IT Executive Says Small Technology Projects Still Require Planning
IT Strategies International’s Michael Beardslee Offers
Tips for Managing Smaller Projects

(Las Vegas) – When it comes to corporate technology, individual small projects seem less significant in the big picture of things. However, they add up quickly considering projects valued at $50,000 or less make up the majority of technology ventures within a company.

Unfortunately, most businesses fail to plan for these smaller undertakings. With operational productivity and budget cuts on the line, IT Strategies International President Michael Beardslee offers tips for ensuring success of small technology projects.

“Companies have learned to carefully plan and document large-scale projects to make sure they are on time and on budget,” said Beardslee. “However, the approach to small projects is still casual in most businesses. As a result, these tasks take too long and are often inadequate.”

Small IT projects may tempt business executives to skip the planning phase altogether. But without plan or discipline, important steps may be overlooked or skipped.

According to Beardslee, many companies abandon the project management methods of big projects for small installations, spending far less or no time at all on critical areas such as testing and quality assurance. In many cases, executives completely forego defining business objectives and defining project requirement before taking on small technology tasks.

“Even small projects require some degree of project management,” Beardslee said. “You can be more flexible with a smaller project, but you must make sure to be thorough with the task. While they don’t require the same amount of detail as a larger one, you should still develop a business case and follow-up reports, even if they are less formal.”

To ensure success of small projects, Beardslee makes the following suggestions:

• Establish criteria, including a budget and time frame, for all projects.
• Define minimal requirements and problems before the start of any project.
• Monitor all projects on a regular basis and create regular progress reports, even if they are informal.
• Create a standardized testing method for small projects.

Utilizing simple management techniques may help companies save time and money on small projects that occur frequently within the business environment.

“Efficient technology projects don’t just happen,” said Beardslee. “They depend upon executing simple administrative details in the right order. Success, even with small projects, requires some planning.”

IT Strategies International Corp. is a privately held computer-consulting firm incorporated in the State of Nevada in 1996. The company provides expert, cost-effective consulting for both private companies and public organizations that require specialized information technology skills and/or in-house staff augmentation to take strategic advantage of information systems.

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