Quick Start with Project Management

What is Project Management Definition of Project Management: The definition of “Project Management”, according to the 2004 “PMBOK” Guide Third Edition, Project Management is the application of knowledge, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. Project Management is accomplished through the application and integration of the project management processes of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing the project From personnel experience, I found that know two projects are alike. Even when the projects seem to be basically the same, such as project requirements, equipment, and budgets. The Project Manager is, according to the 2004 “PMBOK” Guide Third Edition, is the person responsible for accomplishing the project objectives. Page 1. What is Project Management Managing a Project includes: • Identifying Project Requirements • Establishing clear and achievable objectives • Balancing the competing demands for quality, scope, time, and cost • Adapting the specification, plans, and approach to the different concerns and expectations of the various stakeholders. Project Management has been around for thousands of years in one form or another. There had to be some form of Project Management when Egypt built the pyramids, when the Roman Empire built the coliseum, and when the Jewish people built the Temple in Jerusalem. All built over 1,500 years ago. In business today Project Management has become so important and key to getting new products and services to market that Project Management processes and procedures have been developed to guide and assist all Page 2. What is Project Management different types of businesses in accomplishing these goals. This book will lay the foundation and knowledge needed to accomplish the basic project management activities. This book covers: • Defining a Project and Triple Constraint • Project Charter • Project Initiation • Project Scope & Scope Management • Project Estimating & Planning • Project Risk Analysis & Management • Project Time Management • Project Execution • Project Quality & Monitoring • Project Closing & Lessoned Learned • Project Methodologies Page 3. Triple Constraint Each and every project is constrained in one or more different ways by its scope, time, and cost goals. Within project management these limitation are called the “Triple Constraint”. For a project to be successful, the project manager must balance the cost, scope, and time in a project. When executing a project, the following must be considered: • Time – How long it will take to complete a project. This is driven by the project schedule. • Scope – The work to be performed in the project. This evolves what products or services, and what results the sponsor or stakeholder expects from the project. Page 61. Project Management Institute / Defining a Project and the Triple Constraint • Cost – What will the cost be to complete the project. This includes all resources such as personnel, computers, etc. This is what is defined as the project budget. The managing of the Triple Constraint involves the tradeoffs between time, scope, cost projections and goals for the project. There are times when you may need to increase the cost in a project to add more personnel to complete the project on time and in scope. The following is a diagram of the “Triple Constraint” Figure 2.1. Figure 2.1 Page 62. Project Management Institute / Defining a Project and the Triple Constraint The main point of the triple constraint is to use these guiding principle to successfully manage and complete a project meeting all three goals, Time, Scope, and Cost. Project Stakeholders In any project there is a person or a group of people call Stakeholder or stakeholders. Stakeholders are the people that are involved in or affected by project activities and include the project team, support staff, any customers, end users, suppliers, opponents, and most of all the project sponsor. As you can see, stakeholders come in many different forms, and each form has different expectation and deliverables from the project being developed by the project team. The project manager, and the project team, must keep these differences in mind during the project. Most of the differences should be identified when the “Business Case Analysis” is performed, and before the project is even initiated.