IT services. Hardware - Part 5. Not all projects are the same projects
The subject areas of services and management in IT are quite complex and non-trivial. This complexity is due to the intangibility of most objects in these areas. Despite this, people for some reason use very simple approaches to the classification of objects. Literally several attributes.
That is what happens with the concept of "project". If there are restrictions on finances, terms, and this is done once, then everything is a project! Let's stick with project management and everything will be fine!
But it won't be good, especially if it is a “software development project.” If any activity by interested parties is perceived in this way, then it is NOT a project and / or a project, but with huge disappointments and pain at the end.
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In other words, a real project is always an organizational change, and a bunch of “products - outcomes - benefits” should always be in sight. An organizational change can truly only be carried out from within the company. Accordingly, only a temporary organization whose management is in the company receiving the benefits and outcomes of this project can be called and understood as a real project . In fact, the company gives the manager of this project the authority to change it (the company).
Name the project is, above all, the end results. Accordingly, what is understood as a “software development project” that exists within the company of the beneficiary should, for example, be understood as:
How do you think, how much in common between the two “software development projects” listed above? I hope that the difference is clear, and that the phrase "software development project" will now sound to you as a "hammer assembly project."
There should be no projects that create software. These are great projects for software developers, but terrible projects for business. The project must implement a change in business, changes in the behavior and / or ways in which people work, and before the completion show a measurable positive effect . People in large numbers do not like changes, and any innovation will cause them to resist. And for any real project it is one of the biggest risks, without eliminating which the project should not be closed.
I highly recommend all software developers to order to read articles 702-729 of our group of companies .
Accordingly, what is called a “software development project” existing outside the company of the beneficiary company is nothing more than a “software development contract”. It is for this reason that such an activity must be formalized by a contract, and, for example, not a contract for the provision of services.
Below is a comparative table that will help you to better distinguish between the “project” and “in a row”.
At its core, in a row is a professional service for IT projects. And it should be managed, first of all, as a service.
If the project organization is not formed on the side of the beneficiary company, then the chances of a project failure noticeably increase. Contracting is NOT a real project and the contractor cannot effectively do the following things that are critical to the success of a project:
Since software development is an expensive and risky business, a contractor company may have a surrogate project inside. But everyone should clearly understand that such a project is by no means a substitute for a normal, full-fledged project on the side of the beneficiary company. The “galvanic isolation” of the service will not go anywhere because what is not called a project ...
As you can see, the contractor is also a participant in the project, but the real project is much more than a row.
On the other hand, in order for the contractor to be the most effective participant in the project, it is necessary to make efforts so that he understands the essence of the project for which he is developing the product, and also knows what is happening with other participants.
The project to improve the image of the brand ICL Services and create a channel of leads through the website. In fact, he was briefly called inside us as “website creation”, but this was a project activity that was correctly organized from the position of PRINCE2. We had our own internal project manager, who distributed a large number of tasks within the company, managed the contractor and organized the interaction of all participants and stakeholders.
The creation of automation and visual presentation of the site involved a third-party contractor. In spite of the fact that the work contractor was probably in full swing all this time, it was almost not noticeable to me as an ordinary participant and a non-core interested person of the project. Moreover, the work on our side was boiling even more.
As part of this project, in addition to the site created by the contractor, at least:
In addition, the entire top management was involved in the acceptance testing (validation) of the site. Whatever qualitative testing (verification) on its side is not organized by the contractor, only those who have to use the software and / or be responsible for it can do the final validation. The project was completed much later than the acceptance of the site as a result of the work of the contractor. He finished after accepting the site as the final product of the project .
As a result, at the output of the project, we received not just a web application accessible from the Internet, but a working tool, woven into the company's processes.
No contractor will do this for you. No contractor will be able to motivate or force the use of your company’s employees to develop the system developed by them as efficiently as possible. This is your job worth doing in this project.
Sources:
That is what happens with the concept of "project". If there are restrictions on finances, terms, and this is done once, then everything is a project! Let's stick with project management and everything will be fine!
But it won't be good, especially if it is a “software development project.” If any activity by interested parties is perceived in this way, then it is NOT a project and / or a project, but with huge disappointments and pain at the end.
')
What is a real project?
I look at the concept of the project through the eyes of PRINCE2. According to PRINCE2, the project has 3 spawning one other category of the useful that arises during the project:- Direct " final products " at the project output (Outputs). This is all the tangible that will be created within the project and transferred to users. For example,
- "Software to automate the process";
- “Updated work process instructions”;
- “A working process automation support service”.
- " Outcomes " of the project (Outcomes). These are the results of changes in reality that have occurred as a result of using the “products” of the project and activities within the project. For example,
- "An increase in the average number of orders processed per day by 10%."
- " Benefits " from the project (Benefits). These are the measurable benefits (income, savings, market share, etc.) that were obtained as a result of the fact that the reality after the project became different. For example,
- "Reducing the cost of processing an order by 10%";
- "Increasing the attractiveness of buyers due to an accelerated order processing time of 10%."
In other words, a real project is always an organizational change, and a bunch of “products - outcomes - benefits” should always be in sight. An organizational change can truly only be carried out from within the company. Accordingly, only a temporary organization whose management is in the company receiving the benefits and outcomes of this project can be called and understood as a real project . In fact, the company gives the manager of this project the authority to change it (the company).
Name the project is, above all, the end results. Accordingly, what is understood as a “software development project” that exists within the company of the beneficiary should, for example, be understood as:
- project to improve the performance of the process through automation;
- project to create a new line of business around the created software product
How do you think, how much in common between the two “software development projects” listed above? I hope that the difference is clear, and that the phrase "software development project" will now sound to you as a "hammer assembly project."
There should be no projects that create software. These are great projects for software developers, but terrible projects for business. The project must implement a change in business, changes in the behavior and / or ways in which people work, and before the completion show a measurable positive effect . People in large numbers do not like changes, and any innovation will cause them to resist. And for any real project it is one of the biggest risks, without eliminating which the project should not be closed.
And then what are the companies-developers of custom software?
And they are engaged in activities that are classified as “ in a row ” as part of the Civil Code (GC) of the Russian Federation. Contracting, unsurprisingly, also has a time limit, finances, and is usually done once.I highly recommend all software developers to order to read articles 702-729 of our group of companies .
Accordingly, what is called a “software development project” existing outside the company of the beneficiary company is nothing more than a “software development contract”. It is for this reason that such an activity must be formalized by a contract, and, for example, not a contract for the provision of services.
Below is a comparative table that will help you to better distinguish between the “project” and “in a row”.
At its core, in a row is a professional service for IT projects. And it should be managed, first of all, as a service.
If the project organization is not formed on the side of the beneficiary company, then the chances of a project failure noticeably increase. Contracting is NOT a real project and the contractor cannot effectively do the following things that are critical to the success of a project:
- identify all stakeholders, especially in big business;
- respond to business changes in a timely manner;
- propose changes that will be combined with the company's strategy and other projects;
- to motivate or compel employees of the beneficiary company to do things necessary for the success of the project.
Since software development is an expensive and risky business, a contractor company may have a surrogate project inside. But everyone should clearly understand that such a project is by no means a substitute for a normal, full-fledged project on the side of the beneficiary company. The “galvanic isolation” of the service will not go anywhere because what is not called a project ...
What does a real project look like?
A simplified model of project organization according to PRINCE2 is shown in the diagram below.As you can see, the contractor is also a participant in the project, but the real project is much more than a row.
On the other hand, in order for the contractor to be the most effective participant in the project, it is necessary to make efforts so that he understands the essence of the project for which he is developing the product, and also knows what is happening with other participants.
An example from the life of ICL Services
The project to improve the image of the brand ICL Services and create a channel of leads through the website. In fact, he was briefly called inside us as “website creation”, but this was a project activity that was correctly organized from the position of PRINCE2. We had our own internal project manager, who distributed a large number of tasks within the company, managed the contractor and organized the interaction of all participants and stakeholders.
The creation of automation and visual presentation of the site involved a third-party contractor. In spite of the fact that the work contractor was probably in full swing all this time, it was almost not noticeable to me as an ordinary participant and a non-core interested person of the project. Moreover, the work on our side was boiling even more.
As part of this project, in addition to the site created by the contractor, at least:
- a large number of materials in Russian;
- the process of working out leads with documentation and dedicated resources;
- processes for updating the materials and content of the site, both in the marketing and in the HR-area.
In addition, the entire top management was involved in the acceptance testing (validation) of the site. Whatever qualitative testing (verification) on its side is not organized by the contractor, only those who have to use the software and / or be responsible for it can do the final validation. The project was completed much later than the acceptance of the site as a result of the work of the contractor. He finished after accepting the site as the final product of the project .
As a result, at the output of the project, we received not just a web application accessible from the Internet, but a working tool, woven into the company's processes.
No contractor will do this for you. No contractor will be able to motivate or force the use of your company’s employees to develop the system developed by them as efficiently as possible. This is your job worth doing in this project.
Sources:
- Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2®. 4.2 “Business case defined”, 5.3 “The PRINCE2 approach to organization”
- Official Russian-language glossary of PRINCE2®
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/294032/
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