Question:
What should be a top 10 concern for CIOs?
Answer:
Project management rarely gets mentioned as a top 10 concern for CIOs, but it should be. When speaking
with CIOs about critical issues, project management often comes up. Organizations are increasingly
determining and meeting their objectives through initiatives, whether it is product delivery, cost-saving
programs, etc. Each of these objectives translates into programs, consisting of multiple projects. Successful
delivery requires repeatable practices shared across projects, just as resources are shared across projects.
Justifying formal project management practices is becoming easier; acceptance is growing and
implementations are working as demonstrated in the latest CHAOS figures — successful (on time, on budget)
projects grew to 28 percent from 16 percent in the first study in 1994. The percentages look small, but factor
in the number of projects surveyed tripled from the first study to the latest. Portfolio management is another
area where formal project practices brings value because companies adept at managing portfolios are adept at
meeting objectives. The key components in portfolios are investments, and investments are executed projects.
Companies can choose the right investments but unless you can execute, it doesn’t matter how well you plan.
Develop some standardization, performed with flexibility, for project management. While this requires
concerted effort, sustained practices result in increased project delivery. Giga recommends the following:
•= Put repeatable practices in place by standardizing phases, hand-offs and implementations. These are
standard exercises in most projects, and often are the areas where the most errors occur.
•= Concentrate on the soft stuff — let project managers be creative with the process to maximize talent
and gain team commitment. Give them guidelines but don’t force them to use the standard project
management jargon.
•= Support them. As redundant as it sounds, executive support is critical. There is much to be said for
top-down support, but consider starting at midlevel and spread from there. Midlevel management is
closer to organizational pain to develop corrective practices.
•= Invest in tools but don’t go crazy — it pays to start smaller. Go with a pilot project, but don’t
manage in a vacuum. Continually look for ways to implement out into the organization
incrementally.
•= Invest in talent — downsizing has released a large number of talented project managers into the
available market. Recruit strong talent and train existing talent to build internal processes
collectively.