How is a project different to any other work?
A project differs much to any other work because a project has to define the scope, the first and most important, step in any project is defining the scope of the project. What is it you are supposed to accomplish by managing this project? What is the project objective? Equally important is defining what is not included in the scope of your project. If you don't get enough definition from your boss, clarify the scope yourself and send it back upstairs for confirmation. A project has to determine the available resources… What people, equipment, and money will you have available to you to achieve the project objectives? As a project manager, you usually will not have direct control of these resources, but will have to manage them through matrix management. Find out how easy or difficult that will be to do. A project has to check the timeline, when does the project have to be completed? As you develop your project plan you may have some flexibility in how you use time during the project, but deadlines usually are fixed. If you decide to use overtime hours to meet the schedule, you must weigh that against the limitations of your budget. A project to assemble your project team… Get the people on your team together and start a dialog. They are the technical experts. That's why their functional supervisor assigned them to the project. Your job is to manage the team. A project has to list the big steps… What are the major pieces of the project? If you don't know, start by asking your team. It is a good idea to list the steps in chronological order but don't obsess about it; you can always change the order later. A project has to list the smaller steps… List the smaller steps in each of the larger steps. Again, it usually helps you remember all the steps if you list them in chronological order. How many levels deep you go of more and more detailed steps depends on the size and complexity of your project. A project has to develop a preliminary plan… Assemble all your steps into a plan. What happens first? What is the next step? Which steps can go on at the same time with different resources? Who is going to do each step? How long will it take? There are many excellent software packages available that can automate a lot of this detail for you. Ask others in similar positions what they use. A project has to create a baseline plan…
Get feedback on your preliminary plan from your team and from any other stakeholders. Adjust your timelines and work schedules to fit the project into the available time. Make any necessary adjustments to the preliminary plan to produce a baseline plan. A project has to request project adjustments… There is almost never enough time, money or talent assigned to a project. Your job is to do more with the limited resources than people expect. However, there are often limits placed on a project that are simply unrealistic. You need to make your case and present it to your boss and request these unrealistic limits be changed. Ask for the changes at the beginning of the project. Don't wait until it's in trouble to ask for the changes you need. In a project you should to work your plan, but don't die for it… Making the plan is important, but the plan can be changed. You have a plan for driving to work every morning. If one intersection is blocked by an accident, you change your plan and go a different way. Do the same with your project plans. Change them as needed, but always keep the scope and resources in mind. In a project you should monitor your team's progress… You will make little progress at the beginning of the project, but start then to monitor what everyone is doing anyway. That will make it easier to catch issues before they become problems. A project has to document everything… Keep records. Every time you change from your baseline plan, write down what the change was and why it was necessary. Every time a new requirement is added to the project write down where the requirement came from and how the timeline or budget was adjusted because of it. You can't remember everything, so write them down so you'll be able to look them up at the end-of-project review and learn from them. In a project you as the project manger should keep everyone informed… Keep all the project stakeholders informed of progress all along. Let them know of your success as you complete each milestone, but also inform them of problems as soon as they come up. Also keep you team informed. If changes are being considered, tell the team about them as far ahead as you can. Make sure everyone on the team is aware of what everyone else is doing.
First, what is a project? According to Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), a project is a "temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result." Let's take a moment and explore "temporary" to gain a perspective on when an endeavor is a project and when it is not. According to dictionary.com, temporary means "lasting, existing, serving, or effective for a time only; not permanent." But any other work may have!!!
A project has major processes and according to PMI's PMBOK, there are nine project management knowledge areas that organize a project and this are Project Integration Management - project charter, scope, plan, manage execution, monitor and control, change control. Project Scope Control - describes all the work that should be included and no more. Project Time Management - timely completion of the project. Project Cost Management - budgeting, estimating, and controlling costs. Project Human Resources Management - organize and manage the team. Project Quality Management - ensures you are fulfilling the project objectives. Project Communications Management - disseminating project information. Project Risk Management - risk identification, mitigation, and contingency. Project Procurement Management - acquiring project materials.
Is Project Management relevant to me?
Eric’s answer is Yes! Yes! Yes! Because Project management has emerged as a crucial factor that determines the success of a project. Since then I was incorporated the idea of project management in the success of a project. Project Management as far as I am concerned involves various management approaches. The most basic analysis of the project is called as the initiation stage of a project. After this stage, designing or planning is done to streamline the task and make a flexible strategy to complete the task. Then the execution phase takes the center stage, and in this phase, the project is practically tackled with all its pros and cons. The monitoring and controlling of the project is done with the execution stage to check the possible threats and keep an eye on the performance of the team. Once the project is about to finish, it goes into the closing phase, where all the activities are finalized. Some of the prime advantages of having a good project management team for a project are as follows. It has to be in excellent product quality. Consumers generally look for low cost and high quality, while purchasing a product. Maintaining a high standard of excellence in developing quality products earns the company goodwill amongst its customers. How can a project management team help in improving the quality of a product? The project management plans the allocated budget, resources and testing methods that keep the pace of production high, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The project management team can also undertake training programs that enhance the quality of the products. It has to be in Adequate communication. Improper communication among employees can lead to misunderstandings and negatively impact the performance of the firm. A project manager can be a bridge among the diversified branches of project undertaking. And why only employees? Stakeholders also form a part of the company. They prefer investing in those companies that deliver projects on time and keep them informed about updates and progress of the projects. If a client is satisfied with the performance of the firm, it is likely that it will return with much bigger projects, not to mention huge investments. A project leader can hold meetings on a daily, weekly or monthly basis and can make sure that everyone is aware about the project plan and his/her responsibilities, both as an individual and as a team. With the help of human resource management department, project managers can be more effective in communicating the expectations of the clients. It has to be in reducing the risks and has to be in Strategic objectives and goals. And the best examples that I can give is like in our previous projects in Programming, IT fundamentals, Networking, System and Design and other subjects where some projects where did not been complied before time and some my classmates had been INC and the worst was failed.
http://www.unicon.net/node/811
http://management.about.com/od/projectmanagement/ht/ProjMgtSteps.htm
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/why-is-project-management-important.html
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