Albert Einstein has been widely quoted as saying “There are two things that are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the universe.” Like most people, I usually write this off as an amusing, sarcastic quip he made on a bad day. I mean, it can’t possibly be taken literally, right? Then I wander across a news item or business situation that make me wonder if maybe he was on to something. In spite of common sense, again and again I encounter companies repeating tragically avoidable mistakes, hamstringing themselves with the same ludicrous errors their competitors (fortunately) are also making.

When dealing with IT projects, using specialised project management techniques will be very beneficial to your ongoing progress leading to a much higher success rate in the long run. Planning and carrying out IT projects can be tricky for a variety of reasons, making the ability to complete them successfully a very valuable asset to any employer.

Every IT project is driven by a business requirement. For an IT project manager, the hard part is translating that business requirement into an end product that fully meets that business need. It’s easy for a project manager to sit in a meeting and listen to what the clients say they need their new system to achieve. But what happens when what the client asks for and what you think they mean are two different things?