Data Center Project Management: Key Components of a Successful System

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Data Center Project Management

• Key Components of a Successful System

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Data Center Project Management

• Without proper data center project management, a
  design/build project can experience delays,
  increased costs and frustrated team members.
  Regardless of project size, activities need to be
  structured and standardized so everyone is on the
  same page and the project outcome is predictable.
  Strong project management makes sure nothing
  slips through the cracks or any effort is
  duplicated.

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Data Center Project Management

• When building or upgrading a data centers
  physical infrastructure, project management
  provides the foundation for a successful result.
  Its purpose is to structure the project into
  phases, coordinate the work of the entire team
  and monitor progress. A typical team might
  consist of the end users, consultants, hardware
  and software providers, general contractor and
  more.

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Data Center Project Management

• To streamline efforts, data center project
  management must focus on the following
  principles
•  
• Clear communication through a common language.
  To avoid miscommunication, everyone on the team
  must be speaking the same language. Using
  consistent and transparent terminology is an
  important aspect of keeping all team members at
  the same level of understanding.
•  
• For example, special terms should be defined so
  the entire team knows a single meaning. And,
  management roles should be assigned names that
  reflect what they actually do on the team.

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Data Center Project Management

• Proper planning typically involves the following
  tasks
•  
• Determining appropriate systems availability
  levels.
• Estimating cost exposures and risk levels.
• Providing detailed site evaluations and selection
  processes.
• Identifying potential weaknesses in backup
  programs.
• Evaluating future expansion opportunities.

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Data Center Project Management

• Identification and coordination of
  responsibilities. All team members must fully
  understand everyones roles and responsibilities.
  When its clear who does what, duplication of
  effort is eliminated. Also, potential conflict
  among team members can be avoided.
•  
• Good data center project management accounts for
  every role and tracks progress on all assigned
  responsibilities. All activities are accounted
  for and monitored to avoid any balls being
  dropped.
•  
• In addition, suppliers must be coordinated and
  dependencies noted. The delivery and
  installation of all equipment and services must
  be timed appropriately to avoid unnecessary
  delays.

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Data Center Project Management

• Change accommodation. All data center project
  management needs to incorporate flexibility and
  procedures for change. With well-defined
  processes in place, changes can be handled
  without negatively affecting the overall project
  schedule, budget or quality.
•   
• Basically, project management involves
  communication, planning, coordination and issue
  resolution. Data center project management is no
  different from managing any other project. It
  incorporates the crucial activities such as
• Project Budget
• Project Scheduling
• Available Resources
• Scope of Responsibilities
• Continuity Management
• Change Management
• Project Reporting

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Data Center Project Management

• All activities associated with data center
  project management must be planned for well
  before the project begins. Responsibilities
  cannot be assumed. Instead they must be
  completely communicated, delegated and monitored.
•  
• Because the project team in a data center build
  or upgrade typically is assembled from various
  organizations, its important the team starts
  from a position of complete and consistent
  understanding. In other words, the end-user
  customer, consultant, suppliers and other team
  members need to define project terminology and
  role assignments in the same way. The goals for
  every data center project management are the
  same well-defined roles, specific
  responsibilities and consistent terminology.

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Data Center Project Management

• Whether data center project management is done
  by the end-user organization or a consultant, the
  process and goals should be the same. The
  guidelines discussed above should be standard
  procedure and incorporated into any design, build
  or upgrade plan. With standardization and clear
  methodology, the project management efforts will
  establish lines of communication, reduce costs,
  improve quality, eliminate waste and speed the
  time to a successful project completion.

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About the Author

• Arnie W. Evdokimo is Chief Executive Officer of
  DP Air Corporation, a leading provider of data
  center design, build and maintenance services
  based in Phoenix, Arizona. For more information
  about Data Center Project Management, visit
  http//www.DPAir.com today.