Project management is the discipline of systematizing and managing all the different resources and aspects of a project in a manner that the resources deliver and execute all the output that is required to accomplish a project within a pre-determined range, schedule and cost constraints. Moreover, it is a method of making and attaining goals while maximizing all available resources over the entire course of a project. Project management is a vital business concept since it has been adopted to ensure that projects are completed within a specified timeframe and to the best of the company’s ability.
There are two basic approaches to project management. First is the traditional approach which considers the project as a process wherein there is an initiation, an end and everything in between. The other one is the non-traditional approach, also known as agile software development where the project is relegated into relatively small tasks. The difference between the two is that one approach is to view the project in its entirety (traditional) while the other is to view each step as a small task (agile software development).
Generally, project management involves setting up a timetable for three distinct phases: initiation, implementation and closure Each phase features a number of guidelines that must be met before moving on to the next. The extent to which a project needs to be managed depends largely on the scale of the project. For a simple project that has to be undertaken by a small company, pre-conceived goals, milestones, checklists and someone to oversee the project may be all that is needed. On the other hand, a complex project in a large company that involves several team members, multiple resources, time and budget will normally necessitate a more structured approach. The individual steps of the project are further broken down in order to ensure that it delivers the expected results upon its completion.
Project management is both an art and a science, it is an artistic science where methods are driven by specific goals. It is therefore a result oriented process which entails technical skills, scientific procedure and organizational methodology. In almost all cases, a project manager is designated to ensure that everything is moving smoothly and according to plan. The project manager is the most important part of any project management and he/she has the most precise idea of the project destination. As such, project managers are often required to get a certification or they should have a Masters Degree in Project Management. These assure that the manager not only has excellent time management skills but good people skills as well.
The whole concept behind project management may not be a too difficult to understand but it is of paramount importance. The life-blood of any business or organization is the successful completion of a product or the attainment of the goal that was set before the project was launched. Project management is employed to make sure that everyone involved on a particular project is on the same page and has a clear understanding of the goals and the steps needed to attain them. In the end, project management provides an effective solution that delivers results according to the standards required and within the specified time and cost budget, without compromising quality.
