
• Stakeholders/Key Stakeholders - those actively involved and impacted by a project, especially those who determine the success or failure of the project.
• Team members - those performing the work of the project to achieve its objectives.
• Project Lead - individual assigned to lead the project team in achieving the project objectives, generally by coordinating and maintaining overall documentation, project updates, project timelines, and project communications.

Project Process

Every project should run through 5 "process groups". You may find the Project Leader Checklist helpful during the planning process. When properly following these process groups, you will be able to improve the quality and simplicity of your projects while seeing repeated success with reliable routines.

1. Initiate - Clarify expectations with Sponsor, Stakeholders, Project Team Members.
   • Document shared and measurable expectations.
     • Prompt: Complete this ("project scope") statement: "At the end of this project, the following will be true…"
     • During these (one-on-one or group) conversations, your questions will generally fall into 3 categories:
       • General open questions - The what, when, where, why, who, and how.
       • More detailed questions - How exactly is success going to be measured?, "What would it look like?", "When complete, what specific outcomes do you expect?"
       • Clear, closed questions - Ask questions that will elicit a yes/no response. Use the responses to the previous questions to summarize what has been requested and ask for confirmation... "Here is what I heard from you... is that correct?"
     • *Could use templates in the Unofficial PM book -  Project Scope Statement - pg68
2. Plan - Based on your deliverables, create a well-defined budget, timeline, and project schedule.
   • Refer back to the above (scope) statement, "At the end of this project, the following will be true…"
   • What needs to take place for the statement to be completed? Remember: Anything not on this list is NOT within scope of this project.
     • Identify and document action items and assign responsibility.
     • Create a tentative timeline. What are the milestones that can be mapped out?
     • Identify dependencies. (Activities that are reliant on each other's start or finish.)
     • Identify risks that could derail project success and have a plan for mitigating them.
     • Identify the "Critical Path" - This is the sequence of activities from start to finish required for project success, which determine how long the project will last. If any activity on the critical path is delayed, the entire project will be delayed.
     • Develop a communication plan. *Could use the communication plan template - pg122 Unofficial PM book
       • What needs to be communicated? To whom? When? How? From whom? How frequently or at what intervals?
3. Execute - Engage the project team regularly to make sure everyone is on track.
   • Hold the team (and yourself) accountable during project execution:
     • Coordinate regularly scheduled status updates/meetings so the whole team is aware of activities and statuses.
     • Update timeline based on status reports.
     • Keep stakeholders updated on project status and timeline adjustments.
4. Monitor and Control - Continue monitoring progress and control the project's direction, while communicating progress to stakeholders​​​​​.
   • Maintain transparent communication among the team, sponsors, and stakeholders. (State the facts. The good, the bad, and the ugly.)
   • When reporting issues or problems with the project, also have a plan for getting back on track.
   • Practice change management to control scope creep. Be nimble, but mindful.
     • Stay neutral while gathering the facts:
       • What is the intent of the change?
       • What is the impact?
       • What would be required to make the change happen?
     • Clarify expectations with change proposer.
     • Document change request and review with project team to identify possible constraints, risks, etc.
     • Share with stakeholders so it may be approved or denied.
5. Close - Close the project well.
   • Check the results against the identified desired outcome.
   • Confirm completion with stakeholders.
   • Document lessons learned.
   • Recognize and thank the team and other participants.