PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN A DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT

SO WHAT EXACTLY IS DIGITAL

Everywhere you go today you hear the word digital. From the computer that you sit in front of to your TV set and of course your mobile device. And yes it does seem as if the whole world is becoming a digital entity.

The fact is that today product management and business are driving digital technology like never before and they need to get their products out into a very fast moving and competitive environment.

Mobile, cloud, social media, virtualization and big data – once considered hot technology trends worth exploring – have moved well beyond the stage of experimentation. They are proven tools that have given birth to an age where technology has become the foundation of any successful business – it's a prime driver of market differentiation, business growth, innovation, adaptability, collaboration and profitability

In line with this requirement more projects are being setup and project managers are now in demand to help deliver digital projects effectively

THE DIGITAL FOOTPRINT

Business Leaders face an era of unprecedented change as mobility, cloud computing business intelligence and social media are transforming businesses and sparking a new wave of wealth creation

Digital technologies drive consumer income and demand which ultimately leads to increased economic growth where business have to adapt very quickly to meet this competitive and diverse market place

A brand is no longer what we tell the customer what it is - The customers tell each other what it is Scott Cook – Founder of Intuit

WEB TECHNOLOGY 2014

Interactive User Journeys

Great Designs

Content Management

Responsive Functionality

Social Media Management

E-Commerce

Intelligent Searching

Multi channel marketing

Application Functionality

Web Rebranding

MARKETING TRENDS 2014

http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/marketing-statistics-2014_b51219

Source

THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP

THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP

Project management working with business today enables

companies to innovate, plan strategically and ensure a return on

investment through successful project delivery.

With careful business planning and a clear understanding of the

business requirements project management and business will have

a way to manage the product to be developed.

The outcome of the approved requirements will provide a

foundation to communicate what the project needs to accomplish,

in order to satisfy the business’ needs and quality requirements

THE 9 STEP BUSINESS MODEL TO IDENTIFY REQUIREMENTS

http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/canvas

Alex OsterwalderAlexander Osterwalder is an entrepreneur, speaker and business model innovator. Together with Professor Yves Pigneur he co-authored Business Model Generation, a global bestseller on the topic of business model innovation. His Business Model Canvas, a tool to visualize, challenge and (re-) invent business models is used by leading organizations around the world, like GE, P&G, Ericsson, and 3M. Alexander is a frequent keynote speaker and has held guest lectures in top universities around the world, including Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, IESE and IMD

Finalise the concept

Setup the business model

Finalise the marketing plan

Finalise the business case

Source Suppliers Submit Request for Proposal

Review Supplier Scope of Work

(SOW)

On approval handover SOW to the Project Office

Keep inMind

This should be aligned to the size and complexity of the project which would be defined where understanding what the concept is and how this fits into the current infrastructure and maturity of the organisation

DEFINING THE BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS STEP BY STEP

ALIGNING PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Business Requirements

Project Management

Software Development

Project Operations

Project Office

Project Management

Project Operations

Business Requirements

Software Development

Project Office

In order to ensure that the full project delivery in controlled and managed the project office will ensure that confirmed processes and work flows are in place.

This provides leadership and ensures that the Project Management Office will consistently deliver value to the project owners and stakeholders.

ALIGNING PROJECT MANAGEMENT

PMO

Technical alignment

Strategic alignment

Team and resource

management

Project and portfolio

management

Project Operations

Stakeholder managemen

t

ALIGNMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Provide effective project management

Promote collaboration with the business and project teams

Guarantee best practice standards for project delivery

Manage stakeholder relationships

Manage change and risk during the project life cycle

The key advantages of a digital project office would:

TAILORING THE PROJECT

In line with Project Management changing trends businesses want their products moved into the market a lot quicker but with the same quality criteria. Project Management has changed from being a long winded process into what we refer to as agile. The principles remain the same but the durations has become a lot shorter.

Project Initiation

Project Planning

Project Execution

and Control

Project Close Out

Business Requirement

sAnalysis Design Development

Testing ImplementationOnline

Production

Traditional

Agile Project Plan control

Project Plan control

One important factor is to remember when you plan your project processes is to define what is on the critical path and what are the supporting management requirements. The model below reflects how this can be setup

Project Management Software Delivery Life Cycle

Not on Critical Path

The correct level of project management and administration must be planned carefully to support the project during the Software Delivery Lifecycle. It is important to remember that this is always based on the category and size of the project to be deployed

Always on the Critical Path

The development of the product is planned within the SDLC process and this is where the full time, scope and cost is controlled and this is normally managed by a technical project manager

TAILORING THE PROJECT

TAILORING THE PROJECT

Project Management regardless of the environment has to follow the correct process of delivering a project successfully. There are no shortcuts and it is important to note that you need to define a process that will align the best methodologies and practices.

Today there are two main bodies of project management practices

Each methodology has it’s own set of principles and the advantage for you as a project manager is that you can combine the best of both worldsKeep in

Mind

Analyse• Analyse Requirements• Compile System Requirements Specifications• Finalise all test scenarios and test plans

Design

• Compile Functional Solutions• Acquire Solution Integration and Data Migration Inputs• Compile Technical Solution• Design Testing Specifications

Build

• Develop System• Perform Unit Testing• Prepare for testing and Release• Conduct System Walkthrough

Test

• Conduct QA• Resolve Defects• Release for UAT• Conduct UAT• Resolve defects

Deploy• Implement to production environment• Prepare for production handover support• Handover to production and operations support

Keep inMind

The SDLC methodology must be tailored to both the size and risk of the project to ensure that it produces a quality product. This process can be adapted to either a Waterfall or Agile approach. Each phase must have a formal release to ensure all identified tasks have been finalised and approved

TAILORING THE PROJECT

Aligns toInterative

AgileWaterfall

Scrum

Project Management

Software Development

Governance

Planning Analysis Project Documentation

Controlling Design Project Folders

Executing Development Contract Management

Collaborating Testing Project Operations

Communicating Implementation Best Practice

THE DIGITAL PROJECT MANAGER

Planning and managing the implementation of a digital platform using

best practice and skills to balance priorities motivate teams manage stakeholders and deliver results

Agile and quality focussed

THE DIGITAL PROJECT MANAGER

In theory if you know project management then you

ought to be able to project manage any project – it

should be a case of organising the tasks and

monitoring them through to a successful conclusion.

Being a good Digital Project Manager requires a diverse

mix of skills and experience. And to be effective you

need to be more than just organised and a good

communicator.

The ability to prioritise, keeping calm and focused,

being able to let go, not assume too much, being

approachable and having a passion for Digital are all

things that when combined together make for an

awesome Project Manager. Oh, and it helps to have a

sense of humour too!

Ian MayProgramme ManagerCreative JarUnited Kingdom