Major Actions Needed for Transformational Project Execution

Focus does not mean that the project manager should be unaware of trends, ideas, and conditions that can affect the course of the project. In fact, the project manager and owner must seek and evaluate constructive ideas and comments from all participants, both individually and in groups, including development team members, key users, technical specialists, and the project management department manager. This input can provide important background for actions that the project manager must focus on, with project owner support. The major ones include:

• splitting the defined overall project into interrelated subprojects

• choosing an implementation strategy

• drafting a work breakdown structure

• utilizing version control (configuration management)

• scheduling work, assigning tasks, and monitoring progress

• formulating the data conversion plan and developing the conversion subsystem

• structuring the test plan and reviewing test results

• deciding on system cutover to production status.