The Role of an Agile and Lean Project Management Toolkit for Assisting E-Learning Project Management Teams in Multi-National Organisations

Project management is a term for which there are endless books professing the right way to conduct it. Project management is the systematic application of a standardized approach to conducting a project that increases that project's chances of success. It is known that IT projects are some of those projects most likely to fail, and e-learning projects are no different. The aim of this chapter is to explain how it might be possible to develop a toolkit that could allow e-learning systems of any scale to be developed by those who often have to deliver learning, but may not necessarily have skills in project management or ICT development. It is intended that the proposed toolkit would be valued by other internationally focussed organisations where learning and teaching are a core part of the activities that it conducts, but on a smaller scale. To achieve this, research is proposed at the University of Gloucestershire and Crocels Community Media Group. A pilot study is conducted, and the questionnaire for the study proves to be reliable.

Significance of Strategic Outsourcing in IT Project Management

Outsourcing refers to the concept of delegating certain tasks to an external team. It can be a differentiating factor that can aid an organization gain a competitive advantage. Consultants can bring valuable experience on domain knowledge, interdisciplinary applications, and benefits from economies of scale. From ensuring effective use of resources to venturing into uncharted sectors, outsourcing can have a myriad of benefits for a project team. Similar to most business processes, there is an inherent trade-off that needs to be made when outsourcing. Risk management protocols are required when outsourcing, to balance execution control and collaborate effectively. Within the scope of IT projects, this research aims to survey the various methods of strategic outsourcing and the contexts in which they operate. Further sections attempt to analyze case studies based on the aforementioned aspects. Based on the available literature, the research consolidates best practices in outsourcing and presents recommendations on aligning them with project goals. Finally, the potential concerns that need to be addressed when trying to outsource activities are presented. Therefore, the research to be done within this analysis will look to dissect existing literature to assess current outsourcing practices. Additionally, the research will look for reasons why outsourcing was/is not as successful as it could be, as well as evaluate how outsourcing in IT has changed with the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Significance of Strategic Outsourcing in IT Project Management

Outsourcing refers to the concept of delegating certain tasks to an external team. It can be a differentiating factor that can aid an organization gain a competitive advantage. Consultants can bring valuable experience on domain knowledge, interdisciplinary applications, and benefits from economies of scale. From ensuring effective use of resources to venturing into uncharted sectors, outsourcing can have a myriad of benefits for a project team. Similar to most business processes, there is an inherent trade-off that needs to be made when outsourcing. Risk management protocols are required when outsourcing, to balance execution control and collaborate effectively. Within the scope of IT projects, this research aims to survey the various methods of strategic outsourcing and the contexts in which they operate. Further sections attempt to analyze case studies based on the aforementioned aspects. Based on the available literature, the research consolidates best practices in outsourcing and presents recommendations on aligning them with project goals. Finally, the potential concerns that need to be addressed when trying to outsource activities are presented. Therefore, the research to be done within this analysis will look to dissect existing literature to assess current outsourcing practices. Additionally, the research will look for reasons why outsourcing was/is not as successful as it could be, as well as evaluate how outsourcing in IT has changed with the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Case Method in the Study of Information Technologies and IT Project Management

The paper shows the features of the application of the case method in the study of the discipline of IT project management for students majoring in the field of Information Technology. This work analyzes some of the difficulties associated with the limited use of case studies in the field of IT. An original solution to the problem of combining flexible technologies for the development of the project itself on the basis of a case study and methods of studying and applying special software for IT project management presented by authors. The conceptual scheme of the main stages of work with a case, interrelations and content from an initial acquaintance, discussion in groups and acceptance of intermediate decisions, to planning of operations, calendar planning of works and resources were shown. However, the role of special software for visualization of separate stages of project execution management in the MS Project environment at all stages of the life cycle was explained. The combination of individual analytical work of the students, acquisition of teem job skills, the study of MS Project tools, IT project management methods at different stages allows to achieve the planned learning outcomes and develop interdisciplinary competencies.

Soft Skills and IS/IT Project Management: A Case Study of Nepalese IS/IT Professionals

There is an increasing focus on managing and executing Information System/Information Technology (IS/IT) projects with geographically and culturally dispersed teams. Best practices, theories, and a body of knowledge on managing projects have been well-established, but there is a limited understanding of Nepal's multi-cultural IS/IT project management dynamics. In this study, we conducted a purposive survey to determine the soft skills that are given significance by the Nepalese IS/IT professionals working in a multicultural environment. The first three preferred essential skills identified by the survey are communication, team building, and leadership skills. In contrast, the respondents perceived trustworthiness and organizational effectiveness as the least essential soft skills for IS/IT projects. Among the emerging soft skills, capacity for analysis and synthesis and critical thinking skills were considered highly essential for IS/IT projects. Work ethic and ability to work in an international context came second and third, respectively. We expect our findings to help Nepali IS/IT project managers understand which soft skills are valued most in their respective workplaces in the various phases of project management.

Infrastructure Elements for Smart Campuses: A Bibliometric Analysis

Sustainable development can be attained at a microlevel and having smart campuses around the world presents an opportunity to achieve city-wide smartness. In the process of attaining smartness on campuses, the elements requiring attention must be investigated. There are many publications on smart campuses, and this investigation used the bibliometric analysis method to identify such publications produced over the last decade. A matrix of 578 nodes and 3217 edges was developed from 285 publications on smart campus construction and procurement. Fifteen cluster themes were produced from the bibliometric analysis. The findings revealed that China contributed 48.4% of all published articles on the smart campus. The findings presented a framework from the cluster themes under the four broad infrastructure areas of building construction or repurposing, technology and IT network, continuous improvement, and smart learning and teaching management. The implications of the findings identified that IT project management, traditional procurement strategy, and standard forms of contracts such as the New Engineering Contract (NEC) and the Joint Contract Tribunal (JCT) are applicable in the procurement of smart cities.

Devising a technology for managing outsourcing IT-projects with the application of fuzzy logic

An outsourcing IT project management model has been developed. The proposed model features taking into account the specifics of project management processes at outsourcing IT companies in terms of the uncertainty of the external and internal environment of their operation. The model is based on the stage-gate project management framework with fuzzy logic tools. The proposed modification of the fuzzy inference mechanism makes it possible to refuse to save the intermediate results which reduce the load on the database and create the possibility of using semantic networks. The technology of expert consultations was demonstrated by the example of decision-making regarding the assessment of the current status of the IT projects accepted by the outsourcing company for development. Dynamic nature and cyclical management of the portfolio of IT projects involves constant monitoring of the results of implementation with an appropriate regular portfolio reforming. The model was developed to improve the efficiency of the software development sub-process and minimize the negative consequences of financial dependence on the customer. The application software developed on the basis of the model of management of outsourcing IT projects and modification of the fuzzy inference mechanism has found practical application and was implemented in the computational practice of HYS Enterprise B.V. outsourcing IT company. Testing of the program shell has shown positive results in the course of solving the tasks peculiar to concrete stages of IT project management. The proposed structure and composition of the fuzzy knowledgebase of the expert shell are quite typical in terms of IT outsourcing problems. It is expedient to use the developed model at outsourcing IT companies in the process of project portfolio management

An architecture as a code framework to manage documentation of IT projects

PurposeIn the present article, the authors tackle the problem of IT documentation, which plays an important role in information technology (IT) project management.Design/methodology/approachThey provide a simple tool based on five complementary views, which should be detailed by the project team using a classic source code management platform.FindingsThe proposed tool is open source and may be reused by any IT team in various project contexts and heterogeneous development methods.Originality/valueThis research provides an operational framework, which facilitates IT project management and documentation. The framework is open source and may be easily downloaded by any other IT team.