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Everyone is involved in initiating and managing projects, from planning your next vacation to launching a new product in your business.<\/p>\n
We believe that project management skills are fundamental and should thus be taught to everyone starting from the school years.<\/p>\n
\nProject managers delivered a 25% decrease in failed projects – according to the State of PMO report.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Whether project management is part of your day-to-day activities or you just need to manage an ad-hoc project, this blog will provide the essential training for effectively managing a project of any size.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Introduction to Project Management<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Skills<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
What exactly is a project? A project is a temporary group of activities designed to produce a unique product, service, or result. It is temporary\u202fin that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Project management elements<\/span><\/h3>\n
A project has four essential elements:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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- A specific timeframe with well-defined start and end date and set milestones\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- A well-coordinated approach to co-dependent events and the sequence by which these events occur\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- The desired outcome such as a measurable milestone, timeline, goal or objective\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Unique characteristics and challenges dependent on the project resources, scope and environment\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Project management skills\u202fare the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.\u202fProjects are delivered in stages with common project management processes running across these stages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Project management process<\/h3>\n
Project management\u202fprocesses\u202ffall into five groups:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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- Initiating\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Planning\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Executing\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Monitoring and Controlling\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Closing\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Phases, or stages, are very important for project managers to ensure that the deliverables produced at the end of each phase meet their purpose, and that project team members are properly prepared for the next phase.\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Remember as a project manager you need to be ready to plan, manage, implement, control, support, measure & report, communicate, and face unplanned challenges and risks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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Project<\/b>\u00a0Management –\u00a0<\/span>Initiating and Planning a Project<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
Getting your project off to a good start is essential for the success of the project. Lack of clarity in your project objectives can result in the project heading in different directions, and building up unrealistic expectations and worries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Before you start your planning, controlling, and reporting activities, you need to get everyone on the same page. This is done through a well-defined Project Initiation Document (PID), which is considered the top-level project-planning document ensuring all stakeholders understand where the project is heading.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Project Initiation Document<\/h3>\n
The PID would include the information needed to get your project started, and communicate key information to the project’s stakeholders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
The PID normally includes:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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- Project Name\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Project Purpose & Benefits\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Expected Objectives\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Deliverables & Outcome\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Your Project Initiation Document provides the following:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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- Defines your project and its scope<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Justifies your project\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Secures funding for the project, if necessary\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Defines the roles and responsibilities of project participants\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Gives people the information they need to be productive and effective right from the start\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
By creating a PID, you’ll answer the questions: What? Why? Who? How? When?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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Creating your Project Plan<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
Once you have created your Project Initiation Document, you are ready to create your Project Plan, which is the project\u2019s roadmap. To create a project plan you will need to have:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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- Personal and project calendars\u202fin terms of working days, shifts, and resource availability\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Description of project scope\u202fto determine key start and end dates, major assumptions behind the plan, and key constraints and restrictions.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Stakeholder expectations to help determine project milestones.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Project risks to make sure there’s planned time to deal with identified risks\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Lists of activities and resource requirements to determine if there are other constraints to consider when developing the schedule\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Your project plan should:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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- Guide project execution\u202fand control\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Document planning assumptions and decisions,\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Facilitate communication among\u202fstakeholders\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Document approved scope, cost, and schedule\u202fbaselines\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Project management tools<\/h3>\n
Your project plan could be created using:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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- Gantt Charts: Gantt charts convey this information visually. They outline all of the tasks involved in a project, and their order, shown against a timescale. This gives you an instant overview of a project, its associated tasks, and when these need to be finished\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- PERT Charts (Critical Path Analysis):\u202f\u202fDefine the sequential order of activities where you cannot start some activities until others are finished\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- A simple Excel file\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What should be included in your Project\u00a0<\/b>Plan<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
The project plan is the project\u2019s roadmap that creates the common language that all stakeholders can reference to ensure that the project is on target with regards to time, output and costs.\u00a0Read more: What Project Plan Elements Should You Include<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
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Effectively Executing a Project<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n