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Project Management Methodology for IT Operations?
Posted by
Cliff
on Sat Feb 26, 2005 12:41 PM
from the transcending-the-programmer's-cubicle dept.
from the transcending-the-programmer's-cubicle dept.
sleeperservice asks: "There are a multitude of books, tools, and educational programs that deal with managing development projects. Whether you subscribe to IBM's Rational Unified Process or maybe SEI's Capability Maturity Model, whether you read Tom DeMarco's Peopleware or possibly Brooks' Mythical Man Month, there's something out there for you. However, most of these deal with projects that have a heavy amount of development, often new development associated with them. What about the folks in Operations? Let's say you need to upgrade your Oracle-based data management system for 1000 non-technical users? Or maybe you need to migrate your enterprise off of Outlook/Exchange and onto an alternative? What pointers are out there that Slashdot readers have used in such situations?"
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IT Operations Process Simplified.... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:IT Operations Process Simplified.... (Score:3, Funny)
For begginers, try an easier project first like turning back the sea. For advanced managers, turn lead into gold, cure all disease and make the world a good and happy place.
Re:IT Operations Process Simplified.... (Score:4, Funny)
Jeb in IT: "Oh yeah, Mark... stop reading Slashdot. And I think you are supposed to stop *me* from reading Slashdot".
Mark in IT: "Ok. Jeb... stop reading Slashdot."
Mark & Jeb together: "Bwahha haha ahahahahahaaaa".
Mark & Jeb continue to read Slashdot.
Parent
I know this one, my boss taught me. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I know this one, my boss taught me. (Score:2)
IT Operations PM (Score:4, Informative)
Re:IT Operations PM (Score:5, Informative)
With today's Project Management software it's easier to track the progress of a project. (I've been doing PERT/CPM since the early '70's, and then I had to draw my diagrams by hand and update my task lists on a typewriter.) Unless the project is massive, Microsoft Project or Primavera SureTrack should be more than sufficient. The PMI (project Management Institute) has standards for Project Management in
A wrinkle in the Project Management model showed up with the Goldratt Institute's publication of "Critical Chain". This book attempts to answer the question, "Why don't well-managed projects finish on time?" Unfortunately, the answer is partly contained in the process discoverd in the books, "The Goal" and "It's Not Luck" by Eli Goldratt. You would probably have to read all three books to understand critical chain logic, and you would still have to know something about PERT/CPM to understand the difference. I's only worth it if you are committed to a business-wide policy of excellence.
Don't confuse Project Management with other tools, such as Rational Rose, which are resources, not project management. On the other hand, good use of these type of tools are helpful in keeping a project mananged. I've adopted the approach used in "Tried and True Object Development" by Aalto, et al., which describes a very good use of UML as practiced at NOKIA.
Good luck.
Parent
Operations books (Score:5, Informative)
The book I wish I'd had when I started doing this 35 years ago.
"Security Engineering" by Ross Anderson.
Even if you think you don't need it. Especially if you think you don't need it.
Communication Is The Key (Score:5, Insightful)
The biggest problem you'll face is that people hate change. They worry about learning new things, about being replaced by computers, about all sorts of things.
The key to success is getting your users to accept the changes, and for that you need to communicate with them. Explain why the changes are needed, how it will affect them and how they are going to be assisted in dealing with the new setup.
The communication needs to be a two way thing as well. Ask them questions, ask if THEY'VE got any questions. Get their feedback and get them onside. If you can do that, you've only got to worry about getting the new system set up.
Re:Communication Is The Key (Score:3, Funny)
IT Service Management (Score:5, Interesting)
--(())
Operations Methodology (Score:2, Informative)
Get good people (Score:3, Insightful)
Personally, I'm a fan of treating every project uniquely. The process you use for a five minute report is vastly different than a system upgrade or a new web application.
Re:Get good people - and support them (Score:2, Informative)
Of course if you don't care about a smooth tra
ITIL, from the UK (Score:5, Informative)
This is a set of books on different aspects of IT Operations, and is widely used in the industry. Of course, some people misuse it to create a straight-jacket (MS, for one), and others use it to make a sarong (Sun, SGI), but the basic cloth is there (:-))
It's orthogonal to the CMU maturity model.
-dave
ITIL (Score:5, Informative)
ITIL [itil.co.uk] stands for IT Infrastructure Library, and defines an IT Service Management structure that can be applied to IT Operations as an effective framework. There are two main areas within ITIL, Service Delivery and Service Support.
Service Delivery includes:
Service Level Management
Capacity Management
Availability Management
Financial Management
IT Service Continuity
Service Support includes:
Service Desk
Incident Management
Problem Management
Change Management
Release Management
Configuration Management (arguablely also part of Service Delivery)
If you apply an ITIL methodology throught IT Operations you will find that the IT operational projects are run more smoothly in a well controlled environment. You can google for a lot more information on ITIL, but I recommend certification, at least to Foundation level for anyone seriously interested in implementation. See also BS15000, the British Standard associated with ITIL which is expected to become an ISO (International Standard) in the future.
-- Pete.
Project Management (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Project Management (Score:4, Funny)
Seems like every time I see a UK govt IT project in the headlines, words like "Disaster", "Overbudget", "Late", and "Useless" tend to appear with alarming frequency.
Parent
Re:Project Management (Score:4, Funny)
Jon.
Parent
Yeah, I also read it on the tabloids. (Score:3, Insightful)
PRINCE2 (Score:2, Informative)
I work in the UK Civil Service, and we use (a loose form of) PRINCE2 [ogc.gov.uk] as recommended by the Office of Government Commerce [ogc.gov.uk].
However, the trick is to know what of it to use and what not to. That comes with practice, experience and common sense. No methodology, however good, can replace these.
Start with SIMPLE, FUNCTIONAL methodology... (Score:4, Interesting)
Based on my experience in the software industry, you don't have to go as far as to pick one of these pre-packaged development ideologies. You really need just three things, and in my experience, nobody bothers to even go this far.
(You can see how well I live up to my own standards here [sourceforge.net].)
To get a team of programmers to work together, one must actually implement the physical communication they need to mesh together and produce something that's greater than the sum of the parts. That means you need a method for bringing new programmers up to speed, and for allowing existing programmers to change projects or to contribute to projects, in a way that doesn't rely on other programmers (especially if those other programmers no longer work there). The three items listed above are all you really need.
The key is to actually do these things...in my 12 years in the software industry, I've seen these things done properly exactly zero times, and was even fired once after the company president told me they were never going to do anything like this, and that it wasn't needed anyway. Eeek.
Re:Start with SIMPLE, FUNCTIONAL methodology... (Score:2)
You really need just three things, and in my experience, nobody bothers to even go this far.
What might help is a project management infrastructure to assist in doing these things.
For design documentation and documentation in general you need a rudimentary content management system. It can be as simple as document repository under version control.
For e-mails to track changes and record on-going discussions and debate, use a change management system like Request Tracker [bestpractical.com] or a threaded discussion group prog
Re:Start with SIMPLE, FUNCTIONAL methodology... (Score:5, Insightful)
Huh. We must have never worked together. Or maybe you were on the development side of the house.
1. Create an impact analysis document (how is what we are about to do going to affect current operations). This should tell you if what you are planning to do is possible and should have all of the systems affected listed. You may have to travel out to the field and interview people directly.
2. Develop the specifications before implementation (programming) begins. Having those battles at this point (before coding) is better than having them while you are coding. Create prototype reports and screenshots and have people sign them if you have to...
3. Make it incredibly hard (and let people know it will be) to change the specifications once they have been agreed to (this will help with scope creep).
4. Document, document, document. Program based off of the documentation. These documents, completed as you go, will bring new team members up to speed on what is happening.
5. Have team members check each other. Have people read other people's documentation.
6. Test, test, test (use the documentation as a basis to develop test plans). Preferably have someone who didn't write or implement the code test it based off of an independently developed test plan.
7. Create backout procedures (make it so that you can get out of trouble as fast as you go into it).
8. Communicate the installation date/time to operational units. Try not to do the whole company at once (pilot it at typical sites or locations). Do not hesitate to back it out if your end users report trouble. Backout first and figure out what went wrong later.
9. After all units are up to date, do one final install to the entire company to make sure that the codebase is consistent.
10. Follow up.
Customer service and communication are critical to the success of any systems change that will affect operations.
Why should you listen to me? I did manufacturing and planning applications maintainence for a Fortune 100 company for 6 and half years and all the plant managers loved me, because I follow this method. I never interrupted a facility's operations, ever -- and neither did anyone whose work I supervised.
Best of luck.
Parent
Re:Start with SIMPLE, FUNCTIONAL methodology... (Score:3, Insightful)
If you are working for a "I need this by tommorow" kind of guy all that flies out the window.
Pentagon or Pentagon contractor I presume? (Score:3, Informative)
3.Make it incredibly hard (and let people know it will be) to change
Yup, that says Government money to me.
Hard rollout, bumpy landing, fallback if necessary (Score:5, Insightful)
2. Explain the rollout of the new system during a company meeting and why you're doing it and what benefit it is to everyone. Explain that the first week on the system may be a bumpy ride, and that you're not afraid nor ashamed to revert to the old system if things get too messy.
Don't use broadcast email to communicate about major rollouts unless you don't mind that only 30% of the company bothered to skim through your email and among them only 10% of what they read made any sense to them. People have better things to do then thoruoughyl digest mundane IT announcements. Important to you, boring to them.
3. Hard rollout: Use a weekend to rollout the new system. This may include backups, installing clients on desktops you have access to, etc. Come Monday morning the old system is not available (but can be switched back on in a hurry) and only the new system is available. You have wisely forewarned the bosses that Monday might be a low productivity day as people get used to the new system.
4. Bumpy landing: Expect that people will complain, be confused, ask questions, blame random errors on the new system rollout, misc coworkers can't install the new client. Everyone should expect the next several days to iron out the kinks.
5. Fallback if necessary: As you warned during the company meeting do not be afraid to revert back to the old system if the new system is not cutting it.
Re:Hard rollout, bumpy landing, fallback if necess (Score:2)
I'd add on to number two that designing and printing a 'changes' manual is essential for any major rollout; when I deployed a customer support-tracking system for the first time, I set up a little twenty-minute 'training session' in one of the c
Projects vs. Operations (Score:4, Informative)
If you are tasked with upgrading something, by definition, you are working on a project.
The Project Management Institute literature and methodology is quite clear and applies to all work sectors - IT, engineering, manufacturing, etc... It's a project or it's operations. Never both.
Projects can turn into operations upon completion of particular milestones. Operations can spawn projects for upgrades, etc. There is a relationship and there are dependencies but they are not one and the same.
Daily system maintenance of your database = operations. Patching of your database = project.
This may sound pedantic to IT people for something as "trivial" as a small upgrade, but when you scale it out to massive infrastructure work - be it expanding a data center or building a new refinery - the separation is the only way you can plan and then properly execute the work.
Re:Projects vs. Operations (Score:2, Interesting)
I think that many people in the IT business have some kind of project-itis because the only type of operations management (yes, one of the "sciences" under which projects as well as mass production resides) strategy seems to be in project form.
If I was to look for more material outside the thin and narrow environment of software production, I would look into the older and more established industries. They have been doing some kind of o
Re:Projects vs. Operations (Score:2)
OK, I see why you're saying this, but: in a suitably large/busy/dynamic environment, daily change is a routine aspect of the operations. Here's where we split hairs over whether an operational task (upgrading someone's machine) is or is not a project. I prefer to only use "project" when the task (or collection of
RUP = The Devil. (Score:4, Interesting)
Rational Tools Suck. Badly.
The entire Rational Toolset is bloated, unintuitive, and you will probably spend more time in beasts such as Requisite Pro and Clear Quest than you do actually programming or fixing bugs.
Yes, specs are important, bug tracking is important, design and modeling are important
Re:RUP = The Devil. (Score:3, Interesting)
Among RUP's deficiencies, you left out the way the "roles" it defines in the process attract all sorts of deadwood in the organization, people who discover they can attend meetings, act as gatekeepers, check off forms and "contribute", WITHOUT EVER HAVING TO TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DELIVERABLE, OR SUPPORT IT ONCE SHIPPED. Only an organization dedicated to the billable hour could embrace this monstrosity.
All process-driven teams die this way (Score:3, Informative)
Its useful to note that these practices only take root at organizations with lots of money to waste...money generated by a small group of kick-ass people who probably ignored anything process-oriented and just delivered.
Just Need To Get This Off My Chest (Score:2)
(Yes, I know they're both quite old but anyway.)
Try this link (Score:2, Informative)
Earth is dying! (Score:4, Funny)
Do you mean the B-Ark? (Score:2)
Or was there really an A-Ark and a C-Ark, but they never got launched in time?
Pointers for IT projects? That's easy... (Score:2, Funny)
optimize with age (and maturity) (Score:2)
I remember in one of my first code reviews a peer dressed me down for writing "inefficient" code, specifically, I think it was my "while" constructs. I was dumbfounded! I was given the lecture on compiler optimizations, blah, blah, blah. I dug in and claimed bullhockey -- it was more important to understand the code, not even necessarily for other coders, but for one's self should one have to revisit code after a long absence.
I know compiler theory, and that's basically what it is... if you write code t
PMBoK in plain english (Score:5, Informative)
What are we doing?
Who wants it?
What could go wrong?
Who's gonna do it?
How long is it gonna take?
How much is it gonnna cost?
To get it done, what all do we have to buy?
How are we gonna make sure that stuff works?
How are we gonna bring this whole mess together?
Recite that to yourself every day and you've covered the 9 PMBoK knowledge areas.:
Scope
Communications
Risk
HR
Schedule
Cost
Procurement
Quality
Integration
Also, get the PMBoK Guide
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/193
Prince2 (Score:3, Informative)
At each phase Prince2 checks whether the reason for doing the project in the first place are still valid. If not, a the project is halted or even shutdown. This way, Prince2 tries to assure that projects are done with a valid businesscase. Not only before the start of a project, but also while running the project.
Prince2 can be quite daunting and it's not recommended when all you're doing is upgrading the local Exchange server. But projects with a budget above 100K dollars could benefit from running them with Prince2.
And no, Prince2 is not just for IT projects. Although it started life in the IT world it has become a generic method that can be used in any line of business.
Re:Unabashed Commercial (Score:4, Funny)
Someone can't do hyperlinks. You'd trust him:
Parent
Re:Unabashed Commercial (Score:3)
Or are you accusing me of modding him (or you) offtopic? In that case you should also do some background reading: if you post to a thread, your moderation is undone.
Re:video training (Score:2, Funny)
Yeah, it is a tad tough not to manage a project perfectly when you've got Donald "I never employed you but I can fire you" Trump breathing down your back.
Speaking of those apprecticeses (as Ellen [warnerbros.com] calls them), I'd manage Audrey's [nbc.com] projects anytime. To quote Greg Roelofs [libpng.org], "yowza!"
Re:What about managing customers? (Score:2, Insightful)
Yep, put it in terms of money.
It'll take some research on your part, (and the results you come up with may surprise you so don't try to massage the facts too much), but the best way to get any point across to a huge, soulless company is by showing them how they're going to lose money.
The key here is that all of those random changes are being driven by... you gue
Re:In many ways development/operation is similar (Score:2)
I take it you're a consultant, then?
Re:In many ways development/operation is similar (Score:2)
Re:Methodology == "Study of Methods" (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Methodology == "Study of Methods" (Score:2)
Similarly, when you hear them talking about realigning their corporate strategic plan to fully utilise the synergisty within the departmental structure, you know they're talking bollocks.