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| 2008 Vol. 2 | A Newsletter of the PMI Central Indiana Chapter | October 22 |
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Over the past 15 years, Information Technology (IT) has evolved from a cost center into a profit driving enabler of business. Hardware is more powerful, networks have global reach, communication is virtually free, C-level management is more technologically aware, and enterprise off-the-shelf software offers versatility never seen before. In the past, Project Managers (PMs) commonly developed technical depth aligned within specific verticals. Research now demonstrates a growing need for PMs with greater breadth related to the business, its customers, and technology options supporting the corporate strategy. Enterprise solutions require the PM to actively engage beyond their traditional roles. This is important to understand when implementing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007.
Microsoft SharePoint was initially introduced with basic portal and collaboration functionality. PMs responsible for implementing SharePoint used to focus on out-of-the-box feature sets. The principal challenges facing the PM were single sign-on and interconnectivity with Microsoft SQL Server. Functionality and governance was largely restricted by the application. The PM usually demonstrated corporate quality by adhering to the scope, schedule, and cost requirements defined by the IT department. MOSS 2007 now includes broad and robust middleware capabilities requiring project teams to interact and gain consensus across multiple organizational boundaries. An enormous range of features are now available, and assumed business workflows have been incorporated into the product's functionality. If desired, users can be provided significant autonomy creating and structuring items such as:
As with any enterprise application, if SharePoint strategies and implementations are not properly coordinated, there can be significant implications to information storage, user adoption, help desk workloads, and overall business effectiveness. Application-specific governance is now crucial for success. The PM is tasked as the visionary who can see the project end-to-end. As projects stretch across the enterprise, this vision has to include an expanding set of customer expectations. How IT defines quality and value, for example, may not be the same as how Human Resources or Marketing define them. The PM is increasingly required to understand and coordinate with the business. Successful MOSS 2007 projects begin by weighing the needs of the business then choosing what capabilities require project focus. This is preferred to selecting capabilities based solely on technical goals. Microsoft's guidance on SharePoint planning advises the PM to consider business needs from several different standpoints:
Organizations must decide what role SharePoint will play in their application development strategy. The business must then ensure that the proper resources and practices are leveraged to execute on the strategy. Achieving value with MOSS 2007 requires the PM to have a greater understanding of the business strategy, existing processes, out-of-the-box application workflows, and post-implementation support relationships. As organizations increasingly recognize information as a strategic differentiator, PMs will play a growing role with ensuring project alignment to the business strategy. If leveraged properly, MOSS 2007 can become a strategic asset for the firm. PMs need to understand their expanding role with enterprise applications, such as SharePoint. The most important success strategy for the PM moving forward is to actively engage beyond their traditional role. This will help the PM continue to create value for the business, their customers, and their teams. References.
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