Managing e-business Projects

Transcription

1 Managing e-business Projects

2 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg GmbH

3 Thomas Stoehr Managing e-business Projects 99 Key Success Factors With 37 Figures and 12 Tables Springer

4 Thomas Stoehr Overbeckstr Hamburg, Germany tstoehr@web.de Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Stoehr, Thomas: Managing e-business projects: 99 key success factors; with 12 tablesl Thomas Stoehr. - Berlin; Heidelberg; New York; Barcelona; Hong Kong; London; Milan; Paris; Tokyo: Springer, 2002 ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / ISBN This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer-Verlag. Violations are liable for prosecution under the German Copyright Law. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2002 The use of general descriptive names, trademarks, ete. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Typesetting: Camera-ready by the author Design: KünkelLopka, Heidelberg Printed on acid-free paper SPIN /3142SR

5 Preface Motivation for e-business Project Management Is there a need for a book called 'Managing e-business Projects'? There are thousands of books on project management in general and hundreds on IT project management in particular. The decisive question is whether or not traditional project management works also for e-business projects. You find different answers to this question - myths about managing e-business projects continue to abound. Some people believe that managing an e-business project does not differ from managing an IT project. In their opinion e-business can be reduced to technological factors only. They view e-business as the current wave of a technological evolution in IT. As a consequence they propagate the application of traditional IT project management techniques to e-business projects. Other people have a completely different view. They think that e-business projects require an entirely new project management methodology that is absolutely distinct from what has been done before. The extreme finds its expression in the belief that e-business projects need not be managed at all. Some people view project management for e business projects as an unnecessary bureaucratic burden that stifles the creativity of the project staff. Now, what is my opinion? From my perspective, e-business projects do differ from traditional IT projects. In e-business projects there are many specifics that you do not find in IT projects. If you treat e-business projects like IT projects, you are taking unnecessary risks. You can not apply all traditional IT project management methods and techniques in e-business projects. However, this does not mean that you have to start from scratch inventing a completely new project management methodology for e-business projects. Professional e-business project management suggests a combined triplet of practices: 1. There is a widely accepted body of knowledge about general management practices that can be applied to any project. e-business projects - as the name already suggests - are projects. Therefore, it can be assumed that those general project management practices fit e-business projects as well. 2. e-business projects have a lot in common with IT projects. Some of the project management practices that work in IT projects work also in e-business projects, but some do not work. This book identifies those that work and describe how they can be applied when managing an e-business project.

6 VI Preface 3. There are project management practices that are unique to or have a special significance in e-business projects. While there are individual differences among e-business projects, there are also similarities that run through all projects and project management practices that can be applied to all or at least most of the e-business projects. This book is not meant to replace the excellent literature on project management in general and on IT project management in particular. What this book brings to you is a collection of methods, experiences, and key success factors that are unique to or require special emphasis in e-business projects. This book is written for project managers of e-business projects. It intends to dispel some of the mysteries surrounding e-business project management and to make it more tangible. In contrast to some other books on the subject, it is not an academic book: it is written by a practitioner for practitioners. It provides practical best practices on e business project management. The book is written from a contractor's point of view performing an e-business project for a client. This situation is typical for many e-business projects since many companies are not well prepared to perform an e-business project 'in-house'; instead they hire a contractor to perform a project. Therefore, many of the recommendations are attributed to the relationship between a client and a contractor company. However, a lot of the described principles are applicable also to e-business projects that are conducted in-house. The given recommendations on e-business project management are not limited to a specific country or industry, and are independent of the size of project and the company involved in performing a project. Acknowledgment Many people contributed enthusiastically to this book. I would like to thank my colleagues in the IBM e-business Innovation Center in Hamburg, Germany, for in-depth reviews and valuable suggestions on the book. In particular, Martin Koehler and Stephan Reschke provided constructive criticism on most of the book. Over the last 15 years I have had the opportunity to work on several IT research, development, services and consulting projects in various areas. This helped me to gain and broaden my project management experience. Without that I could not have written this book. I thank the IBM Corporation for providing me with this opportunity. However, certain material in the book might be considered as controversial or might provoke a stormy response. Therefore, I would like to point out that the opinions and views expressed are solely my own and do not necessarily represent the opinions and views of the people mentioned above nor the IBM Corporation. Hamburg, September 2001 Thomas Stoehr

7 Table of Contents 1 Introduction e-business Projects Differences Between e-business and Traditional IT Projects Challenges in e-business Projects Skills Required for e-business Projects The Project Manager in e-business Projects The Qualifications of an e-business Project Manager The First Key Success Factor e-business Solution Implementation Approach How the Book Is Organized What Is in This Book for the Reader 25 2 Managing the Scope Planning the Project Scope Defining the Project Scope Developing the Work Breakdown Structure 42 3 Managing the Schedule Developing the Project Schedule Controlling the Project Schedule 56

8 VIII Table of Contents 4 Managing the Team Recruiting Project Staff Defining the Project Organization Developing the Project Team 77 5 Managing the Cost Estimating the Project Cost Controlling the Project Cost Managing the Client Supporting a Client to Achieve Its Objectives Involving a Client in the Project Handling Project Issues Managing Risks Analyzing Project Risks Responding to Project Risks Managing Technology Planning e-business Technology Implementing the e-business Application Deploying the e-business Solution Managing Quality Planning Quality Assuring Quality Managing Change Defining the Change Management Procedure 186

9 Table of Contents IX 10.2 Issuing Change Requests Analyzing and Responding to Change Requests Managing the Subcontractor Selecting a Subcontractor Monitoring a Subcontractor Managing Communications Planning Communications Performing Communications Managing Documentation Managing Technical Documentation Managing Legal Documentation 245 Appendix A: List of Acronyms 253 Appendix B: Glossary 255 References 263 Index of Key Success Factors 267 Index 273