Here are a few crucial factors to consider while picking your IT project management software.
Scaled to project needs
IT project management software comes in a variety of levels of sophistication, from straightforward spreadsheets to intricate project and portfolio management systems. Software for managing IT projects needs to be scaled adequately for the project.
Avoid needless expenses
Software for project management should offer the required features as effectively as possible. Focusing on how the data you gather is being used is the best method to prevent overhead; if you can't demonstrate how the data will be used, you might not need to collect it. Workflow activities follow the same rules.
Simple software encourages adoption
Naturally, people will attempt to complete their tasks in the simplest manner. The majority of project management tasks can be completed manually, thus the software must be straightforward, efficient, and produce the precise outcomes the user is looking for.
The ability of IT project management software to facilitate communication between project teams and operational departments is one important area where it significantly benefits the entire business. Because they are interfaces between project management and operations and neither one owns them, they aren't frequently recognized. The two main interfaces on which teams should concentrate are as follows:
Moving from a project to operations
By definition, a project is a transient undertaking. All project-related artifacts, deliverables, knowledge, and final products must be transferred to the organizational functions that will maintain and use them once the project is finished. Release notes, source code, and open issue lists are frequently transferred, however these "hand-off artifacts" frequently don't include a justification for the choices taken regarding the project. To support systems and make upcoming changes safely and effectively, project planning, risk management, change control, and testing documentation can be useful resources.
Input/feedback from the operational functions
Teams working on numerous releases must have a reliable way to record user input, performance data, operational flaws, and stability concerns from operations functions. The majority of this data is kept in the business' ITSM system. Project teams should have access to the operational insights through the integration of problem-management workflows with project-management procedures like defect management and change management.
Combining ITSM with project management
In order to add value, project teams are responsible with implementing improvements to an organization's procedures, services, and products. That value is frequently not realized (at least not entirely) until the project has been completed and its results have been incorporated into ongoing operations. Consider this as a one-time investment that will pay you in the long run. This is crucial because project teams must be acutely aware of how short-term choices can affect the long-term results.
The effects of those decisions on the company's ongoing operations must be taken into account as project teams decide on scope, quality, timeframes, and project costs. Every project's products have an anticipated, practical lifespan. Expenditures (operations, cost of goods sold, maintenance costs, etc.) will be incurred throughout that time, and value will be realized (staff productivity, business insights, revenue opportunities, etc.). Project teams must take the lifetime implications into account as they estimate the ROI of their projects.
Best practices advise seeing IT project management as an aspect of IT service management that directly supports ongoing business operations. Service management is portrayed as a continual cycle of change that has an impact on operations in ITSM techniques (such as ITIL). Project teams play a critical role in enabling the development of new services as well as ongoing service improvement.
The design and optimization of project deliverables should aim to maximize operational value and reduce operational costs. Project teams should take into account operational consequences and end-user experience when determining the minimum viable product (MVP), in addition to the project charter's stated goals. Even if the project team meets every criterion, the organization won't receive the desired benefit if the product is not usable.
Defects that are discovered during testing, approved by the project team, and unresolved at the time of project conclusion should be avoided. When the project is finished, these acknowledged flaws don't just go away; they develop into support concerns that affect organizational value and operating expenses. The completion of a project (go-live) is just the beginning of an organization receiving a new and improved set of capabilities.
