Entry Point for IT Project Managers

This entry point is for project managers in IT projects: software development, system integration, infrastructure projects, digital transformation, and related areas. Typical IT project characteristics are considered here: iterative phases, changing requirements, distributed teams, and scarce specialists.

Typical Tasks in IT Projects

  • create project structure by deliverables or sprints, for example frontend, backend, database, documentation

  • plan specialists and teams as qualifications or roles according to demand

  • detect capacity bottlenecks for scarce profiles, for example security experts or architects

  • coordinate parallel development streams and model dependencies

  • make critical path and risks visible across project boundaries

  • use Rillsoft Integration Server for time entry and developer feedback

  • measure progress and prepare target/actual comparison for control meetings

Typical Working Path

1. Build project structure by deliverables

Structure the IT project into subprojects by deliverable, for example frontend, backend, API, testing, and deployment. Avoid tasks that are too granular. Individual tasks below one working day usually do not belong in the project plan.

2. Plan roles before assigning employees

Assign roles to tasks first, for example Senior Backend Developer, DevOps Engineer, or UX Designer. Capacity balancing then shows whether available employees cover the demand before concrete names are planned.

3. Link parallel development streams

In IT projects, several streams often run in parallel. Use start-start dependencies for activities that should start together and finish-finish dependencies for activities that must finish together. Negative lag models overlaps.

4. Perform capacity balancing for bottleneck profiles

After role planning, check whether bottleneck profiles, meaning rare qualifications, are short. Capacity balancing shows this aggregated across all projects.

5. Use Rillsoft Integration Server for time entry

If developers should report their own effort, set up feedback through Integration Server. Developers enter actual hours directly at the task, and the project manager sees progress in target/actual comparison.

6. Progress and control

Use the information panel to keep late activities, overloaded resources, and consistency problems visible. Save a baseline before actual development starts.

Important Views for IT Project Managers

View

Use

Gantt chart

Daily work: tasks, dependencies, critical path

Role utilization

Capacity demand per qualification over the project period

Team utilization

Utilization of complete development teams at a glance

Employee utilization

Individual utilization of developers and specialists

Network diagram

Check process logic, especially for complex sprint handovers

Information panel

Late activities, consistency checks, external links such as tickets or wikis

Portfolio bar chart

Overview of all IT projects and their resource competition

Typical Decisions

Situation

Recommendation

Security review blocks several successors

Create the security review as a milestone and link all dependent tasks with finish-start.

Frontend and backend can be developed in parallel

Use a shared start-start dependency after design approval and finish-finish for integration testing.

DevOps resource is a bottleneck across several projects

Check role utilization in the portfolio context and perform capacity balancing across the summary project.

Developers should report actual effort themselves

Set up feedback through Integration Server and access rights for project tasks.

Sprint transition: current sprint ends, next sprint starts

Use a milestone at sprint end, a new sprint as subproject, and a finish-start dependency.

Deployment date is contractually fixed

Create deployment as a milestone with fixed date and make preceding float visible.

External API delivery is unclear

Create a task with estimated duration, add a note, and update it after clarification.