project management assignment help

project management assignment help

Project Management: Strategies for Success

1. Introduction

Project management refers to the use of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to complete a project within the established schedules and budgets, and to meet the customer requirements. There could be a range of projects, from developing a new product or service to restructuring the operation of a company, and the application of project management is very broad and could be used in many business departments today. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the numbers of books and journal articles written, and the formal lectures given on this topic. This is because project management is not only the fastest growing areas of business, but also the advanced knowledge and planning have become a key factor of success of the new product development because many successful businesses are not just a result of careful planning and commercial insight, but also a process of smart project management. In this first section, the interpretation of the words in the term “project management” are being explained and discussed, in order to have a better understanding of project management. However, different people are likely to have different views and ideas to the term of “project management” because the discipline of project management has been evolved and developed over the last 50 years and more. There are a number of more formal definitions in the project management literature, such as “project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities in order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from a project” by the Project Management Institute (PMI) in USA. However, the simplest one could be that project management is a way of managing change. This could be change from the status quo or seizing the opportunities. Every project creates its unique product or service but it is proceeded through the same processes and project has to go through it. Every project has a start and end; and as a project is a temporary work that takes time so it is different from the ongoing operations of some businesses, such as routine services provided in a hospital or a fire station. This is also a process focused, which means planning, monitoring and control and also review and update should be carried out all the way during a project.

2. Key Principles of Project Management

Interestingly, traditional project management focuses on providing a high level of control throughout the project, with a heavy focus on proper documentation. However, more and more project managers start to adopt the Agile methodology, especially in the software development industry. Agile is an iterative, flexible and incremental approach to manage a project and it is more suitable for projects which are experiencing constant changes (Bell, 2005). The most important thing to be successful in Agile project management is to embrace changes; that is the customers can change the requirement of the final product at any point of the project. Also, small functional pieces of the product are delivered in a relatively short time; this can maintain a high level of stakeholder engagement. “Scrum” is a type of the Agile methodology, which is a very simple process that does not require any documentation work. The project development using Scrum is divided into 30-day cycles called “sprints”. At the end of each sprint, stakeholders are able to see a working product and that makes it easy to critique if there is something wrong. In addition, the project owner and the development team have opportunities to evaluate and adjust for the next sprint to make sure the final product can meet the satisfaction of the end users. Although the Agile practices are actually getting more and more popular in the project management community, which enables engineers and technical workers to produce excellent solutions. However, so far there is still a big gap in the market for skilled project managers who have experience in leading and directing the project using the Agile methods. It seems that nowadays many companies are looking for managers who understand and have experience in using Agile, with examples of success. Eventually, organizations began to recognize the merit of Agile method that is able to act responsively to changes in the market. PMI provides an Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) certification which was launched since Mar-2012 to provide professional recognition to Agile project practitioners. By obtaining the PMI-ACP certification, the project managers will be granted evidence of their real-world practical knowledge and ability in the Agile project management, which will facilitate in their employment of job and career development.

Fundamentally, projects are about creating value for organizations. They are temporary organizations to achieve specific goals and objectives. Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements. Project managers must not only know how to lead a team, but must also know how to plan, execute, and deliver the project. The “Project Management Body of Knowledge” (PMBOK) from the Project Management Institute (PMI) defines the five elements of a project as “a project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end, a defined scope and defined resources. The primary constraint for any project is the scope, which is not allowed to fluctuate.”

3. Effective Project Planning and Execution

Last but not least, an effective project plan will provide a detailed day-to-day workflow of a project indicating the project activities and who is responsible at each step. This will make it easy for a project manager to track the project and make it progress according to the plan. There are several reasons why project planning is so important: time and cost control, life flow, quality assurance, effective communication, improved risk management, customer satisfaction, and customer’s acceptance of final results. Keep these items in mind when developing a project plan as well as throughout the project, and definitely you will have a successful project.

A project plan gives the project manager a tool for managing the project formally. It provides a framework for all team members to work together and create an efficient plan to accomplish the project’s goal. Moreover, it offers a method to establish an agreed-upon methodology to follow. In addition, a completed project plan creates a set of all the project’s activities, the estimated time frames, and the workflow. A good project plan will define the who, what, where, when, and how of the project. These elements form the foundation of the project plan. The project manager and all the team members should work together to produce a project plan. The project manager is looking for team members to contribute their particular skills or expertise. When each project team member takes ownership of something in the plan, the project manager will be able to use the project plan to monitor and control the project.

Effective project execution relies on a well-developed project plan. A project plan is a detailed written overview of all the activities needed for the successful completion of a project. It estimates the cost and the time required and presents a detailed schedule of work. In creating the project plan, close collaboration between the project manager and the team is highly encouraged. This participatory approach fosters trust and allows team members to take ownership for certain activities. It also reduces the likelihood of important tasks being overlooked or forgotten because team members are responsible for determining the activities they need to complete.

4. Managing Project Risks and Issues

After the risks and issues are identified, the next step is to determine the level of risk – moderate, high or very high. If the level of risk is low, in many cases, no action needs to be taken. However, a “Low Risk” issue should be reassessed through subsequent risk analysis to ensure the issue actually remains at the “Low Risk” level. Action plans are also identified to maintain or reduce the level of risk and to correct an issue once it has occurred. Some potential actions include accepting the risk, avoiding the risk, reducing the negative effect of the risk, and transferring the risk to another area. The organization’s standard policies and procedures for risk management should be followed. Action plans for risk scenarios are created under the guidance of the project manager, but with input from the project team members. The selected action plan must address the level of risk identified and the potential cost in time and resources to maintain or reduce the level of risk. Ongoing risk management activities are done by project team members while the project is being implemented and are an integral part of the ongoing development and improvement of the risk management plan throughout the life of the project. Project team members are given the responsibility for monitoring their respective areas and reporting any newly identified risks or issues that occur during the project so that they can be addressed in a timely manner. By doing so, a living document of continuous improvement and risk management is established. The goal of this process is to require the project team to make decisions and to implement practices throughout the project’s life cycle that will help minimize the overall impact of the risks realized.

5. Ensuring Project Success: Monitoring and Evaluation

Despite the most careful planning, things can still go wrong and projects can still fail. This is why monitoring and evaluation is so crucial. In fact, no project should start without a plan for how it will be monitored and evaluated. Monitoring is the regular collection and analysis of information to help you manage your project. It mainly answers questions about whether things are going to plan, and is the responsibility of the project manager and project team members. Evaluation, on the other hand, looks at the project’s success and impact. It involves identifying any gaps between what was planned and what actually happened, and answering questions about the value and impact of the project. Evaluations are often carried out at the end of a project, but it is useful to plan for more than one evaluation during the project’s life. A common approach is starting with a baseline evaluation at the beginning of the project, and then doing one or more further evaluations as your project progresses. This allows you to track your project’s success over time and respond to any findings from the evaluation as the project continues. When planning monitoring and evaluation, you should consider including both quantitative data, such as counts and surveys, as well as qualitative data, like interviews and feedback. Make sure that you give equal consideration, so that you collect a wide range of information that provides different insights into your project. It is important to consider how any data will be collected, managed and stored, to make sure that it is done so in a secure and ethical manner. For example, data protection law requires that personal data is kept securely and used in line with the rights and choices of the people whose data it is. Make sure that you include the appropriate resources and expertise in your plan, to ensure that monitoring and evaluation runs smoothly. This could mean budgeting for a specific team member to take responsibility, such as a data or information manager, or providing training for people who will be involved in collecting or managing data. By being thorough and allocating resources in your monitoring and evaluation plan, you can maximise the chances of your project being successful and having a lasting impact.