Project Management

Project Management: It is good for business

In today's business it is in the best interest of companies to have project managers. Common sense isn't always usually accomplished. For anyone who's ever worked on a project in a technical setting knows this. Indeed, much of working with others consists of solving unexpected problems and learning from mistakes along the way. Knowing this and having the proper tools a project manager will be able to manage and complete the most intense project out there.

It seems that people time and again have the wrong impression of what a project manager does. It is not about being able to create a compound plan to hang on the wall. It is not about setting up conference after conference. This is about understanding a big business objective, understanding the technology involved, being able to communicate at an assortment of levels, being able to encourage and direct people, being able to handle the constant worry and troubles, and being structured enough to make certain the whole thing that needs to get completed, gets completed. What this comes down to is a project manager should be able to meet or exceed all of the stakeholder's expectations. The project manager also must be able to get others to work with limited authority throughout the duration. "Doing most of the work yourself is a poor long-term development strategy and will never solve the problem." (Lombardo & Eichinger)

In every project there are always some universal characteristics that will be shared. They all have a comprehensible and established purpose and very distinct life durations. Overall, all projects are doing something that may possibly be new or yet a one time endeavor but have explicit requirements which include; time, price, and performance. "Project management deals with tools, people, and systems." (Lewis)

All projects represent some sort of change and allow organizations to effectively introduce new products, a new process, and even new programs. Using project management offers a business a way for dealing with considerably lowered phase times. With businesses operating internationally projects that can have an effect on the company as a whole are not easy to manage without a proper line of attack. For this, project management would help cross functional teams to be more successful.

The conservative understanding is that the only person who can be of assistance with a dilemma is the individual who has knowledge in the exact product, development tool, or design that is being used. Despite the fact that this may possibly be accurate for some projects, it's not automatically accurate for all projects. The person with the best mix of experience is the one that will need the least amount of time to come up to speed on what it is trying to be accomplished. Every person that is brought in to help will have some sort of a learning curve that will need to get past. It's just a matter of managing the learning curve so that it has the least impact on the overall time and costs for the project.

To bring in a project manager there are many skills that this person will need. According to the website ProjectSmart, these skills are but not limited to: "A project manager must have a range of skills including: Leadership, People management (customers, suppliers, managers and colleagues), Communication (verbal and written), Negotiating, Planning, Contract management, Problem solving, and Creative thinking." The consistent application of sound project management principles is a proven cost effective investment strategy over the life cycle of the investment. Improving the project and portfolio management processes promises dramatic cost reductions and shorter cycle times. Unfortunately, the road to excellence isn't easy; it requires expertise in project management, technology, and adoption management. "Sometimes it is more cost-effective to pull the plug on a foundering project than to fund its completion. While finance executives often make that decision, they can also provide valuable assistance early in the project management process and -- guidance that can decrease the number of over-budget, past-due projects." (Krell). There were studies completed in the late 1990's that have shown the yearly overall price tag for IT projects in the midst of U.S. companies at anywhere from $59 billion to $100 billion. For this reason alone it is no surprise to hear that finance time and again is called upon to put declining projects out of their despair. On the flip side of this, finance executives can also rejuvenate project management by lending their knowledge early on and frequently for the duration of the life of a project.

Time and time again in post-project assessments, project teams list communication as one of the most required areas for enhancement. A lot of times on troubled projects, project managers can feel that if the communication between team members had been improved, the project would have run smoother. Communication is a major factor in all projects and it not only keeps everyone up-to-date on the project development, but also facilitates buy-in and ownership of the most important project decisions and milestones. "The general process of communication contains five elements: the communicator, the message, the medium, the receiver, and feedback." (Gibson et al. 400) To make certain the success of a project there is much information, as well as expectations, goals, requirements, resources, status reports, budgets and purchase requests, needs to be communicated on a regular basis to all the most important stakeholders. Project communication can frequently be easier said than done due to challenges exclusive to project management. Numerous projects are short-term, and as a result project communication is temporary. This means that communications systems need to be well-known quickly in shorter periods of time. It is also vital to develop a communication arrangement for the project as it is to build up assignment scheduling. An additional challenge is that projects regularly consist of cross-functional or inter-organizational teams. Project teams are not usually natural teams and now and then are not even located in the same geographic location. Unique delivery methods and communication plans need to be utilized to defeat this challenge. But, it is probable to quickly put into practice successful communications that make all affected parties, no matter how problematical or diverse the project team may be. Having a project manager will also cut down on breakdowns in communication that are considered unacceptable. This is a main reason for project delays when some strategic thinking, planning and use of the Project Communications Table would