Project management deals with proper planning, organizing and resource management which results in project meeting its pre-set objective and targets. It however has three fundamental forces that constraints its which are cost, time and scope. (Wallace, 2015)
There are five processes of project management which are explained briefly below:
Initiating
This is the first step of project management where the objectives are set and the three fundamental forces which are cost, time and scope are defined. A complete organogram showing the main players of the project should be clearly understood stating who the project manager will be, all the staffs and all the stakeholders involved.
A document that defines and authorizes a project is called a project charter. All the above mentioned things should be included in this document. The document should also include relevant people, their roles, budgets and other necessary related information that will help guide the project towards a good start.
Planning
Planning is the next step to the management process. This step will undertake the overall designing of the project keeping the constraints in mind. The amount and type of work required, the description of work to be performed, the information system required, software’s to be used, authorization process and any other planning required getting the pre-set job done. It also defines the organogram chart, authority and reporting channels.
This step also plans for the human resource needed, communication, cost and quality of the project.
Executing
All the plans and initiation strategies need to be executed by the program manager. Assigning task to the planed human resource, maintaining strong communication with all the stakeholders, formulating contracts, grooming staffs, capacity building of staffs etc. are some of the work of the manger while undertaking the execution of the project. Executing the project according to the plan does not necessary mean that it will go according to what is expected. It is important for the manger to conduct timely review of the program to find out if the project has been receiving the same objective as expected. It is also important to monitor and evaluate the project activities, sites and human resources which come in the next step.
Monitoring and Controlling
Timely monitoring and check of the tasks delegated has to be undertaken by the manager which is vital to understand if any deviation has taken place. Any tasks that have underperformed can be tracked in the monthly reports. Monitoring shows divergence when comparing planning with the actual task performance. Prompt action can be taken to adjust this divergence and divert it to the original path. Timely monitoring is very essential. Early or delayed monitoring will not produce the same result as perfectly timed monitoring.
Closing
The closing ceremony is the fruit of all the hard work through the period. The lessons learned, good practices and future possibilities should be tracked and shared in the last closing meeting with all the staffs and stakeholders. Managers usually thank all the staffs and stakeholders alike for their support and celebrate the success or mourn the loss.
It is very important to document the lessons learned and the best practices which can be incorporated in the next project in future. These will be strong guidelines and pillars which can aid in the success of future projects.
If I were a project manager, I would track and manage projects with the help of the above mentioned steps. Software such as Trello, Basecamp, Smartsheet and numerous other project management software’s can be used to aid in initiation of the project, communicating, delegating tasks, monitoring, tracking deviations, controlling and gathering feedback can be done with the use of these software’s. I have used Basecamp before in a training program that I took part in. It was very effective to monitor the tasks that needed to be fulfilled, delegation of tasks, sharing of documents; commenting and receiving feedback were very useful in the Basecamp. There were limitations for me as a first time user as it required a good internet network, and I had a slight difficulty browsing through the settings and options.
For the communication channel I would use Facebook group as one type of communication channel as most people are already in the system and familiar with it. This group will make it easier to disburse information, collect feedback and comments. "Communication is the basis of everything and is thus the key to effective project management. Even in biblical times, the importance of project communication was contained in the chronicle of the Tower of Babel, whereby it was reported that God caused a construction project to fail by interrupting communication through the creation of multiple languages. (Samáková, Sujanová, & Koltnerová, 2013)”
These are some of the steps of project management and what I would do to manage project.
References
Samáková, J., Sujanová, J., & Koltnerová, K. (2013). Project Communication Management in Industrial Enterprises. International Conference on Information Management and Evaluation; Reading , 155-163.
Wallace, P. (2015). Introduction to Information System. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.
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Project management deals with proper planning, organizing and resource management which results in project meeting its pre-set objective and targets. It however has three fundamental forces that constraints its which are cost, time and scope. (Wallace, 2015)
There are five processes of project management which are explained briefly below:
Initiating
This is the first step of project management where the objectives are set and the three fundamental forces which are cost, time and scope are defined. A complete organogram showing the main players of the project should be clearly understood stating who the project manager will be, all the staffs and all the stakeholders involved.
A document that defines and authorizes a project is called a project charter. All the above mentioned things should be included in this document. The document should also include relevant people, their roles, budgets and other necessary related information that will help guide the project towards a good start.
Planning
Planning is the next step to the management process. This step will undertake the overall designing of the project keeping the constraints in mind. The amount and type of work required, the description of work to be performed, the information system required, software’s to be used, authorization process and any other planning required getting the pre-set job done. It also defines the organogram chart, authority and reporting channels.
This step also plans for the human resource needed, communication, cost and quality of the project.
Executing
All the plans and initiation strategies need to be executed by the program manager. Assigning task to the planed human resource, maintaining strong communication with all the stakeholders, formulating contracts, grooming staffs, capacity building of staffs etc. are some of the work of the manger while undertaking the execution of the project. Executing the project according to the plan does not necessary mean that it will go according to what is expected. It is important for the manger to conduct timely review of the program to find out if the project has been receiving the same objective as expected. It is also important to monitor and evaluate the project activities, sites and human resources which come in the next step.
Monitoring and Controlling
Timely monitoring and check of the tasks delegated has to be undertaken by the manager which is vital to understand if any deviation has taken place. Any tasks that have underperformed can be tracked in the monthly reports. Monitoring shows divergence when comparing planning with the actual task performance. Prompt action can be taken to adjust this divergence and divert it to the original path. Timely monitoring is very essential. Early or delayed monitoring will not produce the same result as perfectly timed monitoring.
Closing
The closing ceremony is the fruit of all the hard work through the period. The lessons learned, good practices and future possibilities should be tracked and shared in the last closing meeting with all the staffs and stakeholders. Managers usually thank all the staffs and stakeholders alike for their support and celebrate the success or mourn the loss.
It is very important to document the lessons learned and the best practices which can be incorporated in the next project in future. These will be strong guidelines and pillars which can aid in the success of future projects.
If I were a project manager, I would track and manage projects with the help of the above mentioned steps. Software such as Trello, Basecamp, Smartsheet and numerous other project management software’s can be used to aid in initiation of the project, communicating, delegating tasks, monitoring, tracking deviations, controlling and gathering feedback can be done with the use of these software’s. I have used Basecamp before in a training program that I took part in. It was very effective to monitor the tasks that needed to be fulfilled, delegation of tasks, sharing of documents; commenting and receiving feedback were very useful in the Basecamp. There were limitations for me as a first time user as it required a good internet network, and I had a slight difficulty browsing through the settings and options.
For the communication channel I would use Facebook group as one type of communication channel as most people are already in the system and familiar with it. This group will make it easier to disburse information, collect feedback and comments. "Communication is the basis of everything and is thus the key to effective project management. Even in biblical times, the importance of project communication was contained in the chronicle of the Tower of Babel, whereby it was reported that God caused a construction project to fail by interrupting communication through the creation of multiple languages. (Samáková, Sujanová, & Koltnerová, 2013)”
These are some of the steps of project management and what I would do to manage project.
References
Samáková, J., Sujanová, J., & Koltnerová, K. (2013). Project Communication Management in Industrial Enterprises. International Conference on Information Management and Evaluation; Reading , 155-163.
Wallace, P. (2015). Introduction to Information System. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.