Project ManagementEssay Preview: Project ManagementReport this essayProject ManagementWhenever the word Project Management is used to express a managerial responsibility many people imagine a person running around to meetings all day giving out orders to others in hopes to get a job done. This is some what the truth. The Project Management Institute provides the following definition of a project: “A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result” (Larson & Gray, 2011, pg. 13). According to Larson and Gray, “Integration means applying a set of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to a collection of projects in order to move the organization toward its strategic goals. This integration movement represents a major thrust of project driven organizations across all industries” (Larson & Gray, 2011, pg. 21). Project managers perform the same functions as other managers. That is, they plan, schedule, motivate, and control.
The Role of Project Management in Modern Business Technology The most important way to understand how a project is built or how it might work differs from the role of the boss. Project management, like other managers, performs many of the same functions as management in other industries. When a team member is asked to run an operation, how do some individual perform his or her jobs in this position? These questions differ from person who is conducting business. These questions apply to a large number of people. This is important because it is the basis for the vast majority of the problems that many project managers face. In order for one to make an important decision in a project, a team member has to have the knowledge, experience, and skills, skills, and skills that they need to make sure that that decision is successful. These skills, skills, and skills must not be acquired through experience or experience alone. A project manager can help the organization to move forward on a high-quality plan of action, and create more value for the organization. This is a critical difference. It is very important to examine project members. Project managers have to understand what needs to be done in order to accomplish that goal. A project manager at her job does the best she can to maximize the team’s resources with projects because her job depends on her ability to meet and exceed the goals of others. Project management helps the organization to understand what needs to be done without the support or involvement of others. Once you are comfortable with an organizational system, you can move forward knowing that if you want to change something or create something meaningful, you will find it effective. Project managers are critical at every level of the organization, and they will work with you to change things at every level of the organization. Project management also makes it possible for other stakeholders to understand and take action as needed. If a project manager is asked about an organization, you have to listen to these other stakeholders. You have to understand that if these other stakeholders want to change something, some other way or other they have to reach out to you. Project managers will try to take action to provide these other peers with information that is effective and valuable, as well as information that you are going to need soon. If project managers are to get the benefit of any group or persons, they have to communicate about what that group or persons may need very quickly. You have to listen to them and understand what they are doing as well. “If there are problems, or problems are not getting resolved, then Project Management should do something to remedy them. Not just to get them fixed, but to work with the solution and to set the right conditions for resolving them.”
A project manager’s role as a team member is critical. It determines what activities should be done in order to achieve the following objectives:
Help others to find jobs in a rapidly growing industry. This task is most often accomplished by team members who know and are willing to work with others. These team members share common interests, priorities, and skills. If a project manager needs help with the job search, she or she may help others. The projects may be complicated, complicated, or complex enough that they cannot be easily handled by groups who have no interests and little or no common sense. Because the team members don’t have to know what they are doing, they can see things like schedules, problems, and goals. This is a time-consuming task, and one that requires team members to identify things that are most important and give them the best chance of getting it done. When a team member needs to go to a meeting to help solve a problem, he or she needs to meet with team members and get their assistance. These team members share common interests and skills and will work together to make sure that things are being dealt with effectively.
Project managers may have to be involved in a project because of the
Project Management is significant because as businesses and technologies have developed so has the science and art of PM. The nature and scope of business global today are distributed, matrixed and virtual. According to ARMA Records Management Quarterly, “The project manager performs each of the project management functions with respect to each of the eight elements, in relation to each of the project-specific tasks” (Gannon, 1994). It is now trouble-free to get a single task completed between a supervisor and their employee when they are together in the same building with each other. It has always been the philosophy if the supervisor asks, the employee delivers. However, now the nature of work has changed and companies have now become global. Project team members may be a group of people on several continents and different time zones. Projects now may be a complex assignment broken down into smaller pieces and distributed around the world.
Project Life Cycle ManagementProject life cycle management (PLM) attempts to describe the stages through which a project moves from conception to completion. It has many variants and names, but basically follows a number of basic stages throughout which the main skills utilized are communication, managing of time, scope and resources, and collaboration. According to Larson and Gray, “Some project managers find it useful to use the project life cycle as the cornerstone for managing projects. The life cycle recognizes that projects have a limited life span and that there are predictable changes in level of effort and focus over the life of the project” (Larson & Gary, 2011, pg. 15).
The project life cycle typically passes sequentially through four stages: defining, planning, executing, and delivering.Defining stage: Specifications of the project are defined; project objectives are established; teams are formed; major responsibilities are assigned.Planning stage: The level of effort increases, and plans are developed to deter- mine what the project will entail, when it will be scheduled, whom it will benefit, what quality level should be maintained, and what the budget will be.
Executing stage: A major portion of the project work takes place–both physical and mental.Closing stage: Closing includes three activities: delivering the project product to the customer, redeploying project resources, and post-project review.
Project OrganizationOne of the major components of project design is being able to define a project team. Project teams are the group of individuals who come together for a limited period of time in order to complete a project. The defined group may have never worked together before – they may not even know each other. Team members may sit across the hall from each other or they may not even speak the same language. Thus, in order for a project to be successful, is important to know who the people are that will comprise the team, that will be the project manager and to describe the nature of the relationship between the project manager, the project team members and the relationship between the project team and the business units from which the project team members come from.
If a Project Management Plan is a guide to an individual project then the Program Management Plan (PMP) is the charter for the project management process for an organization. It is a broad brush that is used to identify how the organization as a whole is going to approach the Project Management process and what the internal structure is going to be to accomplish the goals of any project within the organization. This guide identifies things like schedule management, roles and responsibilities, commitment responsibilities within the matrix organization, and how projects will be measured and evaluated.
Leadership and SponsorshipAccording to Larson and Gary there are “Two different activities represent the distinction between management and leadership. Management is about coping with complexity, while leadership is about coping with change” (Larson & Gary, 2011, pg. 348). Leadership involves recognizing and articulating the need to significantly alter the direction and operation of the project, aligning people to the new direction, and motivating them to work together to overcome hurdles produced by the change and to realize new objectives. According to Larson and Gary, “Conversely, the higher the degree of uncertainty encountered on a project– whether in terms of changes in project scope, technological stalemates, break- downs in coordination between people, and so forth–the more leadership is required” (Larson & Gary, 2011, pg. 348).
Sponsorship approval when concluding each phase of the project is also very important. According to Barkley, “Preparing the organization starts with a corporate and enterprise policy on