What is IT Project Management? [2024] • Asana

IT project management is the process of managing, planning, and developing information technology projects. Project managers can use software to move through the five phases of the IT project management life cycle and accomplish complex tasks more effectively.

IT project managers are adaptable and resourceful leaders. Carrying complex projects over the finish line isn’t an easy task, but the right leader does it time and time again. 

As an IT project manager, you create user-friendly and flexible technology for consumers while also tracking the progress of your team members. How do you do it all, we wonder? We’re guessing your secret is IT project management software. 

Having the right IT management software can be the key to project success. Our guide outlines what IT project management is and provides tips for managing IT projects.  

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What is IT project management?

IT project management is the process of managing, planning, and developing information technology projects. IT projects exist within a variety of industries, including software development, information security, information systems, communications, hardware, network, databases, and mobile apps.

IT project developers deliver a product or service, while managers handle IT project management. Managers are in charge of communicating expectations and keeping projects on track and on budget to ensure the IT projects run smoothly.

What are the 5 phases of IT projects?

As an IT project manager, you can accomplish complex tasks more effectively using the five phases of IT project management. Each phase has different milestones that drive the project life cycle forward. Whether you’re managing sprints for an Agile project or process rollouts—map out your next project using the five phases below.

1. Initiation

During the initiation phase, determine the need for the project and create a project proposal. The project must also be viable for the team and the company at large. During this phase, make sure to also confirm the project is worth the allotted time and resources before moving forward.

Read: Create a better project plan in just 7 steps2. Planning

The planning phase is a collaborative effort between you as the IT project manager and your team. Planning for the project involves setting budgets, identifying risks, and creating clear goals for what you hope to accomplish. 

A roadmap template can help you plan goals that you can then refer to throughout the project life cycle. 

3. Execution

The execution phase is when the team sets deliverables for the project. IT project managers play a crucial role by delegating tasks to hit milestones and keeping communication open among all team members. 

Use team collaboration software to ensure everyone is on the same page about who’s doing what by when. You may need to revisit the project plan during execution, as projects often experience changes during development. 

4. Monitor and control

During the execution phase, use IT project management software to track your team’s progress in real time. This involves monitoring the time, cost, scope, quality, and risk of the project itself. Using your project roadmap, you can evaluate whether the project is on track with your project proposal and goals, or course-correct if necessary. 

5. Closure

Once the project is complete, the closure phase begins. In this phase, ensure all work has been completed, approved, and moved on to the appropriate team. It’s also important to take some time to review any lessons learned during the project and determine what went well and what didn’t. The closure phase is crucial because it empowers your team to review and improve future methodology. 

Read: 5 project management phases to improve your team’s workflowWhat does an IT project manager do?

As an IT project manager, you must know how to communicate with everyone in your organization. You’ll be working closely with members of the IT department but you may also be in charge of discussing your team’s work with other teams.

Read: Everything you need to know to become a project managerChallenges faced by IT project managers

You’ll face a fair number of challenges in your role as IT project manager, but with the right management tools, you can feel confident in your ability to address issues quickly. 

Free IT project plan templateTime and budgeting

Time and budgeting are some of the biggest challenges you may face in IT project management. Without realistic deadlines for a project, you risk delivering a product or service that is of lower quality than it could be. 

Not having the resources to complete the project can also make teams and customers suffer. You can reduce time and budgeting challenges by prioritizing these items in the planning phase. 

Scenario: Senior management would like your team to perform a company-wide software migration within one month, but you’ll need an additional month because your team is too small and inexperienced to complete the migration in the allotted time frame.

Solution: Use IT project management software to keep senior management informed about your team’s availability and experience. That way, management can prepare a more realistic timeline when assigning IT projects.

Scope creep

Scope creep occurs when the original goals of the project become overshadowed if stakeholders continue adding new requirements and deliverables. It can potentially derail a project and requires constant maneuvering. 

To reduce the frequency of scope creep, set strong project objectives from the beginning, have a change control process in place, and do your best to communicate with stakeholders every step of the way. 

Scenario: Your initial project goal was to improve outdoor Wi-Fi at your company’s headquarters so employees and visitors can work from anywhere. During project execution, stakeholders ask you to expand the outdoor Wi-Fi reach to the operations center across the street and also allow download capabilities. 

Solution: IT project management can give clear project objectives at the start, so your stakeholders will know what can be accomplished during this project. For example, they would understand that requesting an extension of the outdoor Wi-Fi reach is reasonable, while requesting download capabilities is too extensive.

Miscommunication

Because IT project managers function as the go-between among team members, departments, and stakeholders, miscommunication can become a challenge if there isn’t an organized process in place to keep everyone informed. Prioritize communication using IT project management tools to lead your team to success. 

Scenario: Your company agrees to work with a local school and improve their learning spaces with increased access to technology. The project involves installing Wi-Fi and donating 100 computers to the school, but your senior manager thought you were only donating 10 computers.

Solution: Prioritize communication at the beginning of a project. Sharing frequent project status updates with IT management tools can ensure everyone is on the same page through the project life cycle. 

Read: 12 tips to effective communication in the workplaceRisk management

Managing the risks of an information technology project is a necessary step in the initiation phase. During this phase, you must come up with alternate plans should your initial goals fall short. If you don’t manage risk on the front end, you’ll have a hard time picking up the slack when things go awry in real time. 

Changing technology

Complex IT projects can take months or years to complete. One challenge in IT project management is keeping up with transforming technology as a project takes place. The project scope of your initial IT project must be flexible in case the needs of your customer change while your project is in development. 

Scenario: Your team takes on a long-term project to improve the GPS systems in cars. While working on this project, GPS phone apps come out allowing drivers to see traffic in real time. Your GPS system doesn’t include traffic, and including this feature would considerably extend your project length. 

Solution: Changing technology can’t be stopped, so your IT project must be flexible. In this example, your team would need to decide whether pivoting the project is a good business strategy to compete with advanced GPS phone technology.

Types of IT project management tools

IT project management tools can keep your project team organized and informed from project initiation to closure. These tools help visualize each team member’s role in the project and show the project’s progress in real time.

Free IT project plan template

For all types of IT projects:

For projects with task dependencies:

For projects that require tasks with small, incremental changes:

What is an example of IT project management?

An information technology team is developing a new iPhone application to help employees clock in at work. When putting together the project proposal for the iPhone app, the IT project manager consults with the app creator while also considering the needs of the end user. 

In this IT project example, we’ll use the five phases of project management to bring the iPhone app through development.

Read: How to write an effective project objective, with examplesStreamline IT projects with project management software

A strong IT manager will ensure that your IT projects run smoothly, stay on track, and budget. Looking for a way to automate tasks as an IT manager? 

With Asana, get Gantt chart-like views, tools for managing team responsibilities, stakeholder sharing options, and real-time project updates to help you hit your project deliverables on time.