Project management is a subset of project management. The goal of project management is the timely and effective execution of a project and the successful budget realization during the project. This includes the task of planning, preparation, and organization. It requires a clear understanding of the problem and thorough preparation; a set of tasks and a checklist that will be used during the preparation phase, team meetings as well as assigning and monitoring tasks, to oversee the process smoothly and efficiently. Unfortunately, many project managers lack this understanding and fail in the execution phase. As can be found on a PRINCE2 Foundation training belfast.
Projects in a large organization consist of department-specific tasks, resources, power and time. They are organized and managed by a team of thirty and sometimes more people from various perspectives. These people then coordinate or cooperate with one another that results in an efficient process that can be computerized, but not a project manager. Most projects never come to closure and become more of an IT project instead of the true solution (i.e. lowering costs or increasing quality) that the organization needs. The way a project manager manages these projects often determines whether the organization is able to meet business challenges during that project.
The first step in project management is planning. Planning is the process of coming up with a plan of action, a way to ultimately carry out a process or project. Planning is done before a project is implemented. A project plan; it can be as simple as a list of activities or a comprehensive outline of the entire project in a computerized format. The secret to successful project planning is starting with the end in mind. The end point of a project can be where you are at the time the project plan is written, or it can involve identifying and prioritizing where you are at the end of the project and determining possible fix points for the various steps and events that will be necessary to keep the team on track and on time. A project plan is done after a project is implemented.
Your team can come up with the best ideas for a project plan, only if you are open to them. Before you complete your plan, allow your team to tell you what would be necessary to complete the end result of the project. The project plan allows your team members to conduct their research and come up with solutions. It also identifies and focuses resources for the team, as well as the mission of the team. Without a project plan, it is impossible to keep your team in the know and functioning as a cohesive unit. Only after the project is complete can theo team comprehensively evaluate the progress of the project and identify how it can be improved upon in the future.
Project management has many key components that everything else depends upon. If you have a well-defined project plan, the staff, resources, and time can be focused on the specific tasks necessary for implementation and their respective stages of completion. A well-paced project process will ensure the tool set is utilized to support the plan and is readily available to execute stages of the project in an efficient manner. There is no need for separate tools for different stages of a project. The success of the project revolves around the management of specific tasks and the people involved in that phase must be able to focus on that specific area.
