Providing a Model for Virtual Project Management with an Emphasis on IT Projects

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to discover the best practices used by information technology (IT) project managers to determine what leadership skills, behaviors, communication tools and techniques are needed to lead and communicate effectively with virtual IT project teams.Design/methodology/approachIn this qualitative case study, data was gathered by semistructured interviews from ten successful IT project managers from Northern California who had more than ten years of experience managing virtual teams (VTs) with growing and profitable IT companies in Silicon Valley, California.FindingsIT project managers and leaders may consider building personal relationships with team members at the beginning of each project to foster a sense of camaraderie and common ground for the successful outcome and desired results. Maintaining cohesive team relationships to gain their trust and confidence may require additional coaching, mentoring, collaborating, recognizing their accomplishments, providing technical training, and understanding different cultures and local laws that relate to VTs to manage projects successfully to move projects forward in sustaining business, and assure customer satisfaction.Originality/valueFindings from this study may assist IT project managers and leaders in building trust and rapport, increasing efficiency and developing effective lines of communication within their virtual IT teams.

In this study, we deploy a rank-order Delphi survey of factors impacting the information technology (IT) project management capability. We first develop a conceptual model based on the theory of dynamic capabilities that positions IT project management as a dynamic capability enabling the IT capabilities of an organization. In our conceptual model, the IT project management maturity level is identified as one antecedent factor that influences the IT project management capability. The objective of this Delphi study is to identify additional factors beyond the scope of most project management maturity models that influence the IT project management capability. The results of this study provide the foundation for future testing and validation of the conceptual model.

This research focuses on information technology (IT) project managers' growth mindset concerning IT project management (PM) ability and investigates how such a mindset can promote escalation of commitment to a troubled IT project. Specifically, we suggest that the growth mindset of IT PM ability promotes prospective achievement motivation and can lead IT project managers to escalate their commitment to an IT project despite negative feedback suggesting that the project may not be completed successfully. Through a series of three experiments with 351 IT project managers, we obtained consistent support for our hypotheses suggesting that the growth mindset of IT PM ability promotes IT project escalation and this effect is partially mediated by anticipated regret about project failure and anticipated likelihood of project success. In addition, in the three experiments we found that when the project involves an unfamiliar technology the indirect effect of the growth mindset of IT PM ability through anticipated likelihood of project success is stronger than when the project involves a familiar technology.

Chapter 10 - Managing IT projects

For information technology (IT) projects to be successful, it is imperative to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) that are essential to the IT project management process. This study aims to illuminate these CSFs by incorporating insights from professionals involved in the management of IT projects. The major contribution of this study lies in classifying these factors into different categories and quantifying their impact while taking IT project management experts’ viewpoints into account. To accomplish this, a thorough assessment of the literature was carried out, which resulted in the identification of 20 success factors that fall into five categories: project team capability, top management support, project quality, project management, and organizational process assets (OPAs). A survey covering these variables was then sent to professionals in the IT industry, and responses were obtained from five experts. The collected data was analyzed using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) method, which mitigates imprecision and avoids bias in the data. The most important factor was determined to be project team capability, whereas organizational process assets were deemed to be the least significant factor. It is anticipated that the insight garnered from this study will help IT project management professionals in supporting, evaluating, and improving project success.

Chapter 4 - Managing the IT project team

Understanding the most critical skills for managing IT projects: A Delphi study of IT project managers

This chapter presents the results of a case study pertaining to the use of information and communication media to support a range of project management tasks. A variety of electronic communication tools have evolved to support collaborative work and virtual teams. Few of these tools have focused specifically on the needs of project managers. In an effort to learn how practicing IT project managers employ these tools, data were collected at a North American Fortune 500 industrial company via interviews with IT project managers regarding their use and perceptions of electronic media within the context of their work on project teams. In this study, "virtual" describes the extent to which communication is electronic rather than the extent to which team members are geographically separated. Although the number of respondents was limited, the richness of the data collected leads to the conclusion that successful project managers and teams become skilled at adapting a variety of existing communication technologies to match the project task or process, the receiver, their own role as sender, and the content of the message. Groupware designers and developers need to better understand project management methods and best practices in order to provide better tools for practitioners, particularly as organizations expand globally and increasingly outsource various functions of their IT development and operations.Request access from your librarian to read this chapter's full text.

This paper presents the results of a case study pertaining to the use of information and communication media to support a range of project management tasks. A variety of electronic communication tools have evolved to support collaborative work and virtual teams. Few of these tools have focused specifically on the needs of project managers. In an effort to learn how practicing IT project managers employ these tools, data were collected at a North American Fortune 500 industrial company via interviews with IT project managers regarding their use and perceptions of electronic media within the context of their work on project teams. In this study, “virtual” describes the extent to which communication is electronic rather than the extent to which team members are geographically separated. Although the number of respondents was limited, the richness of the data collected leads to the conclusion that successful project managers and teams become skilled at adapting a variety of existing communication technologies to match the project task or process, the receiver, their own role as sender, and the content of the message. Groupware designers and developers need to better understand project management methods and best practices in order to provide better tools for practitioners, particularly as organizations expand globally and increasingly outsource various functions of their IT development and operations.

Applying system dynamics modeling to IT project management

Introduction: Virtual teams, especially project teams, increasingly rely on computer-mediated communication for interaction when collaborating and completing their tasks. Team members represent various cultures, occupations, and industries. Virtual teams often use English as a business lingua franca in communication. This study investigates critical factors related to virtual project teams that influence computer-mediated communication. Research questions: 1. How is diversity in video meetings experienced by the members of multidisciplinary and multicultural project teams? 2. Do differences in team members' occupational or industrial backgrounds show in their opinions on video meetings? Literature review: The effectiveness of communication has been identified as playing a critical role in the success of virtual projects. Diversity, whether disciplinary or cultural, enriches teamwork by bringing different viewpoints to discussions. On the other hand, diversity can also set some challenges for communicating these viewpoints. Research methodology: Mixed methods were used to analyze data obtained from 104 responses to an online survey. Spearman's correlation coefficient and Kruskall-Wallis nonparametric tests were used for statistical analysis, and open comments were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Results and conclusion: The findings show that linguistic, cultural, and occupational diversity facilitates communication in virtual project team meetings. In addition, applying appropriate features of video meeting tools in different stages of project teamwork leads to better communication in virtual teams. A high level of English proficiency is not required, but clear communication rules are essential. In addition, some occupational or industry-specific differences in opinions on communication could be identified.

This review paper explores the impact of Agile methodology on IT financial planning and project management efficiency. Agile has become a widely adopted framework in the IT sector because it can enhance project delivery timelines, improve scope management, and foster stakeholder engagement. However, the integration of Agile with traditional financial processes presents challenges, particularly in budgeting and financial forecasting. The paper examines the barriers to aligning Agile’s iterative approach with fixed financial models and discusses best practices, such as rolling-wave budgeting and continuous communication between finance and project teams, to optimize efficiency. Additionally, future trends in Agile-driven IT project management, including integrating DevOps, artificial intelligence (AI), and hybrid models, are explored as potential solutions to enhance efficiency and adaptability in IT project environments.

This paper analyses and presents a case study on information technology governance (ITG) practices in a government-linked company (GLC) by looking at the ITG process, accountability and the desirable behaviours of information technology (IT) at the project level of the organization. The study reveals a number of important findings in the context of ITG implementation at the project level. As far as ITG documentation was is concerned, there are numerous standards currently available of which many are continuously undergoing further development by IT professionals. Nonetheless, there is still no one correct way of governing IT in an organization, more specifically, in IT project management. In addition, there is not much known concerning the ITG outcome of ITG practices in Malaysian organizations. Thus, this paper shares the level of readiness and awareness of ITG practices, for this particular case, when it comes to implementing IT projects. Key words: Information technology governance (ITG), information technology governance (ITG) practices, accountability, information technology (IT) outcome.

Project management success is often elusive, particularly in a complex, systems of systems environment (SOSE). In the information technology (IT) industry, failure rates are approaching 70 percent. Many reasons are cited for this high failure rate, including the shortage of skilled staff, constant changes in technology, too many known IT application constraints, inadequately defined requirements, and poor project management skills among others. This paper proposes a main cause of failure as complexity caused by discontinuities among project objectives and the worldviews, tools and ideas in standard practice in IT project management. This paper will also assert that many IT projects, by their very nature, are complex in design. An understanding of complexity and a change in thinking about IT project management in the modern engineering organization may be indicated. The conclusion of this paper will summarize future research necessary to close this gap.

The Information Technology (IT) has undergone profound and rapid changes in recent decades. In this context, organizations must be prepared to implement these technologies, on the form of projects, as quickly and effectively as possible, providing results before its competitors. Therefore, it can be noted that the delivery of a project on time, ever shorter, is essential. Considering these observations, the main purpose of this study is to explore how failures in IT project stakeholder management may impact, directly or indirectly, the deadlines of these projects. The empirical research, qualitative in nature, is of the exploratory type and counted with the participation of IT project managers and managers of IT project managers, who answered a semi structured interview and provided documents in support of the research. The transcripts of the interviews as well as the provided documents were used for the analysis of data content. As a final result of this study, the main failures in the stakeholder management that may compromise – mostly indirectly – the timely delivery of IT projects are identified and explored.