What is Project Management?

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Before delving into project management, lets first take a look at what a project is. Many people and organizations have defined what a project is, or should be, but probably the most authoritative definition is that given in BS 6079-2:2000 Project Management Vocabulary, which states that a project is: ‘A unique process, consisting of a set of co-ordinated and controlled activities with start and finish dates, undertaken to achieve an objectives conforming to specific requirements, including

constraints of time, cost and resources.’. Then you begin to ask yourself what then is project management? and what is the need for this peculiar type of management?, what is the difference between project management and management of any other business or enterprise?. The answer is that since projects are the vehicles by which change is introduced to organizations, then project management is the management of this so called change, while running a functional or ongoing business is managing a continuum or ‘business-as-usual’.Now lets go more indepth into what a project is, characteristics of a project, why projects fail, and also discuss in detail project management.

What is a project?

According to Prince2 (Projects in controlled environments version two), ''A project is a temporary organization that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to an agreed business case.'' and PMP definition of a project is '' Any temporary activity/ task/ endeavour to achieve a defined objective or to produce a unique/ new result, product document or deliverable.

Characteristics of a project

Temporary: Temporary means that every project as a definite beginning and a definite end. The end of a project is determined when the objectives aimed to be achieved are met or when it is quite clear that the objectives can be met or when there is no continued business justification. Being temporary does not mean that projects must be short in duration, because there may be some complex projects that require a lot of time but are still temporary to the nature of the business.

Also being temporary does not mean the results emanating from the projects would be temporary. This can be justified in the sense that when projects become a success for the organization, the result of the project becomes infused in the Business-as-usual part of the organization and it becomes a core part of the daily operations of the business. So it has phased out from being a project to a business-as-usual. For example a project to make a new phone remains a project when designing,making prototypes, implementing changes in design and so on. But as it becomes a success and appeals to the general public, it phases out from being a project into the normal operation of the business because the organization would continously produce more of the successful product to satisfy the demands of the public. So it goes from being a project to Business-as-usual.

Most projects are undertaking to create a lasting outcome. For example a project to build a new factory would create a result expected to last the years to come. Projects also may often have intended and unintended social, economic and environmental impacts that far outlasts the projects themselves.

Unique: Project should be unique and also the result of the project. For example as a wedding planner they cant be two weddings that would be exactly alike, so even if it is basically ''weddings'' being planned each wedding is still unique. So also in the case of a project, prescence of repetitive elements does not change the fundamental uniqueness of a project.

Change: A project is undertaken mainly for the purpose of change, either to produce a unique product, document or deliverables or to improve on existing ones.

Cross-functional: Projects cannot be undertaken on its own, it needs a team building exercise where people would come together and have specific tasks or jobs to perform for the overall success of the project. So in other words, a project involves a team of people.

Uncertainty: Risk introduces threats and opportunities. The outcome of a project can result into success or failure.

Why do projects fail?

Some of the reasons why projects fail include:

1. Insufficient attention to checking if valid business case exists
2. Insufficient attention to quality
3. insufficient definition of the required outcome
4. inadequate definition and lack of acceptance of project management roles and responsibilities
5. inadequate and wild estimates of durations and costs
6. Poor planning and coordination of duration and costs
7. lack of communication with the different stakeholders
8. lack of quality control.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project management is the planning, monitoring and control of all aspects of a project and the motivation of the people involved to achieve the objectives within the performance target. It can also be defined as the application of knowledge, skills and techniques to meet project requirements. The person responsible for achieving a project's objective is the project manager. Steps in managing a project includes.

1. Identifying what would be the basic requirements for the project
2. Establishing objectives to be achieved which are within reach when the people involved are motivated.
3. Balancing the six variables within projects which are: Time, Cost, Quality, Scope, Risk and Benefits.
4. Adapting the specifications, plans and control to different concerns and expectations of the various stakeholders involved in a project.

Project managers often talk about three of the variables which are time, scope and cost being the most important of a project, because often times, a project as a deadline to meet, they have to deliver the desired quality of product or service within the scope while still keeping it within budget. So any change in these three variables affects product quality. So it is essential for a project manager to successfully balance these three variables.

Also another variable the project manager should consider is the risk. Risk being an uncertain event or condition that if it occurs, has a positive or negative impact on at least one of the project objectives.