Abstract
In the last few years, information technology (IT) has significantly impacted the operation of most businesses, and even though most corporations still spend only 3% to 8% of their revenue on IT, businesses depend upon IT for their day-to-day operations. For many businesses, IT is a, if not the, key factor in their competitive strategy. Due to IT, we have all experienced many changes, some good some bad, in our personal lives. In fact, probably not since the industrial revolution have people all over the world experienced such dramatic life-style changes. One is reminded of the opening sentence from A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Dickens was referring to the French Revolution, but in the 21st century we are well into the “IT Revolution.” In regard to project management, there are two IT related matters: the utilization of IT in managing all types of projects and the management of IT projects. Before we further discuss these project management matters in this modern IT dominated world, we need to consider the technical and business forces that are shaping this new environment.