Project Management

What is a project?

According to my researched on the world wide web particular in Wikipedia a project means frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. A project is a research assignment given to a student which generally requires a larger amount of effort and more independent work than is involved in a normal essay assignment. It requires students to undertake their own fact-finding and analysis, either from library/internet research or from gathering data empirically. And for me a project is an output of something proposed by a group people or an individual as a solution to a problem in the company. But our instructor presented what is the meaning project based on the Project Management Body of Knowledge. That organizations perform work. Work generally involves either operations or projects, although there will instances that both will overlap from each other. Operations and projects share many characteristic. Project generally is to performed by the people involving in the project. Project is constrained by the scarcity of the resources or man power. Project is planned, executed accordingly and controlled until the completion of the said project. Projects are often implemented and executed as a means of completing and achieving an group or organization’s strategic plan. Nonetheless operations and projects differ primarily in that of operations are ongoing and repetitive while projects are temporary and tentative and unique. A project is a temporary endeavor which is achieved to make a unique output or services. Temporary is define in the class as that every project has a definite beginning and a definite end. And unique is also define as that of the product or service is different in some distinguishing way from all other outputs or services. For various organizations, projects are a means to respond to those requests that can not be addressed within the organization’s normal operational limits. A project is a temporary effort to create a unique product or service. Projects usually include constraints and risks regarding cost, schedule or performance outcome. Project objectives define target status at the end of the project, reaching of which is considered necessary for the achievement of planned benefits. They can be formulated as SMART criteria: Specific, Measurable (or at least evaluable) achievement, Achievable (recently Agreed-to or Acceptable are used regularly as well), realistic (given the current state of organizational resources) and Time terminated (bounded). The evaluation (measurement) occurs at the project closure. However a continuous guard on the project progress should be kept by monitoring and evaluating. It is also worth noting that SMART is best applied for incremental type innovation projects. For radical type projects it does not apply as well. Goals for such projects tend to be broad, qualitative, stretch unrealistic and success driven.

A project is a sequence of tasks, tasks that will comply the entirety of the project. A project is planned from beginning to end and monitored regularly. And it is to take head that a project is bounded by time, from resources, & required results or quality. A project also defines an outcome and deliverables in sequence. Most of all and the most down fall of IC student is that a project has a deadline. Every project should have the proficient budget as planned. Nevertheless, project has its limits number of people, supplies, and capital. There are five features of a project. First, as we know, a project defines beginning, end, schedule, and approach. Second, a project has resources specifically allocated to the work. A project has the end results which have specific goals that comply the time, cost, performance and quality. A project follows planned and organized approach. A project usually involves a team of people. Projects are undertaken at all levels of the organization. They may involve a single person or many thousands. Their duration ranges from a few weeks to more than five years. Projects may involve a single unit of one organizations or may cross organizational boundaries, as in joint ventures and partnering. Projects are critical to the realization of the performing organization’s business strategy because projects are a means by which strategy is implemented. Examples of projects include developing a new product, output, or services. Effecting a change in the structure, staffing, or style of an organization. Designing a new transportation vehicle. It may be designing a new transportation vehicle. Or it may be developing or acquiring a new or modified information system. It also be constructing a building or facility. It may be building a water system for a community in a developing country. Or running a campaign for political office. Sometimes implementing a new business procedure or process.
What is management?

As I explored the internet for the meaning of management, I learned that the term ‘management’ encompasses an array of different functions undertaken to accomplish a task successfully. In the simplest of terms, management is all about ‘getting things done’. However, it is the way and the process of how one achieves ones target or goals and it is in this respect that management is considered an art and a science as well. The term management may be in recent times defined, but it existed at a time while men started learning the skill of organizing, strategizing (during wars) and/or basically planning. At the central part of it, management was characteristically considered as an art of ‘managing men’ and hence the term “manage-men-T.”

At the roots, management evolved when the classification of knowledge became just about twisted rather than being plain ‘rational’. In a number of way, Rousseau in 1972 pointed out that “A real knowledge of things may be a good thing in itself, but the knowledge of men and their opinions is better, for in human society.” And a good deal later, management scholar, Peter Drucker in 1993 defined management as “Supplying knowledge to find out how existing knowledge can best be applied to produce results is, in effect, what we mean by management. But knowledge is now also being applied systematically and purposefully to determine what new knowledge is needed, whether it is feasible, and what has to be done to make knowledge effective. It is being applied, in other words, to systematic innovation.”

From the over two definitions, it is apparent that management is a artistic as well as a methodical stream of knowledge that can be applied to manufacture results by using human as well as supplementary assets in an efficient way. Management has not been limited to managing human source but management today has been segregated into a range of branches like financial management, strategic management, operations management, time management, crisis management, marketing management etc. Each one of these is a divided branch that is being handled by managers who focuses in these fields. At the moment the importance of management from an organization’s point of outlook has increased multifold. It is simply through effectual management that companies are developing and executing their business’s policies and strategies to make best use of their profits and make available with the best of products and services. Management today combines original, commerce, organizational, investigative and other skills to produce successful goal-oriented results! Some of the answer functions in management includes learning to pass on planning and organizing, communicating clearly, controlling situations, motivating employees, adapting to change, constantly innovating and thinking of new ideas, building a good team and delivering results which are not just figure -bound but results that also focus on overall growth and development. Management focuses on the entire organization from both a short and a long-term perspective. Management is the managerial process of forming a strategic vision, setting objectives, crafting a strategy and then implementing and executing the strategy.
There are a variety of views about this term. Traditionally, the term "management" refers to the activities (and often the group of people) involved in the four general functions listed below. (Note that the four functions recur throughout the organization and are highly integrated):
Mostly Project Management means planning, including identifying goals, objectives, methods, resources needed to carry out methods, responsibilities and dates for completion of tasks. Examples of planning are strategic planning, business planning, project planning, staffing planning, advertising and promotions planning, etc. Project Management talks about organizing resources to achieve the goals in an optimum fashion. Examples are organizing new departments, human resources, office and file systems, re-organizing businesses, etc. Project Management points to leading, including to set direction for the organization, groups and individuals and also influence people to follow that direction. Examples are establishing strategic direction (vision, values, mission and / or goals) and championing methods of organizational performance management to pursue that direction. Project management involves Controlling, or coordinating, the organization's systems, processes and structures to reach effectively and efficiently reach goals and objectives. This includes ongoing collection of feedback, and monitoring and adjustment of systems, processes and structures accordingly. Examples include use of financial controls, policies and procedures, performance management processes, measures to avoid risks etc.
Management goes beyond the organization’s internal operations to include the industry and the general environment. The key emphasis is on issues related to environmental scanning and industry analysis, appraisal of current and future competitors, assessment of core competencies, strategic control and the effective allocation of organizational resources.

In general terms, there are two approaches to management. First is the Industrial Organization Approach which this approach is based on economic theory which deals with issues like competitive rivalry, resource allocation, economies of scale. This approach to management assumes rationality, self interested behavior, profit maximization. Second, is the Sociological Approach in this approach the focus is to deal primarily with human interactions. It assumes rationality, satisfying behavior, profit sub-optimality. Management theories can also be divided into two sets. One is the set that concentrates mainly on efficiency and another is the set that concentrates for the most part on effectiveness. Efficiency is about doing things the right way. It involves eliminating waste and optimizing processes. Effectiveness is about doing the right things.

A good management style is a blend of both efficiency and effectiveness. Management techniques can be viewed as either bottom-up, top-down, or collaborative processes. There is no point in acting efficiently if what you are doing will not have the desired effect. However the bottom up approach is not a very popular approach in India as most of the Indian businesses are family run businesses. In India, largely the top down approach is popular. In the top-down approach, the management makes the decisions, which the employees have no choice but to accept. On the other hand, in the bottom-up approach, employees submit proposals to their managers who, in turn, funnel the best ideas further up the organization. Project management is a dynamic profession and you’ll want to stay up to date. Become a member for all the resources that keep you informed, improve your technique and support your career.

But by the day that Dr. Randy Gamboa explained about management my thinking about management. He emphasized that management is about making people independently work their own task not controlling them. He also cited that management is both an art and science. It is the art of making people more effective than they would have been without you. The science is in how you do that. There are four basic pillars that are planning, organizing, directing, and monitoring. Management starts with planning. Good management starts with good planning. And proper prior planning prevents. Furthermore, what on earth is the name, the person in the top-level place in the institute is or at least should be in charge for setting the case of corporations, the overall direction for the organization. Consequently this "executive" level of management is over and over again referred to as the "leadership" of the organization.
With recent focus on the need for transformational leadership to guide organizations through successful change, the term "leadership" has also been used to refer to those who embrace change and lead the change of organizations for the betterment of all stakeholders. Some people believe that leadership occurs only at the top levels of organizations and managing occurs in the levels farther down the organization. Some people believe that leadership occurs (or should occur) throughout the organization, but still use the term "leadership" mostly to refer to the top positions in the organization. Others believe that managing and leading occur at many levels of the organization.

A manager's most important, and most difficult, job is to manage people. You must lead, motivate, inspire, and encourage them. Sometimes you will have to hire, fire, discipline or evaluate employees. These articles and links will help you find the best ways to handle these people management issues. Managers spend a lot of time giving direction to people. When done well you can achieve great results. Make a little slip up and everything goes wrong. Here's how to do it right.

What is project management?

As I surfed the internet about the meaning of project management, I learned that Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific engineering project goals and objectives. It is sometimes conflated with program management, however technically that is actually a higher level construction: a group of related and somehow interdependent engineering projects. A project is a temporary endeavor, having a defined beginning and end usually constrained by date, but can be by funding or deliverables, undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, usually to bring about beneficial change or added value. The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast to business as usual or operations, which are repetitive, permanent or semi-permanent functional work to produce products or services. In practice, the management of these two systems is often found to be quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and the adoption of separate management. The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the engineering project goals and objectives while honoring the preconceived project constraints. Typical constraints are scope, time, and budget. The secondary—and more ambitious—challenge is to optimize the allocation and integration of inputs necessary to meet pre-defined objectives.
One writer said that Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a specific and usually one-time objective, for example, construct a building or implement a major new computer system. Project management includes developing a project plan, which includes defining and confirming the project goals and objectives, identifying tasks and how goals will be achieved, quantifying the resources needed, and determining budgets and timelines for completion. It also includes managing the implementation of the project plan, along with operating regular 'controls' to ensure that there is accurate and objective information on 'performance' relative to the plan, and the mechanisms to implement recovery actions where necessary. Projects usually follow major phases or stages with various titles for these, including feasibility, definition, project planning, implementation, evaluation and support / maintenance. Program planning is usually of a broader scope than project planning, but not always - note: the terms program and programme have significant variations in their meaning in different geographical areas, e.g. Europe and USA. Project Management points to leading, including to set direction for the organization, groups and individuals and also influence people to follow that direction. Examples are establishing strategic direction (vision, values, mission and / or goals) and championing methods of organizational performance management to pursue that direction. Project management involves Controlling, or coordinating, the organization's systems, processes and structures to reach effectively and efficiently reach goals and objectives. This includes ongoing collection of feedback, and monitoring and adjustment of systems, processes and structures accordingly.
Dr. Randy Gamboa also shared that a successful Project Manager must simultaneously manage the four basic elements of a project: resources, time, money, and most importantly, scope. All these elements are interrelated. Each must be managed effectively. All must be managed together if the project, and the project manager, is to be a success. Project Management is the implementation of the learnings or knowledge, skills, theories, techniques and tools to meet the desired outcome in accord to the project requirements. Project management is accomplished through the use of the processes such as initiating the plan, planning the project, executing the plan, controlling the flow of the project, and closing as the desired result is met. The project team manages the work of the projects, and the work typically involves competing demands for the defined scope, meeting the deadline, within the budget, taking the risk, and meeting the project requirements. Stakeholders or the people involved in the project with differing needs and expectations. Identifying the requirements that the project needs.

The things involved in project management and it is important to note that many of the processes within project management are iterative in nature. This in part due to the existence of and the necessity for progressive elaboration in a project throughout the project life cycle; i.e., the more you know about your project, the better you are able to manage it. The word Project Management is sometimes used to describe an organizational approach to the management of ongoing operations. . Management today combines original, commerce, organizational, investigative and other skills to produce successful goal-oriented results! Some of the answer functions in management includes learning to pass on planning and organizing, communicating clearly, controlling situations, motivating employees, adapting to change, constantly innovating and thinking of new ideas, building a good team and delivering results which are not just figure -bound but results that also focus on overall growth and development. This approach, more properly called management by projects, treats management by projects, treats many aspects of ongoing operations as projects to apply project management techniques to them. Although an understanding of project management is critical to an organization that is managing by projects, a detailed discussion of the approach itself is outside the scope of this document. And the thing that I am always remembering is that there are five features of a project. First, as we know, a project defines beginning, end, schedule, and approach. Second, a project has resources specifically allocated to the work. A project has the end results which have specific goals that comply the time, cost, performance and quality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project
http://www.cs.odu.edu/~cs410/whatisaproject.htm
http://www.indianchild.com/management/what-is-management.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management
http://managementhelp.org/plan_dec/project/project.htm
http://www.pmi.org/