5 Things That would Help in Project Management

Information Technology has always been a challenge for people who manages IT Projects. The challenges are different for following reason:

• Information Technology is always been linked to Business and business is always growing , changing and expanding. Information Technology projects goes through changes even before it has been delivered.
• Business users are ignorant about technology(Although we have seen a growth)  and their understanding of how to use the Information Technology to maximize potential is limited. They see technology as solution provider and not the tool to help them.
• Technologies are changing faster than any other business

Keeping all these in mind, we need to have following things to manage our Delivery of the solution in a better way:

1. Open for change: Define the scope and limit it to development but make sure that you are developing something which is easy for change. Avoid giving answers like "this is not possible in this technology?". Remember if you can not do it, some one else would.
2. Understand Business: It is important that the whole development team understands the business to the maximum they can. Once they understand the business and the need of the user , they would themselves come up with solutions which will give then praises from customer and end user.   
3.  Embrace Change:  Team should be motivated to accept changes which are critical to the business requirements. If they understand Business they would definitely accept it more easily.Make sure that team is able to say "No" for a change which is not critical for business or does not add value ( It reminds of Lean Philosophy).
4. Ready Made Code: A typical developer will always love to write his framework/libraries etc , this eating away the time which can be used for some meaningful development, if we take off the shelf available code or already developed frameworks/libraries.
5. Partnership Not Management: Project Manager, Customer and team should work as a Partnership firm, where every one has a role defined and is working for the goal. Manager should not be only acting as some one sitting high and ordering, he should be like a Team member with maximum expertise/information/experience

Finally I would be happy if you people ( whoever reads this!) can comment with their points.

Software Team Management

How is it different from any team management? Lets see how a common ( General Rule applied  ) man ( working in a Company) think of IT.

• If there is a problem, it has to do with software.
• IT does not yield direct revenue to the company
• IT people are paid well above their capabilities.

In all these scenarios it becomes slightly more difficult to manage your team. I am putting down some of the points which we must do, with the team to make sure that we deliver best as per expectations to the customer. These may not be the guide lines for doing it, but these have worked for me over the years.

• Do Explain the project from Business perspective to the team. Make sure when you are explaining, you explain in a layman's language.
• Spend time with the team  whenever possible. 
• Give small doses of appreciation. Who does not like it, even after years of service an appreciation gives me goose bumps
• Make sure you are friend to them when they need you and a tough manager to them when it comes to delivery.
• Ask them to write what they have understood. I learnt in my childhood after writing. It helps you recollect while thinking in mind and then while writing. Also, we have every thing in "Black and White" as they say.
• Remember not to show them that you are smarter than them. Sometimes a foolish idea from them can turn to be a big idea. This foolish idea will come to you only if you show that you are still learning.
• Understand the career plan for each of them and align that with the work given to them.
• Play some games to activate there mind during the project, may be ask riddles. Remember a mind used is mind sharpened. We need proactive ideas, nothing is changing and expanding as Information Technology.

I would appreciate you all to add to this and pass your comments. Finally it is a collaborative world now.