Público objetivo o target group:

IT project managers who want to deliver good project results must first have good project management tools. Also, project managers need to select the tools that are appropriate for the situational factors of the projects. IT project management is all about using the right tools and techniques. The following sections will discuss the results of the impact of eight selected IT project management tools on the odds of successful outcome in the specific project dimension.

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6.8.2.1 Weekly Status Report

From the logistic regression analysis, it was found that using a weekly status report increases the odds of success by 59% in the communication management dimension. The weekly status report tool supports the following project communication functions: documenting the weekly activity of the project, updating project status, critical issues and action plans, sharing project information with all stakeholders, budget and schedule updating.

Using a weekly status report tool increases the odds of successful communication management because it keeps all stockholders involved in the project and alerts them if any issues occur so that adjustment plans can be implemented to control the project schedule and budget.

6.8.2.2 Electronic Communication

Logistic regression found that electronic communication increases the odds of successful dimension outcome by 59.9% in the communication management dimension. Electronic communication provides the following benefits that impact IT project success: instantaneous updates, contacting all team members and stakeholders simultaneously, documentation and electronic record of communications.

Participants (i.e, participant #6) stressed the importance of project communication tools such as private blogs, “[ I] created a private blog for the project team to discuss issues and seek help. I feel social media is a very important tool to facilitate communication between project teams.” This shows how impactful IT project communication tools can be in increasing the odds of successful outcome in the IT project communication management dimension.

6.8.2.3 Functional Decomposition

The data analysis found that use of the functional decomposition tool increases the odds of successful outcome in the requirements gathering dimension by 38%. Although not statistically significant, this result does show an impact on the IT project requirements gathering dimension. The functional decomposition tool on IT project requirements gathering dimension: simplifies

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Clear requirements gathering helps control the IT project schedule and budget.

6.8.2.4 Use Case Diagram

In the analysis of the present data, it was found that utilization of a use case diagram tool increases the odds of successful outcome in the requirements gathering dimension by 89%. Use case diagrams help IT project teams and IT project managers determine the actual application and implementation of each functionality. Capturing requirements in the form of use cases effects a subtle shift in perspective. Use cases capture requirements in the form of interactions with an end user. When requirements are captured in terms of what the system should do, it is easy for important details to be missed. When requirements are described in terms of interactions with end users, missing details become obvious. This is the reason use case diagrams play an important role as a tool in requirements gathering. This tool supports the IT project manager’s efforts in making sure requirements are not missed.

As mentioned, clear requirements gathering helps control the IT project schedule and budget.

6.8.2.5 Risk Management Check List

The present study found that use of a risk management checklist tool increases the odds of project success by 65% in the risk management project dimension. A Risk Management Checklist is prepared by a project manager to detect risks and their potential impact on the project. Using a risk management check list helps early detection of potential risks that might happen to the IT project at various points of its lifecycle.

A risk management checklist facilitates the IT project managers’ responsibility to detect risks, find root causes and find actionable plans to mitigate such risks, which should result in increasing the odds of successful outcome in the project dimension of risk management. Using such checklists can improve

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6.8.2.6 Risk Impact Assessment

The use of a risk impact assessment tool was found to increase the odds of project success by 63% in the project risk management dimension in the present data sample. A risk, by its very nature, always has a negative impact. However, the size of the impact varies in terms of cost and impact on health, human life, or some other critical factor. Use of a risk impact assessment tool provides and estimation of risk impact probability (low, medium, high and critical). Risk impact assessment helps determine the actionable plans needed to be implemented by the project team and project manager.

Participant #9 mentioned the importance of using a risk identification questionnaire by project phase. This questionnaire can help set the criteria for classifying risk and define what it means to be a risk for the client. “The project manager will need to have a risk discussion with the team to be able [to determine] what can be qualified as a risk and how to deal with each identified risk.” Such a tool, which is equivalent to the risk identification checklist, helps increase the odds for successful outcomes in the IT project risk management dimension and help reduce overall project failure.

6.8.2.7 Support Transition Checklist

In the analysis of the present data, using a support transition checklist tool increased the odds of success by 55.6% in the project support transition dimension. A clear project support transition checklist helps the project manager outline the requirements to the project team for transitioning the project to the project support team. A support transition checklist provides tentative timelines, roles and responsibilities of who should do what during the support transition phase of the IT project.

The purpose of using a support transition checklist is to reduce possible confusion between the IT project team and IT project support team. Having a smooth transition between these two teams can minimize interruptions to the IT project schedule and avoid delays and costs that affect the budget.

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6.8.2.8 Knowledge Transfer and Walk Through Sessions

As described above, the analysis of the data indicated that the odds of a successful outcome in the dimension of project support transition were increased by 63.4% when the dimension-specific tool knowledge transfer and walk through sessions were used. Knowledge transfer and walk through sessions bring the IT project team and support team together to discuss the details of the It project implementation, details of issues experienced, and how to solve them. This tool reduces gaps in understanding between the IT project team and the IT support team through review of project documentation and identifying gaps in project documentation that the project team needs to clarify or provide to the support team before handing over the project.

During the interviews, participants commented on what would make managing this project dimension easier. Predefined processes and tools would help. Some participants think that there are no well-defined tools on a generic level even though each organisation has their own tools. Documentation of practical experience and a framework are needed to improve project management resources for the project support transition dimension. This was emphasised by the interview comments in Chapter Four.