IT Implementation: The Project Life Cycle
Required Reading
Pone, R. (2010) Project Management: 4 Steps to Get Flagging Projects Back on Track. CIO.com Retrieved on June 8, 2012,
from http://www.cio.com/article/598822/Project_Management_4_Steps_to_Get_Flagging_Projects_Back_on_Track?
taxonomyId=3198
Resource Index to Project Management KnowHow.
Project. Connections.com. Retrieved on June 8, 2012 from
http://www.projectconnections.com/knowhow/index.html
Standish Group (2013) Chaos Manifesto: https://larlet.fr/static/david/stream/ChaosManifesto2013.pdf
Optional Reading
Schiff, C. (2010) Maximize Business Performance: Getting Started: The BPM Project Life Cycle. DM Review Magazine.
January. Retrieved on June 8, 2012 from http://www.dmreview.com/article_sub.cfm?articleId=7926
Reddy, B. K. (2010). Systems development life cycle methodologies. Ezinarticles.com http://ezinearticles.com/?SystemDevelopmentLifeCycleMethodologies&
id=2258714
Module 1 Case
IT Implementation: The Project Life Cycle
Assignment Overview
There are three sources for this Module’s Case:
Pone, R. (2010) Project Management: 4 Steps to Get Flagging Projects Back on Track. CIO.com Retrieved on June 8, 2012,
from http://www.cio.com/article/598822/Project_Management_4_Steps_to_Get_Flagging_Projects_Back_on_Track?
taxonomyId=3198
Resource Index to Project Management KnowHow.
Project. Connections.com. Retrieved on June 8, 2012 from
http://www.projectconnections.com/knowhow/index.html
Finally, the Standish Group publishes annual descriptions of systems failures:
Standish Group (2013) Chaos Manifesto: https://larlet.fr/static/david/stream/ChaosManifesto2013.pdf
You should also be prepared to use material from the Background Readings or related other materials you find yourself (be sure to reference properly whatever specific sources you draw on).
The basic question posed in this Module’s Case is whether project management is sufficiently controllable according to good design principles that we should expect routine successes, or so inherently unpredictable and political that our expectations should be lowered. It’s probably something in between, of course, but just where is debatable. You’re invited here to read about both success and failure, think about the advice being offered, and ponder their implications for yourself.
Case Assignment
Use information from the modular background readings as well as any good quality resource you can find. Please cite all sources and provide a reference list (use APA format) at the end of your paper.
LENGTH: 3 pages typed and double-spaced.
Your answer to the following question will be assessed:
“Is project management more of a science or more of an art form?”
The following thoughts are suggested as things to think about, not necessarily as points to be answered specifically in your paper:
• “Science” is generally defined by replicable, learnable procedures that tend toward success, art by the unpredictable, capable of being carried out by skilled practitioners but in ways that they are not always able to explain
• What do we mean by “success”?
• Is failure always a bad thing?
• What do we really know about the project management process?
Be sure to include appropriate citations from the cases you choose, including B&W, as well as your general conclusions and advice to others; you should try to have at least five to seven specific guidelines, together with your justification for them.