IT Project Managers: Don't Just Execute, Engineer Value

The project management landscape is changing.  With an increased emphasis on efficiency and the advent of new and disruptive technologies, being a project manager today is more challenging than being just ten years ago. In today’s highly competitive environment, IT organizations have to contend with condensed timelines, while significant cost cutting measures are often employed to keep projects on track and under budget.  Unfortunately, indiscriminate cost cutting often leads to diminished quality or performance in the end result.  With less than one-third of projects successfully completed on-time and on-budget, business and IT executives are beginning to expect IT projects to fail.  According to a study of approximately 600 business and IT executives published by software development firm, Geneca, nearly 75% of business and IT executives actually anticipate their software projects will fail.  Recognizing these challenges, innovative IT organizations can shift their focus from cost cutting to value optimization using an analytical process known as value engineering to keep projects on track.  With fewer resources at hand and more complex projects to tackle, we can’t afford to do things the way we’ve always done them.  Project managers are on the front lines of creating value, and a recent survey delivered by PwC shows that business leaders agree:  97% of organizations believe project management is critical to business performance and organizational success.  So how can we do better? Enter value engineering.