IT Project Management, 2nd Edition

2.1. How to Plan

Don't laugh. Many IT project managers, executives, and professionals don't know how to plan. Oh sure, they think they do, but the reality is they don't. When these folks begin planning, their efforts consist of searching the Web randomly, leafing through vendor brochures, and chatting with other professionals about similar problems they've encountered and how those problems were resolved. On the surface, this looks like a great effort. The Web, vendor brochures, and interviews are all essential elements to IT research. The trouble, however, is there's little rhyme or reason, little approach, and, most important, few results to show for the effort.

The goal of research is to come to a conclusion, a discovery, and hard-hitting ...