MANAGING IT PROJECTS : how to pragmatically deliver projects for external customers

Urgent deadlines, constant lack of time, permanent delays - these are the most faithful companions and, at the same time, the greatest enemies of the project manager. Even certified project managers, people with enormous knowledge and a lot of experience, find themselves in a situation where they need great mental resilience in order not to give up. The book is a complete manual for all critical situations a project manager might need to handle along the project’s lifecycle. Written by a project manager with many years of experience, each chapter contains real-life examples with analysis and guidelines. You’ll benefit from the down-to-earth knowledge that usually project managers learn over the course of years in critical and stressful situations with no preparation beforehand. It’s not about academic methodologies – it’s about pragmatic solutions that work in real-life. Far too often, the wise theory of IT project management has nothing to do with reality. Managing IT Projects is your special compendium of knowledge, featuring "project management black magic,” chock full of proven recipes for project managers and IT organization managers, as well as advice on how to act in critical situations. What You'll Learn Examine the main reasons for delays in projects and see where they come from Review the key success factors in managing projects beyond project management methodologies and techniques Understand the critical moments of projects and see how to prepare for them Apply a pragmatic strategy and philosophy for successful project delivery and cooperation with customers Who This Book Is For Software developers, project managers, engineering managers and software development directors, sales reps, executive and founders Endorsements: "An extremely powerful book which describes well the highlights of critical project management well supported by real-life experience. [...] A ready-made guide to succeed." Antonietta Mastroianni Chief Digital & IT Officer at Proximus, Telco Woman of the year 2022 "Straight to the point, well written and bold! [...] One of the best books on project management!" Dr. Joerg Storm Global Head IT Infrastructure Mercedes-Benz Mobility "Absolutely recommended book for all professionals in the IT industry!" Francis Cepero IoT Business Unit Leader A1 Group, former VP Innovation & Technology at SAP "Managing IT Projects" by Marcin Dąbrowski is a reference work [...] The best book I read this year." Holger Weichhaus Senior Director for Development Quality, AUDI AG "This is a very practical and insightful book that I wish I could have read when I started working in project management. [...] I will definitely make it mandatory reading for all my project managers." Ricardo Campos CEO ITSCredit, former CEO at ActivoBank and Chief Digital Officer at Millennium Bank "The book really draws you in to how to successfully manage an IT-project both on a very practical note and also how to influence both internal and external stakeholders." Brian Stout Former CEO of BT One Phone, board member of T-Mobile The Netherlands and CEO of KPN Belgium "There are many books trying to explain to us how to design, sell and deliver transformative IT programs for demanding clients. “Managing IT projects” is more. [...] Outstanding value for practitioners." Michael Brandenburg , GM 2Quadrate GmbH, Lead Coach at IESE Business School, former VP at Capgemini "It’s incredibly practical. It wins my trust." Ewa Maciaś , Director of Engineering at Nomagic, ex Director of Engineering at Google "Are you looking for a book that explains the journey behind an IT project and how one deals with the challenges that come along the way? Look no further - Marcin captures this brilliantly in his book Managing IT Projects." Gudny Helga Herbertsdottir CCO of VIS Insurances "Describing this book as the ultimate practical manual for effective IT project management, or as a fuss-free guide to dealing with the grievances of every project is falling short." Fabio de Souza Head of Solution Architecture at Amdocs "As a starting project manager in the year 2000, I wish I would have had this insight in my hands. I would have avoided a lot of bizarre and difficult meetings from the beginning." Jarno Kekäläinen CEO at Telia Inmics-Nebula "The book is full of hints and tips for how to succeed and avoid the many pitfalls that await the unwary." Mike Corrigall Former Vice President of T-Mobile International "Take the time to read this book, it will save you from many pitfalls along the way!" Patric Thate CFO UBM Development AG "The step-by-step approach to the lifecycle makes this an ideal support both to new project managers and for the more experienced." Oliver Matthews Vice-President & CMO, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management "I wish I wrote this book myself!" Rafał Gruszczyński Site Manager / Project Manager at Spyrosoft "I encourage you to read this book. It’s one of the best business books that I’ve had the pleasure to read." Rafał Markiewicz , Former CTO E-Plus Gruppe & KPN International, CTO BASE, CEO Nexus Telecom Contents 5 About the Author 7 Endorsements 8 Foreword 21 Introduction 23 How and Why This Book Was Written 26 Chapter 1: When Does a Project Really Start? 28 Selecting the Supplier 30 The Birth of Problems 34 Summary 37 Chapter 2: Why Sales People Shouldn’t Sell on Their Own 38 The Backstage of the Sales Process – Actors and Their Goals 40 Sales Targets vs. the Future of the Project 41 A Holistic Approach 43 Summary 46 Chapter 3: Delay As a Problem of the Sales Process 47 Delays “Sold” vs. Those Created During the Project 49 In Practice 52 Summary 53 Chapter 4: The Scope As a Problem of the Sales Process 54 Compliance Matrix 55 The Workshops 56 Why the Scope “Explodes” 57 Good Practices 60 Summary 63 Chapter 5: Payment Schedule and the Subsequent Condition of the Project 64 Why Regular Payments Are a Good Thing 65 Upfront Invoicing 67 Aggressive Payment Schedules 69 On-Premise vs. SaaS 70 Summary 71 Chapter 6: Why Attitude Matters More Than Outcomes 72 Performance Is Not Enough 73 The Power of Attitude and Devotion 75 The Project vs. Relations with the Client 77 Summary 79 Chapter 7: Why Being at the Client’s Premises Is More Important Than the Outcomes 80 The Added Value of the On-Site Presence 82 On-Site Presence As a Business Model 84 Summary 86 Chapter 8: The Steering Committee As a Project Manager’s Tool 87 A Pitch Deck for the Steering Committee 89 Controlling the Discussion 91 Choosing the Right Audience 92 Summary 93 Chapter 9: Arguments with the Client – The Only Thing That Matters Is Progress and Why It’s Not Good to Be Right 94 The Classic Arguments 96 Why It’s Pointless to Be Right 97 Progress – The Main Goal of the Discussion 98 Summary 100 Chapter 10: How and When to Break Bad News, or What the Client Should Know About 101 When You Can and Should Be Completely Honest 103 Why Sometimes You Need to Choose Between Being a Liar and an Idiot 104 When Being Completely Honest Is Harmful for the Project 106 The Level of Transparency Depends on the Type of Client 108 Summary 109 Chapter 11: Always Be Prepared for the Worst 111 Stage 1. Signals Suggesting a Project Halt 113 Stage 2. Client Informing About Stopping the Project 115 Stage 3. Demands Sent by the Client 117 Stage 4. Preparing the Defense Strategy 118 Stage 5. Negotiations 121 Stage 6. Legal Proceedings 123 Summary 125 Chapter 12: Penalties – Much Ado About Nothing 126 How and Why Are Penalties Charged 127 Why Charging Penalties Makes No Sense 130 How to Protect Yourself Against Penalties 131 How Clients Use the Penalty Clauses 132 Summary 133 Chapter 13: Approaches to Project Management – Academic Discussions vs. Real Life 134 The Most Common Mistakes and Misunderstandings 136 How to Select the Right Project Management Methodology for Your Project 139 Summary 141 Chapter 14: The Management Strategy Depends on the Stage of the Project 143 Sales Process and Project Initiation 144 Analysis 145 Development 146 User Acceptance Tests 147 Stabilizing the System After Going to Production 147 Maintenance 148 Summary 148 Chapter 15: People’s Availability at Particular Stages of the Project 150 Sales Process 151 Initiation and Getting the Project Up to Speed 152 When the Project Still Has High Priority 153 When the Project “Ages” 154 Summary 155 Chapter 16: Monitoring the Internal Status of a Project 156 Two Parallel Reporting Systems 157 It’s the Information That Counts, Not Its Format 159 Good Practices That We Constantly Forget 159 Who Needs Status Information and Reports Anyway 163 Summary 164 Chapter 17: Low-Level Estimates – A Source of Everlasting Delays and a Foundation of Planning 166 The Scale of the Problem 168 The Source of the Problem 169 Building Solid Foundations for Planning 171 Summary 173 Chapter 18: Fixing Bugs – Planning Doomed to Fail 174 Summary 176 Chapter 19: Managing Delays 178 Who Is to Blame 179 Shaping the Client’s Perception 180 Documenting the Causes of Delay 182 Accepting Delays 182 Changing Priorities and Rescheduling the Project 183 Reducing the Scope 184 Splitting the Stages and Extending the Project 185 Summary 187 Chapter 20: The Whole Truth About User Acceptance Tests 188 Why User Acceptance Tests Should Begin As Soon As Possible 189 How to Plan User Acceptance Tests Pragmatically 192 Looking After the Testing Client 194 Formal Acceptance Criteria – Theory and Practice 194 Summary 195 Chapter 21: If You Want to Save Money, Invest in People 197 Project Analysis and Client Cooperation 198 Development 200 Give a Pay Rise or Let Go? 201 Filling the Key Positions 202 Summary 203 Chapter 22: When the Time Comes for Renegotiation or Terminating the Contract 205 When Continuing the Project Is Pointless 207 Renegotiating the Contract 209 Putting the Project on Hold 211 Freezing the Project Indefinitely Without Terminating the Contract 211 Ending the Cooperation by Mutual Agreement 212 Stopping the Project and a Court Trial 213 Summary 214 Chapter 23: It’s Always Good to Be in the Game 216 Index 221