Project management is an art people have engaged in from time immemorial. One wonders how the building of the Pyramids of Egypt and other world wonders were project managed.
Our abilities to deliver quality on time and within allocated resources are put to test in our daily tasks. Paraphrasing Project Management Institute's definition, Project Management is the use of knowledge, skills, techniques and resources within an agreed scope and time to meet an agreed quality.
Any venture that is time bound, has a budget (allocated resources) and has a defined scope is a typical example of a project. Consider a simple task of cake baking, wedding ceremony, home makeover, complex tasks such service rollout, system migration, building construction, and so on as examples of projects. Time, resources (budget) and scope are usually referred to as “triple constraints”. An attempt to reduce any of the three items most often has an effect on the quality level to be delivered.
To deliver to an agreed quality means that specific details need to be thoroughly thought out and carefully planned. The ability to successfully deliver a project on time, within budget and to specification depends on one’s level of planning for the different phases and aspects of the project. Typically, a project has five phase and they are
1. Initiation
2. Planning
3. Implement/Executing
4. Monitoring
5. Closing
These phases have different activities embedded at every level. To fail to plan is to plan to fail. Every phase needs to be carefully planned for overall success.
Different schools of thoughts have their unique methodologies for project management. Whatever designation is assigned to the methodology used, it is all a matter of nomenclature as they all go through the five stages. They all aim at delivering on time, to agreed quality and within budget.
Project management knowledge is not only essential to understanding the triple constraints and their effects on projects and quality levels, it empowers one to be able to effectively deliver projects successfully, gain in-dept knowledge of analysis, how to select and motivate a team, improves ones communication and so on.
The Project Management Institute’s methodology divides project management into nine Knowledge Areas (KA). This means that as a project manager, one is expected to possess good understanding and gain competence of those knowledge areas. Be not afraid, the Knowledge Areas are all a breakdown of the five phases.
In perspective, the knowledge of project management now helps me to take the history as an important element of project. By history, I mean what happened in the past to other or similar projects? Did they succeed, did they fail, how and why did these happen? These are all comments and observations that are recorded as “lessons learned” under the closing phase of every project. Experience has taught me that they play an important factor in the success of a new project in the performing organization as they help me to learn and understand the organization’s culture and what I may need to watch out for or do to successfully deliver my project. Project management skills make one to see life itself in a new light to be lived to quality and most especially within budget. The meaning of risk and the need to plan for and against it is also made clear. To continue to count will be to write an epistle.
Aside from being a certified project manager, PM knowledge is unending as one learns more by the execution of projects. They may differ in scope, expected quality, time frame or budget, one fact I have come to live with is this: I may have the best of sponsors and champions who ensure that resources are released on time, but my team members are my greatest asset and are to be motivated from the charter to the closing of any project. Waste is eliminated because of the understanding that occurs as a result of open communication with the team, hence we often work with sigleness of purpose.
Our abilities to deliver quality on time and within allocated resources are put to test in our daily tasks. Paraphrasing Project Management Institute's definition, Project Management is the use of knowledge, skills, techniques and resources within an agreed scope and time to meet an agreed quality.
Any venture that is time bound, has a budget (allocated resources) and has a defined scope is a typical example of a project. Consider a simple task of cake baking, wedding ceremony, home makeover, complex tasks such service rollout, system migration, building construction, and so on as examples of projects. Time, resources (budget) and scope are usually referred to as “triple constraints”. An attempt to reduce any of the three items most often has an effect on the quality level to be delivered.
To deliver to an agreed quality means that specific details need to be thoroughly thought out and carefully planned. The ability to successfully deliver a project on time, within budget and to specification depends on one’s level of planning for the different phases and aspects of the project. Typically, a project has five phase and they are
1. Initiation
2. Planning
3. Implement/Executing
4. Monitoring
5. Closing
These phases have different activities embedded at every level. To fail to plan is to plan to fail. Every phase needs to be carefully planned for overall success.
Different schools of thoughts have their unique methodologies for project management. Whatever designation is assigned to the methodology used, it is all a matter of nomenclature as they all go through the five stages. They all aim at delivering on time, to agreed quality and within budget.
Project management knowledge is not only essential to understanding the triple constraints and their effects on projects and quality levels, it empowers one to be able to effectively deliver projects successfully, gain in-dept knowledge of analysis, how to select and motivate a team, improves ones communication and so on.
The Project Management Institute’s methodology divides project management into nine Knowledge Areas (KA). This means that as a project manager, one is expected to possess good understanding and gain competence of those knowledge areas. Be not afraid, the Knowledge Areas are all a breakdown of the five phases.
In perspective, the knowledge of project management now helps me to take the history as an important element of project. By history, I mean what happened in the past to other or similar projects? Did they succeed, did they fail, how and why did these happen? These are all comments and observations that are recorded as “lessons learned” under the closing phase of every project. Experience has taught me that they play an important factor in the success of a new project in the performing organization as they help me to learn and understand the organization’s culture and what I may need to watch out for or do to successfully deliver my project. Project management skills make one to see life itself in a new light to be lived to quality and most especially within budget. The meaning of risk and the need to plan for and against it is also made clear. To continue to count will be to write an epistle.
Aside from being a certified project manager, PM knowledge is unending as one learns more by the execution of projects. They may differ in scope, expected quality, time frame or budget, one fact I have come to live with is this: I may have the best of sponsors and champions who ensure that resources are released on time, but my team members are my greatest asset and are to be motivated from the charter to the closing of any project. Waste is eliminated because of the understanding that occurs as a result of open communication with the team, hence we often work with sigleness of purpose.
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