Project management is the art of managing people, funds and products to meet the requirements of a customer and the market place. They are all together known as delivers or out come outcomes. It is an organizational discipline that concerned with planning, organizing, directing and controlling resources to bring about a mutually beneficial outcome that is specified in terms of products and/or services which are meant to satisfy the needs of society. As with a prince2 Course London qualification.
The big picture view with project management is the way in which planning the organization should function. But from the project initiated to its ultimate management, this discipline revolves around the issues of:
o What is the strategic plan, what are the goals of the organization of the project organizations?
o How is the project going to be different from the others?
o Does it make good financial sense to pursue the project?
o Are the resources available for the project sufficient to achieve what you want?
o What are the budgeted funds, what is the time frame to which you want to achieve these goals?
Examples of projects can be small, medium and large according to the project manager choice. A project organization can be divided into three different categories. They are:
1. rocket science
2. organising thedangerousos Monroe and palmistry
3. safety plan and businessmake safe decisions in managing risk.
Planning
Planning is the process for developing actions, schedules and resources to carry out a project. After planning, project plan is the step that describes in detail how the project is to be conducted and the steps required to achieve the goals of government in terms of schedule, budget and quality. As a project manager is responsible for delivering a product that meets the needs of the users, it is vital that the project plan be written from the ground up. This makes it possible for the project to move forward in a controlled manner.
To put it in a practical way, resources are defined by stakeholders in the project. Creditors, joint venture partners, moneylenders etc are all stakeholders, and it is the project manager’s responsibility to ensure that all the stakeholders have their needs understood and met in order to secure a solid progress.
Budgeting
It is practically impossible to organize a project without utilizing resources (budget). The scope of the project determines the amount of budget. One of the most important steps in the project management process is the budgeting step.
Started at the initial stage, the budget planning stage is the key to the project always being successfully delivered on time and within the budget in mind. At the planning process, all the details of costs are done. This helps prevent un-necessary expenses and commitments on the budget. The development of a budget plan helps control the costs so that every expense and commitment is only necessary.
Project Management
Success with any project is a combination of many factors, but the project management phase is most times three sided, where with all three aspects examined and challenges undertaken. The main job of the project manager is to organize the team to achieve the project in a timely and efficient manner. Consulting the team on their responsibilities and conflicts of interest is critical. Without this assessment they could be lop-sided, which may amount to miscommunication and full of problems. It is a people issue. As the project manager it is your task to recognize what is right and wrong. Your decisions are backed up by your knowledge, understanding and experience of the field. By the way, this is a skill that takes practice and more practice.
The various management functions involved in project administration are:
o Planning
o Organizing
o Controlling
o Assisting
o Closing
Projects are not for the impatient or the lazy. If you wish to provide a deadline to get your project award then you must be committed and consistent with your schedule and deadlines.
Summary
For the recent past project management has become almost an extra burden on the already busy project managers in most companies. However, the benefits of project management have brought companies to find innovative ways of growing the business and number of clients and generating excellent products and services.
