It’s less about jumping on people’s backs to remind them of looming deadlines and meetings, instead, project management follows a set of methodologies and processes to maximise each stage of a project lifecycle.
Each industry poses different challenges and there are suitable methods for each, we’ll talk about those later, but one thing remains the same no matter the circumstance: there is always the expectation to deliver on business objectives.
Let’s start our guide on project management by first defining what it means.
Project management refers to the framework used to guide teams to success. Through the organisation, planning and directing of projects that meet objectives, budget, and deadline constraints.
In a report conducted by Finances Online in 2020, we get a feel for how important project management can be to an organisation and conversely, how damaging it can be to not have projects managed well.
Here are some key takeaways:
You can read the full list of ‘95 Essential Project Management Statistics’ here
To ensure consistency of results, project management uses a five-phase process that consists of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring/controlling and closing.
Here we’ll break down each phase and what they entail.
The first step in a project lifecycle is the initiation phase. It's during this phase that a company decides whether a project is vital and determines the high-level expectations for the project.
Typically, stakeholders will judge the need for a project in a number of ways:
This explains how the project meets the business’s long-term goals. It also describes an overview of the scope of the project, and what resources the business will need including the tools, budget and time for completion.
Business cases are the first port of call in convincing upper management of the need to invest in a project.
This details the likelihood of a project’s success based on all of the high-level factors such as time, budget and scope constraints. The feasibility study lets stakeholders know whether the project is financially and technically viable to pursue.
A project charter is a comprehensive document that a project manager completes during the initiation phase,In it, you’ll detail the objectives, the processes and resources for executing and monitoring objectives, and mention which stakeholders will need to be involved as you move through each stage of the project lifecycle.
The planning phase is where project managers develop a roadmap that the team can follow throughout the project lifecycle. Following the authorisation of a project charter, a project plan is created to outline key deliverables and milestones and how each will be completed.
A good project plan will go into more detail on which team members will be involved, their roles and responsibilities, the budget and timeline constraints, potential risks and plans for communications between the team and stakeholders.
A popular framework for establishing goals is the SMART method:
This is where the theory is put into practice! All of the information formulated in the project planning phase is executed while the project manager tracks the progress of the team and adapts to any changes.
The execution phase links closely with the next phase, monitoring and controlling to keep everything running smoothly and on task. A typical structure for executing deliverables looks something like this:
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As mentioned in phase three, execution, the monitoring and controlling phase happens simultaneously alongside it. It’s no good hitting GO! and hoping for the best. Project lifecycles need to be carefully monitored throughout to keep teams, tasks and milestones in check. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are used to assess progress, here are some examples of how you can track performance:
The final phase marks the completion of a project and it’s turned in to the client, stakeholders or another internal team member. Closing a project is an opportunity for managers to review the failures and successes with their team. A post-project review reveals critical insights that can be used in the future.
Some indicators of whether a project has been successful would be:
All that’s left to do now is get the relevant parties to sign off on the project so it can be officially closed out. Then grab the team for afternoon cocktails!
Although there is a proven five-phase process for project management, there are in fact several methodologies you can use to dictate how a project is approached, managed and monitored.
Here are the 5 most commonly used frameworks for project management:
Waterfall project management priorities upfront planning that details each and every stage of the project, to be completed in sequential order. Before moving on to another stage, the first must be completed so it flows naturally (like a waterfall). The waterfall methodology is deemed the “traditional” approach to project management.
Much like the name implies, the agile methodology is designed to deal with unexpected variables and enables the team to make incremental changes to projects on the fly. With projects that have unknown details or are expected to change often, the agile method sets teams up to cope with this volatility.
The lean methodology aims to trim any excess waste and increase efficiency at each of a project’s stages. This happens by mapping out the entire project lifecycle and seeing where to build value from a customer perspective at all times.
The scrum framework is the most popular type of agile methodology. Scrum focuses on small teams, meetings, frequent communication between teams and iterative, short development cycles known as ‘sprints’ to get the job done.
The kanban methodology emphasises a continuous workflow through visualisation. So each stage of the project is visually mapped out using cards and columns to show what needs to be done and when the project can advance to the next stage.
Project managers, and the subsequent processes they follow, are instrumental in delivering successful projects that meet business objectives and win high praise from clients. They are responsible for driving teams, controlling the lifecycle and producing excellent results. And their value is only growing to be more recognised and sought after for organisations wanting to thrive.
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