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Project Management: What Is Project Management?

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Project Management: What Is Project Management?

What Is a Project?

A venture might be merely outlined as an endeavor that includes finishing duties to attain an goal with a restricted set of sources and a finite timeline. Based on this definition, it’s clear that almost all companies, nonprofits, governments and different kinds of organizations execute tasks of some kind and subsequently, have to implement a venture administration course of.

What Is Project Management?

Project administration is a course of that enables venture managers to plan, execute, observe and full tasks with the assistance of a venture group. To achieve this, they have to use venture administration rules, expertise, methodologies and instruments to steer group members via every of the venture administration steps that are generally known as the venture lifecycle.

However, venture administration can’t be outlined in a single paragraph. In this information, we’ll cowl the fundamental ideas it is advisable know to grasp what venture administration is, the phases of the venture administration course of, several types of venture administration approaches and the instruments you should use for managing tasks.

In addition, you’ll want venture administration software program to plan, execute and observe tasks. ProjectManager, for instance, has the venture planning, scheduling and monitoring options it is advisable handle timelines, sources, prices and groups in a single on-line software. Use our Gantt charts, kanban boards, and calendars to create venture schedules and assign work with real-time useful resource availability. Get began without spending a dime right now.

ProjectManager's project management task list
Access Gantt charts, dashboards, timesheets and extra with a free trial of ProjectManager. Learn extra

Project administration is carefully associated to different disciplines together with program administration and portfolio administration. However, whereas they’re related, they’re not precisely the identical. Here’s how they differ.

What Is the Difference Between Project Management and Program Management?

Program administration makes use of the identical rules and strategies as venture administration, however as its identify suggests, it consists of managing applications as a substitute of tasks. Programs are a gaggle of associated tasks which can be executed concurrently to take advantage of out of a corporation’s accessible sources which presents distinctive challenges for venture administration professionals.

What Is the Difference Between Project Management and Project Portfolio Management?

The predominant distinction between venture administration and venture portfolio administration is that the latter focuses on prioritizing tasks based mostly on the enterprise targets and strategic objectives of a corporation.

Now, let’s evaluate the historical past of venture administration and clarify its significance for organizations in any trade.

Project Management History

Project administration as we all know it right now started taking form roughly within the Nineteen Fifties when foundational instruments and strategies of venture administration such because the vital path methodology (CPM), work breakdown construction (WBS) and this system analysis and evaluate approach (PERT) have been created.

However, the origins of venture administration might be traced again to 1896 when Karol Adamiecki created the harmonogram, which was the inspiration for the Gantt chart, which was later created in 1910 by Henry Gantt and stays one of the essential venture administration instruments right now. The origins of venture administration are carefully associated to development, engineering, scientific administration and even navy analysis.

Now that we’ve outlined what venture administration is and the place it got here from, let’s evaluate how it may be carried out by organizations by reviewing the venture administration steps.

Related: 25 Free Project Management Templates for Excel

Why Is Project Management Important?

In a nutshell, venture administration is essential as a result of it helps organizations management all of the shifting components of tasks to convey them to profitable completion. These shifting components are generally known as venture administration areas, that are key venture features that have to be overseen as tasks progress.

What Are the Areas of Project Management?

Here’s a fast definition of every of the ten venture administration data areas, first outlined by the Project Management Institute (PMI) in its Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).

  • Scope administration: Managing the scope of a venture, which refers back to the duties, deliverables and milestones that must be delivered.
  • Schedule administration: Creating a venture schedule and setting tips for the way it’ll be tracked and maintained.
  • Cost administration: Estimating venture prices to create a finances which is then tracked all through the venture.
  • Quality administration: Ensuring venture deliverables meet high quality requirements.
  • Resource administration: Acquiring, allocating and monitoring venture sources like labor, supplies and gear.
  • Communication administration: Defining communication tips for venture groups and stakeholders.
  • Risk administration: Identifying, evaluating and stopping or mitigating dangers in your venture.
  • Procurement Management: Acquiring venture sources and sustaining relationships with distributors and suppliers.
  • Stakeholder administration: Identifying venture stakeholders, and managing them based mostly on their expectations and affect over tasks.
  • Integration administration: Creating a framework that helps venture groups work higher collectively.

These venture administration data areas should be managed throughout every step of the venture administration course of.

What Are the 5 Steps In the Project Management Process?

The venture administration course of consists of 5 steps or phases that every one tasks should undergo: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and management and closure. These venture administration phases are also called course of teams, the venture administration cycle or the venture lifecycle. Let’s evaluate every of those steps.

1. Project Initiation

This is the beginning part the place the venture supervisor should show that the venture has worth and is possible via a collection of venture administration paperwork. Here are a very powerful ones:

  • Business case: A enterprise case justifies the necessity for the venture, venture targets and return on funding.
  • Feasibility examine: A feasibility examine proves that the venture might be executed inside an inexpensive time and price.
  • Project constitution: A venture constitution conveys what the venture goes to ship.

Once the venture will get authorised, the venture supervisor should assemble a venture group and arrange a venture administration workplace. The venture initiation part ends with a kickoff assembly, which is when venture objectives and scope are outlined.

2. Project Planning

The aim of the venture planning part is the creation of the venture plan, a complete venture doc that explains in nice element how the venture shall be executed. Here’s a fast overview of a very powerful sections of a venture plan.

  • Project schedule: The venture schedule defines a timeline for the execution of duties and useful resource allocation.
  • Project finances: A venture finances is the sum of all of the estimated venture prices.
  • Scope administration plan: Explains how your venture scope shall be tracked all through the venture.
  • Risk administration plan: Explains the dangers which may have an effect on the venture, together with methods to mitigate them.
  • Resource administration plan: Describes how your sources shall be obtained, allotted and managed through the venture.
  • Stakeholder administration plan: Identifies all venture stakeholders and the rules to handle them.

Project managers usually lay out their venture plan utilizing Gantt chart software program, which supplies a visible illustration of your entire venture schedule and venture scope. Some Gantt charts robotically establish vital path actions.

3. Project Execution

The third venture administration part is venture execution, which is when the venture plan is executed to fulfill the venture objectives and targets.

The venture execution part is when venture managers have to oversee the venture administration data areas as their venture progresses towards the monitoring and management part.

Along the way in which, the venture supervisor will reallocate sources or modify time and scope as wanted to maintain the group working. In addition, they’ll establish and mitigate dangers, take care of issues and incorporate any modifications.

4. Project Monitoring and Control

The fourth venture administration part, venture monitoring and management, takes place concurrently with the execution part of the venture. It includes monitoring the progress of the venture execution actions to make sure the venture group stays on schedule and inside finances. Quality management procedures are utilized to ensure high quality assurance.

Reporting can be a vital a part of this venture administration part. First, it permits venture managers to trace progress, and second, it supplies knowledge for stakeholders throughout shows to maintain them within the loop. There are many venture administration reviews equivalent to venture standing, timesheets, workload, allocation and expense reviews.

5. Project Closure

The fifth venture administration part is venture closure, through which the ultimate venture deliverables are offered to the stakeholders. Once authorised, sources are launched, documentation is accomplished and all the things is signed off on.

Now that we’ve realized in regards to the venture administration life cycle, let’s take a look at some venture administration approaches.

What Types of Project Management Exist?

Through the years, many venture administration methodologies have been developed to regulate to the wants of various industries. Some of those venture administration varieties or approaches additionally work finest for tasks of sure sizes and complexity ranges.

Here’s an inventory of the primary venture administration methodologies. Click the hyperlinks for an in-depth clarification of every.

Waterfall Project Management

A linear venture administration strategy, through which stakeholder necessities are gathered in the beginning of the venture, after which a sequential venture plan is created.

Agile Project Management

An iterative venture administration strategy that doesn’t observe a inflexible venture plan, however as a substitute brief sprints of labor referred to as agile sprints.

Scrum Project Management

An agile framework that’s very talked-about for product and software program improvement.

Lean Project Management (or Lean Manufacturing)

This approach was invented to enhance manufacturing processes and have become an important venture administration methodology via the years.

Kanban Method

Kanban is a broadly used venture administration strategy that consists of managing work via visible boards and playing cards. Kanban boards are utilized by agile and scrum groups.

Six Sigma

Just like kanban or lean, six sigma is a set of instruments and strategies that have been developed to enhance manufacturing processes and later grew to become a venture administration strategy.

Critical Path Method (CPM)

The vital path methodology is a venture scheduling approach that enables venture managers to estimate the length of a venture, establish activity dependencies, float and demanding actions.

Critical Chain Project Management

A venture administration strategy that’s based mostly on the idea of constraints and makes use of useful resource administration as the first method to execute tasks successfully.

PRINCE2

PRINCE2 is the most well-liked venture administration methodology within the UK, Australia, and European nations. PRINCE2 is similar to the Project Management Body of Knowledge from the PMI as a result of it supplies definitions and finest practices for venture managers.

What Tools Are Used In Project Management?

There is a variety of venture administration instruments, each on-line and cellular, accessible to handle tasks. These are essentially the most important instruments for a venture supervisor:

Project Dashboard

A venture dashboard is a project-tracking software that permits you to monitor your prices, duties and progress. It’s a really useful gizmo throughout venture execution as a result of it helps venture managers rapidly decide whether or not their tasks are on observe.

ProjectManager’s dashboard view, which shows six key metrics on a project

Gantt Charts

A Gantt chart is a visible illustration of a venture timeline that reveals all of the venture duties in a single graph. Gantt charts are used for venture planning, venture scheduling, activity administration and useful resource administration. They work finest on waterfall tasks.

ProjectManager's Gantt chart, showing a construction project management schedule

The Gantt chart is the popular methodology utilized by venture managers to schedule their tasks. Some duties are depending on others earlier than they’ll begin or finish, and these activity dependencies can create bottlenecks later within the venture.

By linking them on a Gantt chart, activity dependencies assist keep away from slowing down the schedule. Projects might be divided by milestones and diamond symbols, which point out the tip of 1 part and the start of the subsequent.

Kanban Boards

A kanban board is a activity administration software that enables venture managers and group members to visualise duties. Kanban boards are utilized by agile and scrum groups who work in iterative sprints. They’re straightforward to make use of and foster group collaboration.

A screenshot of the Kanban board project view

Project Management Templates

There are many venture administration charts and diagrams that venture managers use to plan, schedule and observe their tasks. Here are a number of the mostly used ones.

These are just a few examples of venture administration charts. We have a library of venture administration templates you should use to handle each venture part.

However, whereas these templates might be very helpful, they’re nonetheless static paperwork that may’t match the options that you simply’d get from venture administration software program equivalent to ProjectManager.

What Are the Key Project Management Roles?

A venture works finest when venture administration roles are well-defined. While there are venture administration strategies that require several types of venture groups, these are the primary venture administration roles:

  • Project supervisor: As we’ve talked about above, the venture supervisor is answerable for managing the venture administration data areas all through the venture.
  • Project sponsor: The venture sponsor represents the shopper of the venture. Depending on the group, there might be totally different ranges of venture sponsors.
  • Project group members: Team members are expert professionals who work to contribute to the method of manufacturing deliverables, managing dangers and attaining venture objectives.
  • Project stakeholders: This is an individual or a gaggle who has a vested curiosity or “stake” within the venture. The venture supervisor should talk venture progress to stakeholders all through the venture life cycle.
  • Clients: This is a gaggle or an individual for whom the venture or a key part of the venture is delivered.

Ready to turn into a venture administration skilled? You’ll have to work in your venture administration expertise and a certification program to turn into an expert venture supervisor.

How to Start a Project Management Career

Project managers are leaders. They have to encourage their groups in addition to plan, monitor and report on their progress. It’s a job requiring many hats. They will need to have robust venture administration expertise and have the ability to clearly join with each stakeholders and the venture group.

Additionally, formal venture managers are sometimes licensed via businesses just like the Project Management Institute (PMI) within the U.S. or PRINCE2 within the U.Okay. After certification, they’re required to keep up their certifications by buying extra venture administration coaching to collect a focused variety of Professional Development Units (PDU).

How Much Does a Project Manager Make?

In phrases of wage, a venture supervisor can earn anyplace from underneath $100,000 to shut to $200,000 a yr. This relies on quite a lot of elements, together with location, training, years of expertise, efficiency and extra.

Which Are the Best Project Management Certifications?

There are a number of organizations over the world that present venture administration certifications and coaching. Here are the most well-liked ones.

  • Google venture administration certificates: Google just lately developed this coaching program in affiliation with Coursera, which teaches all of the venture administration fundamentals.
  • PMI certifications: PMI presents quite a few venture administration certifications. Most venture managers receive the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification which is an trade commonplace.
  • Agile certifications: There are loads of agile venture administration certifications and coaching programs. These are a requirement for agile and scrum venture managers.
  • PRINCE2 certifications: PRINCE2 is the venture administration framework used within the UK, Australia and Europe. You’ll want particular certifications to take part in a PRINCE2 venture.

What Skills Are Needed to Succeed In Project Management?

In addition to certifications, venture administration positions require a set of sentimental and laborious expertise to steer venture groups. Project administration expertise are grouped underneath two predominant classes: laborious expertise and mushy expertise.

Hard expertise are expertise that may be acquired by people via formal coaching, equivalent to turning into educated about venture administration methodologies, studying easy methods to use venture administration software program or implementing venture administration strategies.

Soft expertise, then again, are expertise that folks develop over the course of their lives, equivalent to communication expertise, problem-solving, time administration or work ethic.

What Is Project Management Software?

Project administration software program is a platform for managers to plan, monitor and report on tasks; it lets groups handle their work and collaborate, too. Watch the video beneath to see venture administration software program in motion:

Project management training video (hel6yyt1ja)

Choosing the very best venture administration software program on your group isn’t straightforward as there are various options to select from. But not all venture administration software program has the identical options and, as a venture supervisor, it’s your duty to determine which software works finest on your group.

ProjectManager presents a set of all of the venture administration instruments it is advisable take your venture each step of the way in which—from initiation via closure. We have the very best venture planning, scheduling and monitoring options.

 

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