Modern technology has invented measures that can be used by project managers to evaluate the progress of work assigned. It has made it possible for managers to electronically determine rate at which the project is being done and amount of resources that may be required. The need came due to rising number of customers in IT industry each with varying needs. The work load is distributed among the team members who will be responsible to report various developments of their project. This has enhanced quality production and customer satisfaction.
Metrics are measures used by an organization to gauge performance. Performance is measured by this method using elements such as inputs, outputs and activities. They are process based and therefore used by any organization that engages in production at different stages such as marketing, manufacturing, operations, research and finance. Metrics may be classified into different categories depending on what they are related to (Abramowicz, 2007).
People metrics as the name suggests are used to measure the number and kind of people in an organization (Eusgeld, 2008). Records are kept on their availability and the kind of activities they are engaged in. They show the person involved in handling a certain responsibility in the project and his or her general role. Process metrics gives measurements of the different projects in the organization. It indicates time used to complete a certain project, resources used to facilitate completion of such process, risks that the organization undertook in a project. Process metrics is generally concerned with maturity period of a project.
Project metrics is a kind of metric used to assess facts and trends that underlie a certain project. They provide information on the kind of project being dealt with, resources invested, period taken to finish the project and projects total cost. Performance metrics are used to show variance in performance of a certain project. It mainly measures the cost value of a certain performance (Phelps, 2004). These metrics provide a summarized view of performance at any given stage. They show variance in calculating cost of a project and shows whether the trend is positive or negative. Quality metrics measure the quality of work done; it helps the organization realize if there is any value for the projects being undertaken. This is done by determining the number of cancellations, deviations and defects.
Metrics and their associated systems are usually designed into programs that are controlled by a specific person. The data is reviewed regularly depending on the metric; some organizations prefer to update them weekly while others on monthly basis. Metrics will show whether an organization is either improving on its quality of performance or not. They are used to measure specific areas, which is essential for the management in determining areas that need to be improved (Brooks, 2006). The number of projects accomplished by an organization may be numerous yet their quality is substandard, with this it may decide to work on fewer projects for quality production
Metrics are mainly used to measure processes and determine the rate at which the project is moving. The programs are designed to enable them measure work and flow of material. An organization receives many customers all with different needs. Due to number of customers an organization receives, it may not be able to physically determine customer who ordered certain work to be done and the time needed to accomplish it. A record is programmed that automatically shows required details of the project.
When dealing with a certain project the primary goal of a project manager is to meet deadline that has been set and provide high quality products and services in order to satisfy customers needs. Delays in meeting deadlines may render the manager ineffective and thus subject himself to fines and ultimate loss of customers (Kovacich, 2005). The projects are planned and arranged to meet the budget without encountering financial deficit before the project is completed. For effective management of a project the manager needs to follow a series of steps. This can help him to effectively manage the processes and know if the stages are cost effective.
The first stage involves evaluating the kind of project and what it is all about. The manager considers the time required for the project to be completed and work hard to ensure all the work is finished at the right time (Schnapper, 2006). The size of the project and the kind of team to be used by the manager help in making decision as to whether the project is worth to be undertaken or not. This is where he evaluates the possible risks that the project may encounter and whether they are manageable. From such assessment, the manager decides to undertake it or decline.
The second stage comes in when the project manager has assess all factors and decide to undertake the project after knowing that the project is viable. Here the project manager needs to determine how the project shall be done, the people to be assigned various responsibilities and how much time and resources may be involved. The project manager then communicates such findings to his sponsors, customer and other stakeholders. At this stage, the manager has a clear picture of what will be involved in the project, possible risks and how they will be managed or controlled, how it will be divided and to who and the estimated period for the work to be accomplished.
In the third stage of the project, the manager assigns various responsibilities to his team as he monitors its process. During this process, the team members are required to report how the work is progressing and implement any changes as required by the customer. As the work progresses, the manager ensure that the required quality is maintained as well as deadlines. He or she is also supposed to communicate the various changes and new deadlines from the customer.
The final stage of the project is close up, the complete project is sent to the customer and other stakeholders’ for evaluation. After evaluation, various comments are received that may either be positive or negative. All these comments are reviewed and various lessons learned (Brotby, 2009). After getting feedbacks from the customer and other stakeholders, the manager is able to assess the efficiency of his team if the project was of high quality, whether the required deadline was met and if the resources invested were worth. Each and every project undertaken by the organization teaches the manager and workers new lessons that help them in handling future projects.
A disciplined approach is required for any IT organization in creating a business solution in time and within the budget. Development methodology has been for long used by big IT organizations to determine the progress of the project. This method has not been effective due to its inflexibility. However; Microsoft solution network has been designed to correct the mistakes of development methodology. Unity and coordination among team members is vital for success when dealing with such projects. An organization should never rely on past experiences in handling new projects. Every project comes with unique features that need to be handled accordingly. (Brotby, 2009)
References
Abramowicz W. (2007): Business Information Systems, New York: Springer pp 16-20.
Brooks P. (2006): Metrics for IT Service Management, Indiana: Van Haren Publishing pp 35-37.
Brotby W. (2009): Information Security Metrics, Florida: Fort Lauderdale, pp 25-27.
Eusgeld I. (2008): Dependability Metrics, New York: Springer pp 21-24.
Kovacich L. (2005): Security metrics management, United Kingdom: Butterworth-Heinemann, pp 38-41.
Phelps B. (2004): Smart business metrics, New Jersey: Financial Times Prentice Hall pp 26-30.
Schnapper M. (2006): Value-based metrics for improving results, Fort Lauderdale: J. Ross Publishing, pp 33-38.