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The Structures of Success: Ten Guidelines for Sustainable Program and Project Management
By xaby | June 11, 2007
Across the IT industry, because of an increased emphasis on project management, the percentage of software-delivery projects that are delivered successfully within the triple constraints of time, cost and planned features continues to increase.
Despite this, close to three-quarters of software projects are still considered to have failed in some respect, and it has been said that projects that fail often do so before a single line of code is written.
To deliver software successfully, it is essential that people with program and project management experience lead the effort. In addition, it is necessary to set up effective management structures from the outset in order to achieve high performance.
Recommendations
Accenture has formulated 10 guidelines that can help deliver the structures required for effective program and project management, enabling high performance.
The guidelines are:
1. Employ simple, flexible methodologies: These are essential in complex delivery environments.
2. Implement phased release plans: Tightly manage the scope and schedule for each release.
3. Manage and track work: Do this in three- to six-month releases for maximum effectiveness.
4. Control workflow and quality with transition points: Create stage gates between defined work phases.
5. Enable distributed work: Optimize multi-site delivery.
6. Manage scope effectively: Implement formal change request procedures.
7. Maintain effective relationships with business users: They measure success by value delivered, not deadlines met.
8. Evaluate progress with metrics: This provides rigor in tracking and measuring progress.
9. Manage risk proactively: Issues must be anticipated before they arise. However, do not confuse this with issue management.
10. Manage relationships with other vendors: Large and complex projects often involve teams from different organizations.
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