Managing the Politics of IT Project Management

Overview: IT is an organization accused of letting projects drive timelines instead of timelines drive projects. Missing deadlines is indeed common as is extraordinary cost that comes in the form of overtime, external resources, and rework. Fundamentally Earned Value is not tracked. Even where Agile methodologies and alternative approaches to project management are attempted, projects simply do not have a crisp sense of user requirements, scope, timing, dependencies, and issue management. The politics of IT project management often include competing for resources, convincing the client community on the difference between "need vs. want" choices, getting sponsors to take action and demand compliance, even getting third parties to live up to their contracted commitments. Can IT projects transform into positive experiences that deliver value from code block to end-user? Most IT leaders believe they can, with some fundamental principles being applied to how we approach and manage projects overall. This learning event reinforces the knowledge, skills, and abilities that help IT technologists do a better job navigating the politics of project management.