Project management is the concept of guiding a team of individuals to perform all the necessary activities to meet a common objective or goal. Within the guidelines of the project, the project manager leads the team to ensure the following:
1. There is effective communication to and from the executive team
2. All activities are on schedule and within budget
3. Team members are managed properly and that issues are called out, assigned and resolved in a timely manner
4. Detailed project documentation is created and distributed appropriately
Projects can range from software development to building a skyscraper and everything in between. A project can be extremely complex with various resources having specific roles and responsibilities.
In order for the team to be successful, the “3 legged stool concept” incorporates People, Process and Tools to keep the project within scope and successfully within the allocated budget”
1. People – The human assets allocated to the project and have the necessary skills to complete certain functions and activities within the project. Project teams are established to define and execute the plan and must be managed in concert with each other to perform the needed work the project requires.
2. Process – Structure is key to keeping the project teams on task. Having defined processes in place help to keep the teams working in the unison. Process and structure ensure your resources are working effectively and that the management team is able to receive and address issues as they bubble up.
3. Tools – Project tools are in place to keep track of all the different tasks and resources tied together to identify dependencies, and critical paths within the project structure. These tools can range from communication documents to Gant charts and help the project teams to stay organized and effectively working together on the right tasks at the right time.
In summary, a project needs to be managed properly using defined methods and tools to keep everyone working together to meet the objectives and goals of the effort. There can be many moving parts within the project and the project manager is assigned to keep the project on task and within the budget.
