Project Management Like Things Information Technology Management,

Project Management

Like things information technology management, business intelligence typically implemented form a "project" --, a special kind organizational arrangement set specific things a specific period time, opposed a regular ongoing part organizational structure.

Project management: My experience

"To be successful in the field of BI, a project team needs members with an understanding of and appreciation for the information needs of the user community as well as the technologies" (Wu 2005: 1). It is not enough for a project manager to know how the technology works 'for himself.' He or she must know why, how, and if the technology will be useful to others and will have applications in the field. The project manager must truly be someone who can wear two hats: he or she must be fully abreast of developments in the field and thoroughly understand the technology of the project. Yet the manager must also be people savvy. The manager must understand the personalities of the persons with whom he or she is working on the project and also the psychological profile of the future users.

As a project manager, I always prided myself on understanding my project team very well. I have always resisted the mentality of the typical 'techie geek' who does not understand people and can only see the trees, not the forest. When my project team was assembled, I discussed with everyone the ultimate goals of the project, so each would have a sense of their roles in the grand scheme of things. I tried to make each and every person feel as if his or her contribution was special, but also underlined that everyone's actions were crucially linked with the roles of others. My team engaged in icebreaking activities, such as talking about what they did or did not like about how previous teams were managed. The team as a whole was educated about the 'lifecycle' of project teams in terms of the Tuckman model of forming, storming, norming, and performing, to encourage greater self-consciousness about the evolution of their work environment.

As well as being able to discuss the different aspects of technology with each team member, I encouraged frequent communication through email when we could not meet personally, although we did strive to have weekly status meetings when feasible (Wu 2005). At these meetings we often discussed the end needs of users, to ensure all members stayed on task. I also had a strict time table about when different facets of the project should be completed. However, even with these contingency plans, the project met roadblocks. Delays due to weather, backlogs in terms of equipment needed to complete various projects, and stonewalling regarding funding from people who were not directly under my control all made the project extremely difficult to manage and challenged my leadership skills.