Top 5 IT Project Challenges

Introduction

Information technology (IT) projects are comprised of complex, multifaceted business processes.
These can range from managing Help desks and responding to troubleshooting requests to managing a portfolio of strategic applications. Keeping these IT operations running smoothly requires significant coordination and communication.
In the pursuit of achieving the goals of a project, a team has to face a lot of challenges.
The top challenges include:
* Managing the schedule
* Resource management
* Prioritization
* Communication
* Integration and Synchronization

An inability to address these challenges can hamper IT operations and in turn lead to increased costs, delays in service delivery and inability to respond to the business demands. Hence, it is most important to understand how these issues map to key requirements.

Managing the schedule
Every project has to adhere to the agreements and demands of the business, the most important being delivering the services on time. Thus, managing the schedule is one of the major challenges every manager has to face. Since a project has an end date - or a delivery date, it is imperative that the team and the management understand the importance of planning the work. A sound planning helps in the correct delivery of the agreed services. In some cases it may be actual software or package, while in operations it might be resolution within the given Service Level Agreements [SLAs].

Resource Management
No project can be successful without the efforts of its teams. This makes managing a team a crucial factor in the success of a project and thus a major challenge as well. Handling resources involves the use of effective leadership skills to get the required work done. A majority of this role falls within the Human Resources (HR) domain which requires a good understanding of the nuances of the human needs.
Maslow's theory rightly highlights the needs of human in the following order:
* Physiological - Food, clothing, shelter: basic needs for survival
* Safety - Job satisfaction, security , stability,
* Social: Friendship, affection, and social aspects
* Self-Esteem: achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, self-respect, respect from others
* Self-Actualization: realizing personal potential, self-fulfilment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.
Understanding these needs will help in getting the most from the team.

Prioritization
In order to optimize the way organizations manage a portfolio of projects, a team needs comprehensive information about resources and projects. For example, developers might need to support multiple projects at once. How should their time be divided between those projects? The answer to that question will depend on multiple factors, including the developer's skill set, the ability to coordinate with schedules with other team members, and the availability of other resources, such as development tools and workstation.
When prioritizing, IT managers and executives also need to consider constraints and dependencies between tasks. For example, one task might be ranked low priority whereas other task may be ranked as high priority. In understanding the priority, the risk categorization of the task must be taken into account.

Communication
Communication is a major challenge that can make or break a project. Effective communication includes the use of the correct communication tools, methods and techniques.
It could be verbal, written, formal and informal and some effective communication methods can be categorized as follows:
Interactive: Phone, Meetings, Video conferences
Push: email, brochures, voicemail
Pull: Website, Bulletin board, knowledge repository
A team must balance the amount of information with the needs of the project and the recipients to determine the most appropriate method to utilize.

Integration and Synchronization
All of the above factors are ineffective unless they are integrated together. Imagine what could happen if a key change in requirements is not propagate across the planning to execution phases. This would result in an incorrect deliverable or worse client dissatisfaction. Hence integration of all the aspects of a project is critical for any project. In addition to this, the various phases must be synchronized for most effective implementation and execution of a project.

Summary
In effect, all these factors are essential for the success of any project. A project to be considered successful requires proper planning and the help from the management. Exceeding customer requirements will bring about success to the project.
Understanding the business drivers and ensuring that the project meets the objectives of the business contribute to the ultimate success.