Project management combines the right tool(s) with the person – or team – managing the projects. It's all about meeting project objectives by facilitating the planning, scheduling, execution and control of all work that has to be done within a given timeframe.
The simplest way to explain project management is to think about it in terms of a few questions: Who owns it? Who is delivering what? Who is it being delivered to? When should it be delivered? How (or by whom) is it being quality controlled, and finally, how is the status being tracked and reported?
Here are a few things that we consider to be fundamentals of good project management:
- The most apparent part might be that a project is a set of deliverables built on each other.
- Projects are always time-sensitive. This means that each deliverable within a project inherits a time constraint. Therefore, it must be clear what is supposed to be delivered, by whom and when.
- To prevent confusion and to make sure things are done, each deliverable needs a clear and unique owner. Ownership does not mean that the person needs to produce anything; it means that they are responsible for the outcome.
- Every deliverable needs a recipient — a person who takes over the deliverable once delivered and makes sure the quality is signed-off and it is being used the right way.
- While businesses can get away with not using technology, all projects require an instrument that helps steer them and give the necessary information in real-time to the right stakeholders.
- Transparency is critical, and that typically sits with how a project is being reported. The project report needs to show the status of each deliverable and the quality evaluation of the provided deliverable.
Not sure where to start?
Start by addressing essential questions at the beginning of the project (Who delivers what by when etc...). Map out the project scope and goals, hand out roles & responsibilities, articulate expectations and objectives to the team. Once you have hit “Play”, monitor your progress and identify roadblocks (here, process management might be helpful).
Finally, make sure all deliverables have been met and just like that, the project is done.
Still not sure where to start? Let us help optimise your project management to better achieve your corporate goals.
