1. Basic project management concepts.

The term "IT project" is usually used to refer to activities related to the use or creation of some information technology. This leads to the fact that IT projects cover very diverse areas of activity: the development of software applications, the creation of information systems, the deployment of IT infrastructure, etc. In this book, we will often talk about projects to create information systems, implying the implementation of some information technologies .

On the one hand, these works correspond to the classical definition of the project [1, 23]: "A project is a complex of efforts undertaken to obtain specific unique results within the allotted time and within the approved budget, which is allocated to pay for resources used or consumed in project progress. " On the other hand, they have known distinguishing features:

• separation at the level of customer and contractor ideology: the customer, as a rule, is a business, and the contractor is IT specialists, and there are difficulties in identifying the requirements and expectations of the project, in the formation of the terms of reference. There is also the problem of effective communications;
• Responsibility for the result of the project has a "joint" character. That is, here it is impossible to place responsibility for the success of the project only on the contractor, just as it is impossible to say that the customer alone is guilty of the fact that the project failed. In an IT project, certain conditions must be created for interaction between the parties, and the parties involved in it are equally responsible for the results of the project;
• often the implementation of an IT project involves changing the existing organizational structures in the enterprise;
• Typically, a multitude of organizational units are involved in an IT project;
• there is a high probability of conflicts between the project manager, senior management, heads of departments and staff of the organization;
• Many IT projects have huge budgets. In large companies, the scale of project activities in the field of information technology (IT) is measured in millions of dollars, and the implementation of new projects is ongoing. If, for example, an industrial enterprise is enough to build once - and it will work without requiring regular investments, then the development of IT infrastructure in growing companies requires large and regular investments. Large budgets, in turn, imply a greater level of responsibility and, consequently, a greater level of competence of those people who manage these projects.

If we talk about the implementation of IT projects, you should pay attention to the following features:

• Often, several IT projects are carried out simultaneously at the customer’s company;
• project implementation priorities are constantly adjusted;
• as projects are implemented, the requirements and content of projects are refined and adjusted;
• the human factor is significant: the timing and quality of the project is mainly dependent on direct implementers and communication between them;
• each performer can take part in several projects;
• there are difficulties in planning creative activities, there are no uniform standards and standards;
• there is an increased level of risk, up to the unpredictability of results;
• there is a constant improvement of the technology of performance of work.

Analysis of statistics shows that approximately 90 percent of IT projects are similar to those already completed. The project manager has experience in implementing such tasks and an understanding of potential problems. In these cases, the hierarchical structure of the project and works   (COI / CRP) is formed using the Top-down approach (top to bottom), the typical structure of the project team is used, the project plans (risk management plan, communication plan , etc.) are similar to the plans of previous projects. However, 10 percent of projects are innovative, implemented from scratch and require creativity, innovative solutions and managerial courage. Decision-making in such projects is characterized by high risks, which requires the head of in-depth knowledge of the methodology of project management and understanding of the features of its application in the field of information technology.

The application of project management methodology allows you to fix the goals and results of the project, give them quantitative characteristics, determine the time, cost and quality parameters of the project, create a realistic project implementation plan , highlight, evaluate risks and prevent possible negative consequences during the project implementation.

For effective management, the project must be well structured. The essence of this process is reduced to the selection of the following main elements:

• phases of the project life cycle, phases, work and individual tasks;
• organizational structure of project executors;
• responsibility allocation structure.

A life cycle is a sequence of project phases through which it must pass in order to guarantee the achievement of project objectives, in our case, for implementing some information technology.

The organizational structure involves the allocation of roles of performers that are necessary for the implementation of the project, the definition of the relationship between them and the distribution of responsibility for the tasks.