Project management is the application of the skills, resources, techniques and knowledge into a project that is designed to exceed the needs and expectations of the stakeholders. In order to achieve this success, the project practitioner needs to balance the competing demands of stakeholder needs and expectations which include:
- Scope, time and quality
- Stakeholders with different incentives
- Identified requirements (needs) and unidentified requirements (expectations)
Project management provides a structured way of managing change. There are several project methodologies that provide the framework for a project. The skilled project practitioner will be able to determine which methodology is best suited for that project. In combination with the built up learning in the organisation they will be able to land on a methodology that is best suited for that project.
Put simply project management provides a framework to plan and manage a project and provide outcomes from its deliverables. It focuses on the three constraints of time, cost and budget and considers risks, resource management and communication across teams and internal and external stakeholders.
Importance of a Framework
With increasing accountability in the business and public sector there is a greater focus placed on how projects are delivered. By having an effective project management framework in place will provide greater opportunity for project success, support the attainment of project and organisational goals and provide a level of assurance and transparency for stakeholders.
There are a number of reasons why projects fail. Recent International research identifies several them and in no particular order are:
- No alignment to the organisation’s strategic objectives
- Poor estimation of time and cost
- Poorly identifies objectives and outcomes
- Low levels of governance
- Inadequate stakeholder engagement and low expectation management
- Unclear processes and staff not adequately trained
- Poorly considered risk management
- No independent quality assurance
With the good application of knowledge, skill, resources and techniques the project practitioner can at a minimum lessen the impact or even avoid these triggers for project failure.
What a project practitioner cannot avoid are the macro changes that stops a project from achieving success. These can include:
- A change in the organisation’s priorities
- A change in government
- Conflict between senior management and the Board of Directors
Relationship Between Other Management Disciplines
There are some unique attributes specific to project management and there is also overlap between other management disciplines. The Venn diagram below provides a conceptual view of this overlap.
General Management sets the foundation for the requirements of a project manager. Some of the projects that the general manager may undertake include:
- Strategic and operational planning
- Organisational behaviour, structures
- Personnel administration such as compensation, benefits and career paths
- Managing the relationships within the organisation including motivation, delegation and supervision.
- Managing themselves with scheduling, stress management, health and well being
There are also general management skills that are appropriate for the industry that the organisation is involved in. For example the safety concerns for a mine will be highly important but less so in software development.
Application areas are categories in projects that have some common elements but may not be present in all projects.
Application areas reflect the unique aspects of projects within certain industries. They need to be aware of the idiosyncrasies in order to effectively delivers successful projects within that environment.
They may take the form of:
- Technical – such as software development
- Management – new product development
- Industry groups such as financial services, mining or renewable resources.
Why is Project Management Important?
Project management is necessary as all projects are unique and complex. The project manager balances this complexity with the needs and incentives of various stakeholders and will lead initiative and keep everyone focused on the project requirements.
Some other reasons why project management is considered useful include:
- Realistic Planning – because the risk is at its highest at the start of a project carefully considered planning will reduce those risk levels and put in place contingencies and mitigation strategies.
A competent project practitioner will look to take a holistic view and set realistic goals, budgets and timelines.
The project manager will also be clear on the strategic objectives of the organisation and how they are aligned with project outcomes.
- Clear focus and Objectives – an Internationally recognised study identified that the most common reason for project failures were the lack of clear goals.
The project practitioner needs to be focused on what is required to complete the task and not leave it to the team where it can lose clarity.
The competent project practitioner will keep an eye on all the factors involved with the project in order to keep the team on track.
- Strategic Alignment – projects are a key driver for organisations to achieve their strategic objectives.
By maintaining clarity of the goals and successfully reaching milestones the project manager should ensure that the project outcomes are all aligned with the strategic objectives of the organisation. If projects are not aligned with the objectives then stakeholders may inquire on what the purpose of the project is.
- Having processes in place breaks down the tasks and requirements of complex projects. Without using project management processes teams may work reactively rather than proactively. Focus and timelines may fall behind as a result.
By having effective tasks, milestones and deadlines in place, the project manager can bring a level of efficiency to the project and be able to adapt quickly when issues arise.
- Quality Control – one of the most important parts of a project and what if frequently overlooked is whether the quality of the project is up to the standard that a client is willing to accept.
Often project teams are under significant pressure and time constraints. Tasks may be executed poorly, and this may be reflected in the poor quality of the project. A project practitioner will be keeping an eye on the constraints of the project such as time, scope and cost, however they must also be focused on maintaining the quality of the work. If the project manager loses focus on this the client may not accept the handover of the project.
- Reduces Costs – a report commissioned by the Project Management Institute in 2018 identified that 10% of money invested in projects was wasted.
Project management can reduce project costs by improving efficiency, creating contingency plans and mitigation strategies and ensuring that resources are optimised effectively.
The cost of a project manager will be offset by the significant gains the organisation will receive in improved efficiency and effectiveness.
