The Growing influence of IT on major projects

All major projects now have an IT component, which includes control and monitoring systems for all functions of both the facility itself and the people who operate it. Since IT is usually the most innovative feature, it tends to be the most difficult to manage through to effective and reliable operation. Its installation has also become essential to operating the finished project, yet is the one which is finished
last.

Most project management processes, such as financial modelling, communications, design, scheduling, cost control and document management, use IT, but they tend to have developed in isolation and not be well integrated. Chaired by Sir Michael Latham, this seminar had two objectives: to investigate how best to integrate the design and commissioning of those systems which include IT in the totality of the project work, and to establish how best to utilise IT in the management of projects.

The seminar also looked at why IT project work has a poor reputation for successful outcomes, and what can be done to de-risk the management of the IT component. Speakers presented specific examples across a variety of sectors, talked about the reasons for poor success rates and suggested ways to improve the management of major IT projects