Most used project management tools and techniques in information systems projects

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of practice in information systems (IS) project management (PM) by analyzing the use of tools and techniques by IS project managers. Design/methodology/approach The authors carried out an international questionnaire-based survey with experienced IS project managers. Findings Results reveal that, notwithstanding the similarities between the tools and techniques used in IS projects and projects from other areas, there are also significant differences concerning those more frequently used. The top five tools and techniques most used are “kick-off meeting,” “progress meetings,” “progress reports,” “requirements analysis” and “activity list.” However, the low use of some tools and techniques, from management areas such as risk and quality management, or related to the project monitoring and control, should raise concern. Research limitations/implications Through the results of this research, researchers, organizations and practitioners can identify ways of developing and enhancing PM by examining the tools and techniques identified as the most used and those that are not being used as frequently as expected. Originality/value It provides a useful benchmarking basis for evaluating the most applicable tools and techniques, designing training and teaching programs and identifying academic research opportunities in IS PM.

Information systems project management practice in Portugal - looking at the past to perspective the future

“…Regarding the use of tools and techniques, it is possible to observe, on the one hand, their evolution with the recent exploitation of tools and techniques in the field of artificial intelligence, for example, at the level of the selection of team members [58]. On the other hand, project managers exploit usual tools and techniques in project management, such as "Gantt chart", "activity list", "baseline plan", "project scope statement", "requirements analysis", "progress meetings", "progress report", "change request", "kick-off meeting", "value management", and "quantitative risk analysis", among others [36,54]. IS project managers need to keep up with the trends in technologies and IS.…”

“…Five of the 27 papers reviewed present results about transversal topics on ISPM. The papers identified in this category are from the authors Varajão et al [43], Rodrigues et al [45], Varajão et al [7], Tereso et al [36], and Varajão et al [54]. The following is a summary of each of these papers.…”

“…Varajão et al [54] present the results from a survey on the main techniques and tools used by IS project managers.…”

Implementing success management on government-to-government projects: an integrated perspective with the PMBOK guide

“…Projects are often considered unsuccessful due to poor project management practices (Varajão et al ., 2020). In organizations with low project management maturity, only around 40% of projects are finished on time and on budget (PMI, 2018).…”

A Framework of Information Systems Development Concepts

“…An IS is "a combination of intelligent agents (human and/or artificial), processes, and IT (hardware, software, and infrastructure) related to the dissemination and use of data, information, and knowledge in an organization" (Varajão et al, 2021). Accordingly, an IS project can be defined as "a temporary endeavour undertaken to improve organizational IS, and can take on many forms" (Varajão et al, 2020), from the development of a software artefact to the implantation of a commercial-off-theshelf application (Varajão et al, 2018). As a result, the term ISD can also be defined from different points of view (Hirschheim et al, 1996).…”