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Kieran Cooper offers some tips for successful management of IT projects.

You can?t seem to open the papers these days without reading another disaster story about an IT project going wrong ? busting both the budget and the timescale and often not delivering what was actually needed in the first place. While scandals of this sort have largely been avoided in the arts (or not made public, anyway), there are still key project management skills that should be applied whenever a major change needs to take place, be it installing a new box office system or upgrading to the latest version of Windows.

The first task is to define the job in hand ? what exactly it is that the organisation is trying to achieve. This is often referred to as the ?scope? of the project and it needs to clearly define what the task will involve and (more importantly) what it won?t. For example, if the decision has been taken to upgrade everyone to the latest version of Microsoft Office, will this mean that some computers need to be upgraded or replaced? Is there a need for training? Are there other implications, such as whether the box office system will interface properly with the new software?

Secondly, there should be a detailed specification of the job. This is especially important if the project involves making a choice between alternatives, such as deciding on which fundraising system to buy or what type of computer hardware to buy. The specification will lay out both the required functionality of the system (what you want it to do) and what you expect in terms of support and training. A specification will not only provide something concrete against which to measure the alternatives but the process of writing the document will also often help clarify thoughts.

A budget is clearly a necessity. This may be difficult to tie down completely at the beginning of the project, but it should be more-or-less set in stone before any work actually starts. With the changing price of computer components it may well be that a quotation is only valid for a limited time so you may need to allow for the budget to increase if you?re preparing it well ahead of the actual implementation. It is also essential to allow a 5% to 10% contingency to help protect against the inevitable problems that arise.

Another crucial element is setting down a manageable timetable. There are various software packages (such as Microsoft Project) which can help with this task and allow potential blockages in the process to be identified. It is important to realise that this timetable will inevitably change once the process has started. There should be one person in control of this plan who will ensure tasks are done on time and appropriate measures are taken if delays crop up. Making sure that everyone involved in the process knows exactly what is happening and when, is an extremely important part of any project. Some of the biggest problems arise when the staff who will be using the new system don?t understand why the change is being made and exactly when it is due to happen. The most successful projects are those that have paid great attention to ?buy in? along the way.

Finally, celebrate success when you can! Too many projects start off badly because they remain tainted by difficulties that happened during the implementation process. Signing off the whole project, or clearly defined portions of it, can be a great opportunity to remind people of the original purpose of the exercise and help them to put the problems behind them. Clearly, none of this is rocket science but, so often, common sense seems to desert us when confronted with the complications of even the simplest IT project. If you keep a cool head then the next time reports emerge of another major project which has gone pear-shaped, it should be possible to smile smugly, safe in the knowledge that we do it better in the arts!

Kieran Cooper is a Director of the arts management consultancy Catalyst Arts
t: 01225 340340;
e: kieran@catalystarts.com;
w: http://www.catalystarts.com

IT queries? Send your questions to editors@artsprofessional.co.uk and we will ask Kieran to respond through this column.