One of the answers to what is project management is the establishment of methods, techniques, tools, capabilities, and expertise to conceive, plan, and execute a project is known as project management. It’s a job, a chore, and an industry all rolled into one. While project management takes on many different forms depending on the situation, the ultimate objective is always to produce the next great project.
Project management is used in a wide range of sectors. Whether you work in engineering, technology, architecture, medical, marketing, or just about anything else, you’ll almost certainly work with or meet project managers at some point during your career.
The reality is that no matter what type of project a project manager is working on, they all have the same basic responsibilities. They must identify the most important project requirements and targets what steps (however many) must be taken to achieve these aims.
Importance of Project Management
The concept of project management may be inferred from the definition of a project. A project is a collection of work completed between a start and conclusion time to achieve a certain goal. When a project is completed within the scope, schedule, performance, and budget limits, it is considered to be successful. The process of successfully starting, planning, implementing, managing and monitoring, and ending projects is known as project management.
Project managers are in charge of carrying out project management. They devise a strategy that satisfies stakeholders’ expectations. They assemble resources with the needed skill sets to take on the project once the plan is approved. During the execution stage, the project manager keeps track of the project status, expenditures, prices, and schedule. Managers can use project management software to organize, oversee, and reflect on projects.
Project Manager
Professionals that appreciate solving issues, defining and achieving goals, and leading a group are project managers. While there are numerous qualifications available to qualified project managers, you will need to have a number of soft and technical abilities to be effective.
Project managers should have the following soft skills:
Confidence:
Between the client, stakeholders, and teammates, project managers serve as a bridge. To guarantee that the project runs like a well-oiled machine, they should exude confidence at all times. While directing the team to victory, they should both provide and accept feedback.
Interpersonal Skills:
Project managers connect with a variety of individuals on a daily basis, avoiding disagreements that might ruin the project. They should be personable so that their team members may come to them with issues. They should be able to negotiate well in order to avoid agreeing to unrealistic timelines.
Organization:
Projects are frequently carried out in stages and include a large number of stakeholders. To guarantee the achievement of project objectives, the project manager will be able to prioritize, organise, and assign duties.
Agility:
During the project lifespan, it’s not unusual for project objectives to shift. Managers must exhibit the ability to adjust to changes swiftly.
Job Duties:
Among specific tasks, the Project manager should:
- Create and present an effective work plan that is based on goals.
- Appropriate resources must be acquired, allocated, and managed.
- Create and manage targets, as well as give deadlines.
- Unexpected challenges must be navigated and conquered.
- Ensure that project deliverable are of high quality.
- Maintain a tight timetable and a tight budget.
Project managers should have the following Technical Skills:
Contract Management:
Project managers should be well-versed in the regulations and activities necessary to complete a project contract. They should be able to translate needs into service requests and choose providers to meet those requirements.
Risk Analysis & Management:
Uncertainty is an aspect of project management that cannot be avoided. Managers should be able to anticipate and reduce the effect of possible uncertainty.
Budgeting:
To be profitable, every project must be finished on time and on budget. Estimate expenses, prepare budgets, and tracking actual costs are all tasks that project managers must perform. They must outline how their team will spend the monies throughout the project’s life cycle.
Stages of Project Management
The project management process is divided into five project phases or stages, according to the Project Management Institute (PMI). They are as follows:
Initiation
The project’s starting phase signifies the start of the process. Project managers, project management professionals, and project leaders examine the task objectives, establish the range, and determine the project’s partners using project management skills. A Project Charter is produced and given to customers and project sponsors for approval, detailing the project’s objectives, deliverables, preliminary estimates of time and resources necessary to implement the work, initial stakeholders, and other pertinent information. The influencing policy and communication chain are also defined by project managers.
Preparation is essential, as it is for every good project, to guarantee that it is finished on time and under budget. Establish the following at the start phase to lay the groundwork for the project:
Project scope: The project’s particular bounds and boundaries. It simply outlines what will be completed and what will not be during the endeavor. The concept of a “project plan” is avoided by establishing certain restrictions.
Overview of the project at a high level: This takes into account the resources, time, and objectives needed to finish a project. A method of tracking these criteria over time is included in the summary.
Budgets: How much money is required to complete a project successfully?
Project managers must do the following at this phase:
- Create a business plan and do a feasibility analysis.
- Form project teams.
- Establish a project office.
Planning
The project planning phase is all about determining how a project will be carried out from start to finish. Project managers address questions like what needs to be done, how it will be done, and what dangers are associated at this point.
The entire project is split down into smaller jobs, with each task’s total duration projected. The project manager assigns duties and chooses project resources. The project’s success measures are specified, and objectives are set. Risks and bottlenecks have been identified. The project manager develops the team’s best practices to follow. The project’s needed technology and tools are identified. The frequency of contact (daily, monthly, annually) and the method of communication (reports, emails) are established.
A Gantt chart is used to depict the project’s tasks. This diagram depicts the task execution order as well as task interrelatedness. This acts as a road plan for completing the project.
The following items are included in the planning phase:
- Choosing members of the squad
- Creating a list of deliverables
- Resources are being estimated.
- Identifying related activities
Project managers must do the following at this phase:
- Make a to-do list.
- Make a financial plan.
- Make a risk management strategy.
- Make a communication strategy.
- Make a timetable for the project.
- Assign Tasks to members of the team.
Execution
The strategy is put into effect during the execution stage. Project managers use project management tools to assemble the necessary resources and describe how the project will be carried out. To complete the task according to the agreed project management plan, the project team members communicate with one another and follow the communication strategy.
While limiting risks, resolving difficulties, and implementing any modifications, project managers measure and monitor the budget, timeline, and fine performance.
This phase also includes the correct allocation and management of construction resources such as materials and money. The outcome of the execution phase is the project’s final deliverable.
Project managers will also be responsible for identifying and mitigating risks, resolving issues, and incorporating changes
This stage happens concurrently with the monitoring and auditing phase and may include the following:
- Workflow management
- Changes and remedial measures are recommended.
Project managers must do the following at this phase:
- Management of tasks
- Organizing time.
- Management of expenditures
- Management of quality
- Management of procurement
- Management of resources
- Collaboration
Monitoring & Controlling
Project managers monitor how the project is performing against the strategy during the execution phase of the project management cycle. When a project gets off track, whether it’s in terms of money or time, the management takes the required steps to get it back on the right track. The managers are kept updated on the day-to-day progress of work using a set of tools, procedures, and abilities. A few frequent project constraints are project strategy, technique, risk assessment, performance, and resources.
Monitoring effectively necessitates:
- “Check-ins” on the project should be done on a regular basis.
- The more visible and real-time something is, the better because you can readily interact and alter it with important participants.
Project managers must do the following at this phase:
- Organizing resources
- Keeping an eye on the project’s progress.
- Management of risks
- Attending status meetings and submitting reports.
- Updating the project’s timeline.
- Change the project’s plans.
Closure
The project’s formal end is marked by the closure phase. It’s time to reflect, finish things up, and organize your documents. Stakeholders get the deliverables from project management. The accounts team is advised that an invoice for the remaining payment amount will be generated. The team’s performance is evaluated, and their efforts are lauded. The problems in the project are examined, and opportunities for improvement are identified.
Additional elements might include:
- Any official contracts or agreements are signed.
- A thorough examination of what went well, what didn’t, and how subsequent teams and projects might benefit from this experience.
Project managers must do the following at this phase:
- Verify that everything is in order.
- Deliverables should be transferred.
- Billing and revenue workflows should be started as soon as possible.
- Review the documentation before releasing the resources
- Perform a post-mortem examination.
Project Management Methodologies
A project management methodology or project management techniques lays out a step-by-step plan for completing a project, including a specified governance system, process rules, test activities, processes, and outcomes. It lays out a step-by-step strategy for managers to follow in order to achieve peak performance. Project Management Methodology is very important for project success.
The following are the many sorts of project management approaches and when they should be used:
Agile Methodology
Agile project management is becoming more prominent as a more incremental or change-driven method. Agile, as the name indicates, is a strategy that promotes shorter turnaround times and the dynamic capacity to swiftly respond to changes or adjustments. The Agile method tends to be more people-centric, employing short, incremental phases known as sprints that rely on regular feedback to modify and modify the project path.
Agile’s success in software design has resulted in its widespread adoption in marketing. Agile-driven marketing and production talent claim that it liberates them from the interminable production schedules that more conventional task management approaches are known for while also boosting their creativity.
Kanban Methodology
Kanban, like most Agile approaches, is meant to help teams work more effectively together, so anything that isn’t functioning for your crew should be changed.
Kanban has a significant backlog (list) of user requirements that need to be handled when utilized by development studios. Because it is the only source of work for the programmers, company owners are accountable for updating and prioritizing that list rigorously.
When a member of the team is ready to begin on a new story, they pluck it from the queue and place it in the Kanban board’s “In Preparation” column. The project goes across the board as it proceeds until it is done. That project’s team member(s) should not begin working on anything else from the backlog until their existing project is completed.
Waterfall Methodology
The waterfall is the highest, chronological approach to project management that originated from more conventional task management approaches. By detailing all of the phases in a project and specifying its scope, budget, and timeline ahead of time, project managers hope to remove risk and ambiguity.
One of the tenets of Waterfall is that spending time on correct specifications and development in the early phases of a project will save time, effort, and subsequent difficulties. This is mostly done by ensuring that one part of a project is finished to perfection before going on to the next.
Scrum Methodology
Scrum is another Agile framework that divides projects into iterations or time intervals that are well specified. Teams construct a pile of orders to do during the session and set reasonable constraints.
Daily stand-up sessions are organized during the sprint, where members of the team present what they completed the day before, what they intend to do the next day and any bottlenecks that may be preventing them from completing the sprint. A meeting is conducted at the end of the sprint to evaluate achievements.
It also includes guidelines for squad size, responsibilities, scheduling, meetings, and objectives, among other things. It’s popular amongst software engineers, but it’s also useful for teams that want to deliver working portions of their work throughout a project. It might be used for marketing strategies, product design, or other creative initiatives, for example.
Critical Path Method Methodology
This method entails defining and planning all key activities and their interconnections in order to find the most efficient project fulfillment path. This path is known as the “critical path,” and it includes milestones that mark the end of a significant phase.
The method begins with a list of all actions, or a statement of work, as well as the length of each job, any interconnections, and then the linking of project milestones. This approach is ideal for small and medium-sized tasks.
Lean Methodology
The industrial industry gave birth to lean project management. Toyota used it and improved it for their Toyota Production System. To eliminate waste in all corporate operations, this method focuses on supplying what is required when it is needed with the fewest resources possible, such as commodities, equipment, people, and space.
In small initiatives with a limited timeline, lean can be successful. Manufacturing businesses frequently employ this strategy. However, it has been embraced by the infrastructure and educational industries, as well as software development companies, who are attempting to enhance and provide value for clients.
The objective is to accomplish more with less – to provide value to customers with fewer people, money, and time.
Six Sigma Methodology
Six Sigma procedures are aimed at producing high-quality output in a consistent manner while minimizing variance and eliminating flaws. These strategies may be used to optimize and improve current processes as well as to construct new ones. To optimize current business processes, DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) is employed. To build new procedures, DMADV — Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, and Verify — is employed.
These techniques may be used in conjunction with other project management concepts such as lean and agile to decrease waste and improve efficiency.
Any major firm may employ the Six Sigma methodology. From new product features to manufacturing project upgrades, project completion we’ve got you covered.
PRINCE2 Methodology
PRINCE2 is not a one-size-fits-all strategy like other project management approaches. It is organized according to seven principles, topics, and methods.
It’s a project management strategy employed by the British government that’s defined by a commodity approach to planning. An organized project board is in charge of high-level activities in PRINCE2, such as establishing the business rationale and allocating resources. A project manager is responsible for the lower-level, day-to-day tasks such as scheduling. This practice provides teams with more control over their assets and the capacity to efficiently minimize risk.
It’s great for undertakings that can be broken down into seven steps. It is a widely utilized project management approach in the United Kingdom, as well as the United Nations.
Project Management Tools & Software
Bringing your team together and preparing them to function as a team is critical to the success of your initiatives. However, if you don’t have the right project management software, you can end up doubling your efforts rather than streamlining them. You may be smarter with your resources if you have the correct tools.
Project management software allows managers to plan, analyze, and reflect on projects while also allowing staff to collaborate and participate. Good project management software helps teams to handle all of the elements that are critical to the successful completion of a project.
Project management software enables project administrators to organize, plan, monitor, handle and analyze projects while allowing them to successfully manage all of the procedures, resources, and time allotted to each project.
To manage projects, there are a variety of internet and digital project management applications available:
Gantt Charts
Gantt charts are a cooperative and engaging tool that shows a project on the left as a spreadsheet and on the right as a chronology. Tasks are displayed on the left and populate the timeline, with a status bar spanning the start and finish dates. They are employed in the planning and scheduling of projects.
However, a Gantt chart can do far more, such as establish goals, allocate and connect dependent jobs so that if one task’s due date changes, all subsequent tasks would also update. Drag and drop is a simple way to make changes.
Dashboard
A project dashboard is a panel that shows information about a project’s budget, task progress, team activity, and ultimate plan status. It gives a high-level overview of the project and its performance, as measured by a variety of indicators.
Some dashboards are generated by combining many project reports in an external tool. Most project management software has a function that builds a project dashboard designed based on your project data.
Because most stakeholders don’t want to go into extensive detail, the dashboard is an excellent tool for keeping them up to speed on the project.
Task List
A task list is used to organize, allocate, and track tasks throughout the project to ensure that they are following the project’s deadlines.
Teams have greater control over their work with a strong task management technology, and managers have better visibility into the process.
Kanban Boards
A kanban board is a real or virtual board with columns that reflect the production process and cards underneath those columns that symbolize the tasks. As tasks are planned, done, and finished, cards are shifted from one column to the next.
Kanban promotes openness and helps teams stay focused on their tasks.
Project Reports
Project reports are used to aggregate and disseminate information on a project’s key performance metrics, such as real progress vs. the benchmark, expenses, time, effort, and so on.
Meeting goals and executing a project successfully requires keeping a list of the project’s development and results. As a medium of communication for informing consumers, reports should be simple to disseminate.
Benefits of Project Management Software
Regardless of the size of the business or the sector, project management software is advantageous to all firms that plan and implement. Anyone, including firms that don’t perform formal projects, may utilize the software’s project scheduling and resource management features.
Project management software may help any firm that requires an efficient way of budgeting, scheduling, monitoring, providing, and charging for their services.
Here are three of the most important advantages of using project management software:
Centralization
Your team will have a central workstation and level of knowledge thanks to project management software. It’s simpler to keep track of jobs and projects when they’re centralized, which reduces confusion and inaccuracy.
This visibility helps with subsequent project planning and estimation. Time records allow you to look back on previous projects and estimate how long certain activities would take, making it easier to calculate paid hours. This data may also be used to assess whether or not a project will be lucrative.
Project software also cuts down on the time and effort necessary to manually track and generate data. There’s always the possibility of human mistakes with manual techniques like spreadsheets, as well as delays in updating and different versions of the same file. You can simply maintain a single version of the truth using the software.
Coordination
Project management software can aid in task coordination and process automation. It alerts members of the team when they must begin work, reducing inefficiencies and the need for middlemen.
Progress, impediments, and success may all be tracked with project management software. Time monitoring is the most important feature of project software for small organizations. Smaller businesses may discover and eliminate bottlenecks by looking at where every moment goes. This feature also enables the early detection of problems and delays.
You and your team might be victims of missing papers, misunderstanding, and guessing concerning duties and progress if you don’t have a centralized foundation for coordination and information sharing. Project management software guarantees that quality is maintained and that tasks are completed in a timely manner.
Communication
Businesses are depending on virtual workers, contract employees, and freelancers more than ever before. It’s becoming increasingly crucial for businesses to be able to connect successfully with their employees both within and outside the office.
Virtual teams and individuals may access your centralized workspace from anywhere, at any time, using cloud-based project management software. You can simply converse across nations and time zones thanks to this 24-hour connection.
No matter where they are, project management software gives all important stakeholders rapid access to updates, status reports, and project alerts. Stakeholders will never have to wait for an outdated report to be emailed to them again. Everyone may offer comments on jobs through a single centralized portal, which eliminates long, difficult-to-follow email conversations.