The role of project management in university computing resource departments

Today’s businesses have learned the value of incorporating formal project management practices and tools. However, the drivers that have pushed businesses to adopt them have not had as large an impact on institutions of higher education. This paper investigates the acceptance and usage of formal project management techniques by university information technology departments. Results of a mail survey determined that current university IT departments lag behind their business peers in the adoption and usage of project management practices and tools. Additionally, it was discovered that the most utilized project management function by the academic institutions was project planning.