A project is a temporary endeavor to create a unique product, service or result. The temporary nature of projects creates a defining beginning and end. Project management is the application of knowledge, skills and tools and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirement. Project is accomplished through appropriate application and integration of different process groups. A project fills an essential need in society. Indeed, projects are the major mode in which change is accomplished. It is the mode in which corporate strategy is implemented, business change is addressed, productive teams and their necessary competencies are dealt with, quality of deliverables, and tracking pre-established metrics for management’s decision making, as well as closing out a project and creating lessons learned are performed. Historical Developments on Project Management Pre – 1950 Era The project management is now in its modern form. There has been some form of projects since early Continue reading
Project Management
Concept of Project Based Organizations (PBO)
In today’s turbulent market, a lot of organizations is still seeking for a strategic advantage over others and a lot of them has actually seek Project Based Organization (PBO) as a way to propel them for greater height and thus, gain a strategic advantage over other companies. However, there are still questions how they can best make use of this new organization structure approach to create a synergy between company business mission, strategy, and project as well as portfolio management Project Based Organizations refer to organizational forms that involve the creation of temporary systems for the performance of project tasks or activities. PBOs are gaining increased attention as an emerging organizational form, but there is very little knowledge on how PBO function in practice and what value or benefits in adopting the practice of Project Based Organizations. Needless to say, there are not many findings on how the extensive use Continue reading
Project Scope Management
Scope is the description of the boundaries of the project. It defines what the project will deliver and what it will not deliver. Scope is the view all stakeholders have from the project; it is a definition of the limits of the project. Project Scope Management includes the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required to complete the project successfully. Project scope management’s primary concern is with defining and controlling what is and is not included in the project. One of the leading causes for project failures is poor management of the project scope, either because the project manager did not spend enough time defining the work, there was not an agreement on the scope by stakeholders, or there was a lack of scope management which leads to adding work not authorized or budgeted to the project, this is known Continue reading
Characteristics of Project Phases
The completion and approval of one or more deliverables characterizes a project phase. A deliverable is a measurable, verifiable work product such as a specification, feasibility study report, detailed design document, or working prototype. Some deliverables can correspond to the project management process, whereas others are the end products or components of the end products for which the project was conceived. The deliverables, and hence the phases, are part of a generally sequential process designed to ensure proper control of the project and to attain the desired product or service, which is the objective of the project. In any specific project, for reasons of size, complexity, level of risk, and cash flow constraints, phases can be further subdivided into subphases. Each subphase is aligned with one or more specific deliverables for monitoring and control. The majority of these subphase deliverables are related to the primary phase deliverable, and the phases Continue reading
Characteristics of Project Life Cycle
The project life cycle defines the phases that connect the beginning of a project to its end. For example, when an organization identifies an opportunity to which it would like to respond, it will often authorize a feasibility study to decide whether it should undertake the project. The project life cycle definition can help the project manager clarify whether to treat the feasibility study as the first project phase or as a separate, stand-alone project. Where the outcome of such a preliminary effort is not clearly identifiable, it is best to treat such efforts as a separate project. The phases of a project life cycle are not the same as the Project Management Process Groups. The transition from one phase to another within a projects life cycle generally involves, and is usually defined by, some form of technical transfer or handoff. Deliverables from one phase are usually reviewed for completeness Continue reading
Importance of Innovation to Project Management
Project management can be defined as a process of application of the knowledge skills and different experiences of the project manager and the team members in order to achieve the objectives identified for the project. The concept of project management can therefore be defined as a systematic process of ensuring that a project is implemented according to the project plan. Proper project management is needed in an organization or a particular project is order to ensure proper project tracking and management of the associated risks of the project. There are a number of reasons why project management is needed in an organization. With the use of the project management approach, the proper project plan can be developed. The different project management methodologies ensure that a proper project schedule and a project plan is implemented. The project management further enforces and encourages team work so that a task can be completed Continue reading