Preface
Welcome to Enterprise IT Projects: Messing Up Optional. This handbook, Project Foundation, is dedicated to reshaping the delivery of large and complex IT projects. It draws on technical expertise, combining creative approaches with established standards and best practices.
Project Foundation introduces key principles in enterprise IT project delivery:
- People: Successful projects start with defined entry criteria for specialist roles based on qualifications, skills, and experience. This approach builds a culture of integrity and accountability, where performance is assessed against delivered outputs to ensure consistent quality.
- Process: Structured frameworks, processes, roles, responsibilities, and deliverables facilitate reliable project delivery. The handbook outlines tailored delivery models for different project types, ensuring each project benefits from the most suitable approach.
- Technology: Project tools are presented as enablers that support the frameworks and processes, supplementing rather than replacing the technical and discipline-specific skills within the team.
Project Foundation advocates a forward-thinking approach to IT project delivery. It offers practical insights to streamline complex processes, enhance team capabilities, and align project objectives with measurable outcomes—making ‘messing up’ optional.
A pivotal shift in Project Foundation is the introduction of the Project Assurance Manager role. Tasked with maintaining quality standards throughout the project phases, the Project Assurance Manager provides dedicated oversight, addressing the common conflict project managers face between quality management and balancing time and cost constraints. While the Project Management Office (PMO) often conducts health checks, its role can be limited due to the lack of direct, hands-on engagement. The Project Assurance Manager brings an active, embedded presence, offering consistent oversight beyond traditional, more reactive PMO checks.
Who Can Benefit from This Book
Project Foundation is intended for business leaders and IT professionals in enterprise IT project delivery.
- Business Leaders: Gain valuable insights and build foundational knowledge of enterprise IT project delivery, enabling active participation and informed decision-making without reliance on advice from project professionals, some of whom may lack commitment to industry standards and best practices.
- IT Professionals: Access a wealth of theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and reflective guidance for evaluating competencies and identifying growth opportunities.
Explore Project Foundation and embark on a journey toward improved enterprise IT project delivery outcomes!
