Mostafa H. Sherif

Managing Projects in Telecommunication Services

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Many senior managers and management consultants seem to be unaware of the differences between development projects in telecommunications services as opposed to those in equipment design and manufacturing. This book addresses those differences, their interaction with telecommunications deregulation and their consequences on the ability of telecommunications service providers to deliver services on schedule and within budget.

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Effective project management tailored to the needs of the telecommunications industry

"In our rapidly changing world, the information and communication technologies and services have an immense impact on virtually all aspects of our lives. . . . With his deep understanding of the telecommunication services, and his rich experiences in both standardization activities and teaching practice, [Dr. Sherif's] book provides a very clear analysis of development projects in telecommunication services. I believe the readers will find this book very useful and interesting."
--Houlin Zhao, Director, Telecommunication Standardization Bureau,International Telecommunication Union

"Dr. Sherif's book is an important contribution to the project management literature. With the domination of the service economy in recent years, the book addresses the unique features of telecommunication services, a critical pillar of the service sector. Development projects in telecommunications require combining good knowledge of the fundamentals of project management with clear understanding of the complexities arising from fast-changing technology, deregulations, standards, accountability, and supply chain management difficulties. This book addresses the much-needed integrative approach very well."
--Tarek Khalil, President, International Association for Management of Technology (IAMOT)

While there has been much written about project management, the vast majority of the literature focuses on industrial design and production. In Managing Projects in Telecommunication Services, Mostafa Hashem Sherif effectively demonstrates the unique requirements of projects in telecommunication services and, consequently, the benefits of an integrated approach to project management that is specifically tailored to the telecommunications industry.

Managing Projects in Telecommunication Services draws from a wide range of disciplines, including organizational management, motivation, quality control, and software engineering. All the theory and practical guidance that an effective telecommunications project manager needs is provided.

The text is divided into three main parts:
_ Chapters 1 through 3 set forth the special characteristics of telecommunications projects, including technology life cycle, type of innovation, and project organization
_ Chapters 4 through 10 cover the areas that the Project Management Institute has standardized in its publication A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK(r) Guide), focusing on the issues specific to telecommunications. Chapters address scope, schedule and cost, information and communication, human resources, quality, vendor management, and risk
_ Chapters 11 and 12 integrate and summarize all of the concepts for the planning and delivery of a project

Chapters are loaded with examples and case studies, many from the author's personal experience, that demonstrate the benefits of good project management and the consequences of poor project management. Each chapter includes a summary of key points. References are also provided to facilitate further research and study.

For project managers as well as students in telecommunications, this text is unsurpassed. It not only covers the theory and practice of effective project management, it also tailors its discussion specifically to the unique needs of the telecommunications industry.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Wiley & Sons
• 1. Auflage
• Seitenzahl: 272
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. Oktober 2006
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 260mm x 183mm x 19mm
• Gewicht: 625g
• ISBN-13: 9780471713432
• ISBN-10: 0471713430
• Artikelnr.: 20781508

Autorenporträt

MOSTAFA HASHEM SHERIF, PhD, is a Certified Project Manager and internationally recognized as an expert on standards for packetized voice and digital signal processing in transmission equipment. He currently is a Senior Technical Specialist for AT&T and is the recipient of the AT&T Standards Recognition Award. Dr. Sherif holds several U.S. patents and is the Standards coeditor for IEEE Communications Magazine and the author of the bestselling book Protocols for Secure Electronic Commerce.

Inhaltsangabe

Foreword xiii
Preface xv
1 Projects in Telecommunication Services 1
Introduction 1
Project Management Versus Product Management 1
Virtual Network Operators 3
Contribution of Project Management 4
The Two Facets of Telecommunication Services 5
Categories of Projects in Telecommunication Services 6
Upgrades of Public Networks 7
Establishment of Specialized Business Networks 8
Temporary Networks 10
Characteristics of Telecommunication Service Projects 11
Complex Interfaces 11
External Interfaces 11
Internal Interfaces 12
International Orientation 15
Multidisciplinarity 15
No Mass Production 16
Diverse Users 16
A Relatively Long Planning Stage 17
Summary of Distinctions Between the Development of 17
Telecommunication Services and Equipment Summary 17
2 Standards and Innovation in Telecommunication Services 19
The Two Dimensions of Telecommunication Projects 19
The Technological Dimension 19
The Marketing and Social Dimension 22
Classification of Innovations 23
Innovations and the Technology Life Cycle 25
Innovation in Telecommunication Services 26
Incremental Innovation 27
Architectural Innovation 28
Platform Innovation 30
Radical Innovation 30
Interaction of Innovations in Equipment and Services 30
Phasic Relation Between Equipment and Services 31
Standardization for Telecommunication Services 34
Timing of Standards 35
Marketing Perspective 35
Technological View of Standards 35
Anticipatory Standards 36
Enabling (Participatory) Standards 37
Responsive Standards 38
Lack of Standards 38
Standards Policy and Knowledge Management 39
Summary 40
3 The Project Management Context 43
Organization of the Project Team 43
Functional Organization 44
Examples 45
Advantages 47
Disadvantages 47
Matrix Organization 47
Examples 48
Advantages 50
Disadvantages 50
Projectized Organization 50
Examples 51
Advantages 51
Disadvantages 51
Comparison of Project Organizations 52
Project Organization and Innovation Type 52
Incremental Innovation 52
Architectural Innovation 53
Platform Innovation 54
Radical Innovation 54
The Role of the Project Sponsor 54
Phase Management and Portfolio Management 56
The Rolling Wave Method for Service Development 56
Phase 1: Concept Definition 57
Phase 2: Initiation and Preliminary Planning Phase 58
Phase 3: Implementation 58
Phase 4: Controlled Introduction 58
Phase 5: General Availability and Close-Out 59
Canceling Projects 59
Relation to the Build-Operate-Transfer Model 59
Summary 60
4 Scope Management 61
Scope Initiation 62
Scope Planning 62
Market Service Description (MSD) 62
Scope Definition 63
Work Breakdown Structure 63
Technical Plan 64
The Need for Scope Management 66
Salt Lake City Winter Olympics 66
E-Zpass Toll Collection System 66
Background 66
Gaps in the Definition ITS Scope 67
Scope Creep in New Jersey 68
Sources of Scope Change 68
Customer Profile 69
Vendor's Effect 69
Basic Principles of Scope Management 69
Change Control Policy 71
Strictness of the Change Control Policy 71
Change Control Board 72
Scope Verification 72
Tracking and Issue Management 72
Project Termination 73
Case Studies 74
Telecommunications Alliances/Joint Ventures 74
Net 1000 76
Background 77
Timeline and Organization Evolution 78
Postmortem Analysis 80
Lessons Learned 84
Lessons Not Learned 84
Summary 85
5 Time and Cost Management 87
Scheduling 87
Delays in Telecommunication Projects 88
Compressing the Schedule 89
Cost Management 90
Project Tracking with Earned Value Analysis 91
Metrics for the Earned Value 92
Discrete Effort Method 92
Apportioned Effort Method 93
Level of Effort Method 93
Budget Types 93
Monitoring Project Progress 93
Measures of Efficiency 94
Prerequisites for Earned Value Analysis 95
Earned Value Analysis in Telecommunication Projects 95
Summary 97
6 Information and Communication Management 99
The Role of Communication Management 99
Dissemination of Information 100
Team Cohesion 100
Historical Database 101
Communication and Outsourcing 101
The Communication Plan 102
Audience 102
Circumstances 103
Nature of Information 103
Content of the Plan 104
Communication Channels 104
One-on-One Communication 105
Meetings 105
Telephony and Teleconferences 107
E-Mail 107
Intranets and Project Portals 107
Evaluation of the Communication Processes 108
Measure of Communication Effectiveness 108
Signs of Communication Problems 108
Barriers to Successful Communications 109
Summary 109
7 Resources Management 111
Formation of the Project Team 111
Team Building 116
Team Building and the Hierarchy of Human Needs 116
Signs of a Jelled Team 117
Enablers of Team Cohesiveness 117
Impediments to Team Consolidation 118
No Self-Actualization 118
No Self-Esteem 118
No Belongingness 119
No Security 119
Team Breakup (Adjourning) 119
Project Leadership 119
Transactional Versus Transformational Leadership 120
Project Manager's Authority 120
Manipulative Behavior 120
MBTI Classification of Leadership Styles 121
Time-Dependent Leadership 123
Matching Leadership Style with the Project Phase 123
Matching Leadership Style with Innovation Type 124
Matching Leadership with Technology Maturity 125
Conflict Resolution 126
Conflicts Due to Contractual Structures 126
Conflicts Due to Connectual Structures 127
Types of Diversity 127
Examples of Social Diversity 128
Examples of Informational Diversity 128
Examples of Value Diversity 129
Conflicts and Diversity 130
Effects of Conflict on Project Performance 130
Dealing with Conflicts 132
Problem Solving 132
Coercion 132
Compromise 132
Accommodation 132
Withdrawal or Avoidance 132
Summary 133
8 Quality Management 135
Overview 135
Quality and Innovation 136
Service Release Management 137
Quality Plan 138
Categorization of the Defects: Urgency and Criticality 139
Appraisal 141
Schedule Compression 144
Evaluation of Testing Progress 145
When to Stop Testing? 145
Vendor Management During the Testing Program 148
Summary 150
Appendix 151
Poisson Model 151
The Basic Model 152
The Jelinski-Moranda Model 152
Deployability 153
Learning Effect with the Yamada Model 154
9 Vendor Management 157
The Importance of Vendor Management 157
Vendor Management Versus Procurement Management 157
Acquisition Process 158
Evaluation of the Formal Solicitation Process 160
Vendor Selection 160
Contract Type 161
Vendor Types in Telecommunications Services 161
Vendor Evaluation 162
Additional Criteria for Equipment Vendors 164
Additional Criteria for Connectivity Vendors 164
Communications with Technology Vendors 165
Statement of Work 165
Vendor Tracking 166
Partnerships and Virtual Organizations 166
Metrics for Vendor Tracking During Acceptance Testing 168
Vendor's Handoff 169
Metrics for Vendor Tracking for Problems in the Field 169
Risks in the Management of Technology Vendors 170
The Technology Life Cycle 170
Vendor Type 170
Risk of Supply Disruption 171
Congruence of the Plans for the Vendor and the Service Provider 171
Lack of Standards 172
Intellectual Property and Knowledge Management 172
Inadequate Field Support 173
Risk Mitigation in the Management of Technology Vendor 173
Connectivity Vendors 174
Types of Agreements Among Network Operators 174
Risks Management for Interconnectivity Vendors 174
Summary 175
10 Risk Management 177
Risk Identification 178
Risk Evaluation 178
Risk Mitigation 180
Risk Avoidance 180
Risk Reduction 180
Combined Risk Avoidance and Reduction 181
Risk Deflection 181
Risk Financing 182
Risks Identification Telecommunications Services 183
Project Characteristics 184
Complexity 184
Schedule 184
Novelty 185
Geography 185
Internal Organization 185
Technology 186
Supplier 187
Customer 187
Risk Mitigation in Telecommunications Services 187
Risks Due to Project Characteristics 187
Technological Risks 188
Supplier's Risks 189
Customer's Risks 189
Standardization and Risk 189
Innovation and Risk 191
Incremental Innovation 191
Architectural Innovation 192
Platform Innovation 193
Radical Innovation 193
Risk Mitigation and Organizational Culture 193
Risk Mitigation and the Project Manager's Tolerance for Risk 194
Summary 194
11 Service Development 197
Opportunity Analysis and Concept Definition 197
Product Definition and Project Setup 198
Design and Procurement 199
Architecture Design 199
Supplier Management 200
Technical Definition of the Service 202
Site Selection 202
Service Operations Technical Plan (SOTP) 202
Support Processes 203
Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OA&M) 205
Disaster Recovery 207
Customer Network Management 209
Development 209
Equipment Handoff 210
System and Integration Testing 210
Network Operations Center (NOC) 211
Human Resources 211
Return Maintenance Authorization (RMA) 211
Customer Care 211
Service Turn-Up 212
Installing the Equipment 212
In-Field Tests 212
Pilot Trials 213
Controlled Introduction 214
Management of the Controlled Introduction 214
Marketing and Sales Plans for General Availability 215
Commissioning and Life-Cycle Management 217
Lessons Learned and Closeout 217
Quality-of-Service Metrics 217
Customer Care Performance 219
Network Performance 219
OA&M Quality 219
Business and Network Evolution 219
Summary 221
Appendix 221
12 Some Final Thoughts 223
Continuity and Change 223
Project Success or Service Success? 224
Competition and Government Policies 225
Standardization 227
Outsourcing 228
References 229
Index 239