University of Derby Online Learning

Master of Science in Information Technology

Course: IT Project Management

Assignment Part 1

Title: CW1-Solutions to project management problems

Student’s Name: Kabutu Chuunga

Student ID: 100297164

Lecturer’s Name: Shane Mcmordie

Date: 6th March, 2018

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Table of Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 3

Poor or no project plan......................................................................................................................... 3

Solutions to poor or no project plan ................................................................................................ 3

Unclear project requirements and expectations................................................................................. 3

Solutions to unclear project requirements and expectations ........................................................ 4

Poor communication between IT and business .................................................................................. 4

Solutions to poor communication between IT and business ......................................................... 4

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 5

References .............................................................................................................................................. 6

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Introduction
This study involves three project management problems usually encountered in IT related
projects and gives solutions that can be used to prevent the occurrence of such problems.

Poor or no project plan

Planning is the most difficult and challenging process in project management (Schwalbe,
2010). The main purpose of the project plan is to guide the project execution processes
(Heldman, 2009). However, many project managers and project stakeholders spend less time
on project planning. For a project to be successful a fair amount of time should be spent on
the project planning phase so that project execution is seamless. According to Heldman
(2009) the project plan is a useful document that guides and outlines project execution and
controlling process groups that help track and measure project performance. It is a document
that sets out a detailed roadmap about how the intended project is all about. This helps a lot in
making future project decisions. However, most IT related projects start without solid project
plans. If a project lacks a well-defined project plan, it becomes very difficult to recover when
something goes wrong during project execution (Newton, 2006).

Solutions to poor or no project plan

The project plan must be taken seriously by all project stakeholders as it affects most of the
key project decisions. The project manager must ensure that the project plan is put in writing
and approved by senior management. This helps during budget approval as senior
management or project sponsor will have a clear understanding of the project scope. A poorly
budgeted IT project has a high chance of failure due to shrinking of allocated resources as the
project progresses. It is therefore very imperative that budget related issues are well
addressed to executive management by making sure that project features, objectives and
timelines are properly documented in the project plan. Furthermore, the project plan should
be communicated to all project stakeholders to prevent misunderstandings during certain
stages of the project.

Unclear project requirements and expectations

Unclear project requirements and expectations pose a serious risk to project success. Despite,
the project plan putting the project on the right path, there is need to ensure that detailed
requirements and expectations are gathered from all project stakeholders. When detailed project
requirements and expectations are gathered, developing the project scope becomes easy. If the

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project scope does not contain the necessary details of a project, it will be very difficult to
address scope changes during the project life cycle.

Solutions to unclear project requirements and expectations

During the initial stage of an IT project, there is need for the project manager to ensure that
detailed requirements and expectations of a project are gathered. The project manager must put
all the project requirements and expectations in writing as these will be referred to throughout
the project. The project manager must ensure that scope changes are included in the initial
project plan during project requirements and expectations gathering. This will create a better
way of addressing any changes necessary in the project budget and timeline (Lock, 2013). In
addition to that, the project manager will find it easy to negotiate time and resources as all
necessary information will be contained in the project scope.

Poor communication between IT and business

Poor communication between IT and business results in poor requirements and expectations
gathering. In most cases, projects are initiated by senior management who may not understand
the technical details of the required IT system. In trying to understand or explain the problem,
IT professionals usually speak a technical language which make other sections of the business
fail to comprehend their requests (Schwalbe, 2010). In addition to that, end users usually lack
the technical knowledge of information systems making them unaware of certain systems
related processes. Many IT projects change processes of a business making hands on end users
encounter problems in one way or another with the new system. These are critical on the
acceptance of the new system by management as they are the ones with exact information
required to do work for the company by the new system. For this reason, there is need for the
project manager to bridge the gap between IT and the business so that the business related
problems are properly translated into the IT system required.

Solutions to poor communication between IT and business

The project manager must be able to relate with all project stakeholders and translate the
technical language to a language that all stakeholders will understand (Kelly, 2010). This is the
reason why IT projects should be managed at least by a project manager who has good
knowledge of information technology systems. Furthermore, if the IT project undertaken
involves the development of a system to be used by end users, there is need for proper
communication between the end users and the IT team developing the system. The project
manager must ensure that these end users are given time to voice out their concerns at the

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beginning of the development of the new system and have them informed along as the project
progresses. Thereafter, the IT team (systems analysts) should compare the information
gathered from the end users with the information gathered from senior executives of the
company. The project manager should identify gaps between end users and senior executives
and ensure that proper communication is used to make both camps understand the new system.

Conclusion
Project management problems are usually as a result of failure by project managers to put in
place certain factors that can prevent a project going off track. This study analysed three
factors that if not properly taken care of can lead to project failure. These include poor or no
project plan, unclear project requirements and expectations, and poor communications
between IT and the business. Projects require good planning from inception. This helps all
project stakeholders to understand the timeline and costs of the project. In addition to
planning, project requirements and specifications in IT related projects require proper
documentation. If project requirements and specifications are vague, the project scope, cost
and time will be affected. This can lead to increase in overall project cost and cause a project
to fail to complete on time. Furthermore, poor communication is a serious risk to project
success. When project requirements and expectations are not properly communicated to all
stakeholders, there will be poor coordination among all project stakeholders. It is therefore
the duty of the project manager to ensure that all project stakeholders involved direct or
indirect in the project are well communicated to on any matters concerning the project.

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References
Heldman, K., (2009) Project Management Professional Exam Study Guide. Indianapolis:
Wiley Publishing Inc. Fifth Edition

Kelly, R., W., (2010) Essential Project Management Skills. London: CRC Press.

Lock, D., (2013) Project Management. Farnham: Gower Publishing Limited. Ninth Edition

Newton, R., (2006) Project Management Step by Step: How to plan and manage a highly
successful project. Harlow: Pearson Education.

Schwalbe, K., (2010) Information Technology Project Management. Boston: Course

Technology. Sixth Edition.

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