style="font-size:15px;"> Following the main principles
When implementing new or intermediate solutions, or launching a business (or expanding it), it is recommended to be guided by the main requirements stipulated by this document. The cost of the solution and maintenance of IT infrastructure directly depends on the choice of a solution.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that building an Enterprise Architecture is one of the most important aspects of building an effective corporate governance mechanism with the integration of information technologies to obtain the best results. Integrating IT Service Management (ITSM), Project Management Methodology (PMM), Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT) will enable businesses to achieve exceptional results and maximize the benefits of IT.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
General provisions
Project management is considered as a method and a set of procedures based on adopted management principles used to plan, evaluate, and control work assignments in order to duly achieve the desired result, within the budget and in accordance with project requirements. This chapter contains the basic principles of project management, which should be taken into account when building an IT Enterprise Architecture. Any projects involving, affecting or depending on IT are IT projects. The “project” approach should be a guidance when planning, developing and implementing various IT architecture services.
Project management is a very broad topic, affecting and interwoven with various directions of activity, such as quality management, risk management, finance management, and so on. This chapter briefly describes the main aspects, methods and techniques of project management.
A project is a one-time, non-recurring activity or set of actions to be taken within specific term, and aimed at creating unique products, services, results or clearly defined goals. The signs of the project are:
•There is an exact start date. The key feature of the project is the “time component”, i.e. there is the beginning and end of the project.
•There is an exact finish date. Date of the estimated deadline for the project is to be set, but the finish date is fixed upon obtaining the final result or achieving the objectives of the project.
•The project result is unique. This is the second distinction between a project and a process or regular activity. “Unique” does not mean absolutely new for everyone, it can be unique for an organizer or team.
•The resources and budget are limited.
• The specific order of the assignments. It may imply temporary changes in the managerial breakdown and make it different from the one established in the organization.
Program differs from the project by a larger scale and possibility to consist of many projects. For example, an organization has a transition program to a centralized IT management system, which may include several separate projects.
An assignment or a set of assignments is a set of actions to be performed by one or several persons using a simple list defining a sequence of actions.
Key Aspects of Project Management
Triple Constraint or Project Triangle describes the balance between the scope, cost and schedule of the project, which affects the final result, i.e. quality. Quality is the fourth element of the Project Triangle, located in the center, and any change in the sides affects it.
“Triple Constraint or Project Management Triangle”
There is a huge difference between doing something well, fast or cheap. It is impossible to change one of the factors (funds, list of jobs, time or quality) without affecting at least one of the them. As an example:
• In order to approximate the finish date (time) of a project, one can spend more resources (funds) or remove some assignments (scope) from the project.
• In order to terminate a project within a budget (funds), one can either reduce some assignments (scope), which will affect the product’s capabilities (quality).
• In order to add new features (quality) to the product, one can extend the project’s timeline to allocate time for new assignments (time), thereby adding new tasks (scope) and involve new people to work faster (costs).
The idea of all methods and approaches is to focus attention on one or several factors controlling the effects on the rest.
Criteria for a project success are defined by the actual indicators to coincide with planned ones in terms of duly project termination, within the estimated budget and in accordance with the requirements for the final result. These requirements can and should be formulated and include measurable criteria, i.e. indicators of project success.
The goal of the project manager is to achieve the criteria for project success.
The main task of the project manager is to maintain the balance of the project triangle.
According to practice, only a quarter of all projects reach the criteria for success. That is why planning a project one should indicate the main success factors of the project (for example, the project budget and the continuity of the result), as well as possible tolerances – the allowed deviations of related factors (for example, the project implementation timeframe, but not more than ten percent, etc.).
To make project management more convenient, an organization can implement a classification of projects by different categories. Each organization defines the categories and characteristics of the project independently. Below is a general classification of a project by complexity:
• Simple project aims to generate new or improve existing business processes, information systems, software, documents, services, machines, and equipment. Only one business process will be changed or created in a company’s single division. Simple project usually has a low cost, a small scope of work, and a short time frame and involves a small number of employees.
• Complex project aims to generate new or improve existing business processes, information systems, software, documents, services, machines, and equipment. Several business processes will be changed or created. Complex project involves several company divisions and usually a high cost, a large list of assignments, a long time frame and a large number of employees.
Classification by priority allows defining the project implementation sequence: Low, Middle or High. The projects can be classified by purpose in regards of interaction with IT:
• Administrative projects deal with organizational changes, which usually do not affect the IT infrastructure, or involve IT resources.
• Internal projects are usually implemented within one department and make insignificant changes in IT infrastructure and do not involve many IT resources.
• IT projects are carried out within the organization and have a significant impact to IT infrastructure. They aim to replace the organization’s current IT infrastructure and involves significant IT resources.
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