Project Management
What Is Project Management?
Project management involves the planning and organization of a company's resources to move a specific task, event, or duty towards completion. It can involve a one-time project or an ongoing activity, and resources managed include personnel, finances, technology, and intellectual property.
Project management is often associated with fields in engineering and construction and, more lately, healthcare and information technology (IT), which typically have a complex set of components that have to be completed and assembled in a set fashion to create a functioning product.
No matter what the industry is, the project manager tends to have roughly the same job: to help define the goals and objectives of the project and determine when the various project components are to be completed and by whom. They also create quality control checks to ensure completed components meet a certain standard.
Generally speaking, the project management process includes the following stages: planning, initiation, execution, monitoring, and closing.
From start to finish, every project needs a plan that outlines how things will get off the ground, how they will be built, and how they will finish. For example, in architecture, the plan starts with an idea, progresses to drawings, and moves on to blueprint drafting, with thousands of little pieces coming together between each step. The architect is just one person providing one piece of the puzzle. The project manager puts it all together.
Every project usually has a budget and a time frame. Project management keeps everything moving smoothly, on time, and on budget. That means when the planned time frame is coming to an end, the project manager may keep all the team members working on the project to finish on schedule.
Types of Project Management
Many types of project management have been developed to meet the specific needs of certain industries or types of projects. They include the following:
1. Waterfall Project Management
This is similar to traditional project management but includes the caveat that each task needs to be completed before the next one starts. Steps are linear and progress flows in one direction—like a waterfall. Because of this, attention to task sequences and timelines are very important in this type of project management. Often, the size of the team working on the project will grow as smaller tasks are completed and larger tasks begin.
2. Agile Project Management
The computer software industry was one of the first to use this methodology. With the basis originating in the 12 core principles of the Agile Manifesto, agile project management is an iterative process focused on the continuous monitoring and improvement of deliverables. At its core, high-quality deliverables are a result of providing customer value, team interactions, and adapting to current business circumstances.
Agile project management does not follow a sequential stage-by-stage approach. Instead, phases of the project are completed in parallel to each other by various team members in an organization. This approach can find and rectify errors without having to restart the entire procedure.
3. Lean Project Management
This methodology is all about avoiding waste, both of time and of resources. The principles of this methodology were gleaned from Japanese manufacturing practices. The main idea behind them is to create more value for customers with fewer resources.
There are many more methodologies and types of project management than listed here, but these are some of the most common. The type used depends on the preference of the project manager or the company whose project is being managed.
