| | November 20148CIOReviewopinionin myIT + PM =The Perfect CombinationBy Diane LeRoy, VP-Project Management, USANA Health SciencesFor years, USANA left the management of IT projects up to the IT department with no formal project management methodologies--an approach typical for the time. Thistactic worked effectively for over eight years, until technology became the focal point of how we conducted business.Within just a couple of years, we began growing faster than ever, resulting in larger IT initiatives rolling out over the entire company. These projects were much more complex than before and included the use of cross-functional teams from various departments.In order to manage the overwhelming barrage of tasks and projects ahead, the IT team realized they would need assistance. With an impressive track record of global manufacturing product launches, our Project Management department provided the right answer in supporting their daunting responsibilities.However, the first small IT projects assigned to the Project Management team were difficult to manage, due to the team's lack of IT knowledge and experience. While the projects were delivered on time and basic project management practices were used, there was still considerable room for improvement.After much trial and error, it was determined a small team would be hired exclusively to manage IT projects. These specialized project managers would hold extensive IT knowledge as well as a breadth of experience managing IT-related projects. Additionally, they would provide strong organizational skills and the ability to motivate and build relationships.The result of using IT project managers (PMs) has been a huge triumph for our company. Just recently, we launched our most ambitious digital marketing tool ever--a fully personalized website for each of our distributors in all 19 markets. Because IT project managers were included early on in the process, they were able to drive the project to success from the very beginning. A team was gathered and focused on creating initial documents, outlining the scope and plan. Timelines were created, requirements gathered, and user stories written, allowing the team to jump into action. Even progress reviews were delivered to stakeholders at critical milestones throughout the project, resulting in no surprises and sufficient time to incorporate any changes requested.By utilizing a dedicated IT PM team for launching new products and services, we have discovered many benefits, since IT project managers can do many things:· Provide realistic project deadlines Because IT project managers create scope documents, requirements, user stories and timelines, they are able to paint a better picture of when a project will most likely launch. On the other side of the equation, there are times when unrealistic deadlines Diane LeRoy | | November 20148CIOReview
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