Project management gives the leaders of a team a structured method of identifying various project elements, tasks, and resources, and managing resources from the initiation of a project through completion. A project will not be too complex nor too small to have a systematic process that makes it possible to work as a team to create a successful project.
Success of a project depends on the skill and dedication of the project managers who must balance planning, coordination, and control to implement their project plan. A complete understanding of the business, software, and staffing needs of one’s organization is mandatory before a project can be managed.
An understanding of the business cycle, project structure, and PERT are essential. One must choose a project based on its business needs, performance requirements, acceptable risk potential, and bottom line outcome. Project managers are also responsible for managing business continuity and resourcing for any new business and project goals that cannot be provided within the current project framework. As on a PRINCE2 Courses edinburgh training.
Unrealized business needs and real time project needs may change from one project to another and are the basis for what type and strategy a project manager chooses to use. There are several project types for the various business activities, processes, and technical disciplines.
Internal projects are for the current business and need will evolve over time. paced, reactive projects are for replacement or resourcing or for new business initiatives for the future. The leadership wants to receive project requirements those very early to avoid the consequences if the project fails early in the schedule.
There will be some skilled project managers who may have background in just a couple of disciplines but most successfully manage several disciplines all at once. A project manager must be a master of all business disciplines but must not be so constrained as to not take on added tasks to learn new disciplines that may pertain to an additional project requirement.
For a project to be successful, the project, its team, and the project manager must have a fundamental understanding of the business needs, including the financial implications and risks, the capabilities required, and the impact on the company’s bottom line in both the short and long terms.
Project success is a formula that combines the project requirements, team staffing, project technology and other resources. The project manager must effectively lead the team to execute the total plan and provide motivation, guidance, and support to the team in order to maximize resources to their maximum potential. Once the project has been completed, the team needs to evaluate the plan to evaluate if it produced related benefits to the company that allowed it be a successful project.
A project must include an alloy infrastructure of governance arrangements that provide a body of knowledge to the project management team to maintain a certain level of objectivity to the selection process, as well as to provide the project team with a knowledge environment in which to evaluate project feasibility.
Project management is not a small community of experienced skill and knowledge sharing. Instead, project management typically includes a wide variety of highly skilled individuals with numerous extenuating factors that must be weighed against project objectives.
Among the attributes of a successful project team that the project sponsor must evaluate to establish project success are:
A project is only feasible if it is challenging enough for team members to make tough, and often, “un humane” decisions. The role of the sponsor is to support the team, ensuring that they’re guided in their actions to their company’s business objectives. It is also the sponsor’s job to create and maintain the team’s resources and relationships. Recruiting, arranging, and developing a team to carry out a project can be a significant responsibility. Staffing determines the effectiveness, as well as the effectiveness of the project.
There are many factors that compel a sponsor to implement their necessities into the unique cultural environment in which a project is being performed or will be performed. A sponsor must retain strong, permanent relationships with a project sponsor, project team, and any other outside support.
A strong sponsor needs to be a major player in the provision of the project’s resources and associated risks, and must help provide special incentives to support the team’s efforts as they attempt to achieve the strategic business objectives. A strong sponsor wants to judge team performance and will attempt to provide impartial performance appraisal. A sponsor is a part of the project team, and it is in the sponsor’s best interest to prove to the sponsors that their team will be effective in carrying out the project at its planned cost.
A strong sponsor that is able to provide performance feedback can be the key to successful projects. Doing a lead objective/focus with the project team, consistently sharing project objectives, and providing ongoing feedback is essential to credibility and team turnaround. Although that may sound easy, leadership is often unable to inspire and motivate a team.
