IT project management software for CIOs |
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| 03 Aug 2005 | SearchCIO.com |
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IT project management, any CIO will tell you, is one of the most valued skills in today's IT organization, whether you're a hardened veterean or a fresh-faced IT rookie. So whether you're an IT professional looking to enter the project management field or a CIO seeking advice on managing projects, check out the various resources in our this CIO Briefing.
This guide is part of the SearchCIO.com CIO Briefing series, which is designed to give IT leaders strategic guidance and advice that addresses the management and decision-making aspects of timely topics. For a complete list of topics covered to date visit the CIO Briefing section.
Table of contents
 Expert's Corner
Glossary
12 steps to success
Expert advice
More resources
If the world is flat, as suggested by three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author and columnist Thomas Friedman in his new book of the same name, then the life and work of the CIO will accelerate -- at a new warp speed. This not only requires better, faster and smarter applications, but it also calls for individual and team contributions that must deliver on time, on budget and to specifications. Hmm, sounds like project management, doesn't it?
Technological forces (which give everyone a place at the table) and globalization (which, among other things, means fewer and fewer barriers to entry) demand people who can lead, manage and deliver. Never before have the talents and skills of project managers been so important. If your company cannot complete the upgrades, deliver the new systems and create timely customer solutions, then rest assured your competitor will (or already has!).
The oft-stated competitive advantage that comes from having the best and brightest people is the constant. This applies to project managers, who steer the strategic projects that decide the future success and competitiveness of organizations. Are you investing in their skills? Are you retaining the leaders? Are you increasing their stature?
Interesting, in a world where the sun refuses to set, project management is in sync with the demands of the times. Project managers are the dynamic component that converts strategy into action and action into desired outcomes. What is the CIO doing to help? Ensuring his or her project managers receive technical skills training and the soft skills training, both of which are imperative to success? Ensuring project managers receive the support and respect they have earned? Let's hope so, because stakeholders depend upon the CIO's leadership for success.
If the world is really flattening, then CIOs will find themselves assuming greater responsibility for leadership, for vision and for having the talent on their staff to make the difference. I like the odds when professional project managers are part of the team. It's about the people, CIO.
John C. Rahiya, PMP, is senior vice president of Novations Project Management, a leading project management training and consultancy firm. Prior to this, Rahiya led strategic projects for top USA companies and continues to teach project management.
- Article: CIOs make project management skills a priority (Source: SearchCIO.com, 1/24/2005)
- News: Skilled project management people needed (Source: vnunet, 2/9/2005)
- Chapter download: Business intelligence roadmap: Chapter three, project planning
- Column: How to talk your way out of halfbaked ideas pushed by senior business executives (Source: CIO Decisions magazine, April, 2005)
- Column: Only leaders need apply (Source: CIO Decisions magazine, May, 2005)
- Column: Prepare your project managers for success (Source: CIO Decisions magazine, June, 2005)
- Column: Four steps to success (Source: CIO Decisions magazine, July, 2005)
- Tip: Governance: Project management rules (Source: SearchCIO.com, 6/29/2005)
- Article: Project management essentials: IT's about governance (Source: Meta Group, special to SearchCIO.com, 6/2/2004)
- Tip: Proving ROI could mean re-engineering a project (Source: SearchCIO.com, 3/10/2004)
- Expert answer: Project vs. program management? (Source: SearchCIO.com, 7/4/2002)
- Article: Fear factor puts big chill on IT projects (Source: SearchCIO.com, 6/9/2005)
- Tip: Metrics for continuously improving the value of IT projects (Source: SearchCIO.com, 4/14/2004)
- Tip: Six ways to handle a dysfunctional team (Source: SearchCIO.com, 4/21/04)
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