Project Management Techniques In Office Automation System Development

With the development of information technology, office automation(OA) has become a necesity for many enterprises. It is able to enhancethe quality and efficiency of routine office transactions and improve themanagement and productivity of an enterprise. OA system is a set ofhardware devices and software applications that can automize the routinework in an office and minimize manual work in the management andoperation of an enterprise.According to the author’s many years’ experience in the OA projects,there are many common problems in OA system development projects,such as homogenization of OA system, defective management of the userrequirement, serious delay of the project schedule, poor acceptance of thefinal system, confusion in project maintenance, difficult follow-updevelopment, etc. Therefore in this thesis, the author proposes a set ofmanagement techniques in an attempt to solve these problems.The author first analyzes the background and challenges in OAsystem development in domestic market, especially the responsibilities ofa project manager. He then declares that project managers shouldspecifically focus on the the management of people involved in theproject. Based on related management theories, the author then proposesa set of management techniques for project communication management,user requirement management and schedule management. Thesetechniques include:1. At the beginning of the project, it is important to trim projectcontract, analye the systems features we promise to deliver andadvise clients to give up illogical requirements.2. Understand the requirement of the key users of OA system,document the detailed requirements and have the clients sign theuser requirement. 3. In the design phase, maintain good communication betweenproject group and clients to make sure the design results coincidewith the practical requirements of the clients.4. In the coding phase, track the progress of the project closely andmake sure it is not behind the time schedule.5. In the test stage, leave enough time for testing.6. In the online and train stage, keep momentum in the group andtrain important users and key users.7. Plan for the work needed after the system is delivered.The core of these project management techniques is to focus on thepeople involved in the project. Project managers should understand theirneeds, contributions, importance and influence, and cope with thosedemands reasonably to ensure the success of the project.Furthermore using the example of the OA system upgrade project atFounder Securities Company Limited by Shares, the author illustrateshow to apply these management techniques in a practical project.The techniques proposed in this thesis are integration of projectmanagement theories and the author’s practical experiments. Thesetechniques have been quite effective during the career of the author and Ihope this thesis can serve as a useful reference for the development ofimplementation of domestic OA software projects.