Project Management>Introduction to Project Management

Business have realised that applying project management methods to plan and and control projects increases the chances of completing a project successfully. Therefore, over recent years, more and more business have started to apply project management methods to manage projects.

What is the definition of project management?:

1. Firstly, it is not about managing small tasks (or continuous improvement initiatives – click here to learn more about managing CI initiatives)
2. Its about managing projects that have a definite start and end. It is therefore, not about managing a continuous process
3. It involves using various tools to plan, measure achievements and track project tasks such as Gantt charts and spreadsheets
4. The project frequently needs resources on an ad-hoc basis as opposed to organisations that have only dedicated full-time positions. Resources are planned and the costs are calculated and included in the project's budget
5. A project budget is set to cover all the project's costs, which is measured and managed
6. Risks and issues are managed to help the project complete successfully

Managing Successful projects

To be successful Projects must:

1. Deliver on time
2. Be within cost (e.g. within the budget)
3. Be within scope (e.g. the areas identified)
4. Meet customer requirements
    

The driving force of the project is the customer's requirements.  No two customers' requirements are the same therefore, for every project it is key that you  establish the customer's expectations. The project management diamond, indicates how time, cost, scope and quality all centred around the main driving force of the project - the customer’s expectations (e.g. requirements). Therefore these elements are all geared to wards satisfying the customer's requirements.

Once the customer's expectations the time, cost, quality and scope of the has been determined the project is planned and progresses though the project life cycle.

The Project Life Cycle

A project goes through three main phases during its life:

1. Project Initiation (which usually follows the analysis stage – see the first 3 stages in the DMAIC analysis or Business Re-engineering analysis )
2. Project Control
3. Project Closure

To learn more about these stages Go to Project Life Cycle (click here).  

A project manager is usually appointed to manage the project though all phases of the project life cycle.

The Role of the Project Manager

The role of the project manager is one of great responsibility. It is the project manager's job to direct, supervise and control the project from start to end.

To learn more about the Role of the Project Manager and Skills (click here)

Go to Project Management Knowledge Base

See also

 

Go to Analysis Knowledge Base
Go to Process Change Knowledge Base
 

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