What is project management?

Projects are temporary and are usually a unique product or service- something that has not been done. We’re going back to the basics to talk about the definition on projects and project management.  

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Transcript

This is Kaye B and welcome to another episode of PMP in a Snap. 

Let’s go back to the beginning and ask the question, what is project management? In theory, you know what a project is because you work on one every day, but you need to know the true definition for the PMP exam. 

Projects are temporary. Meaning that every project has a definite beginning and a definite end. Projects are usually a unique product or service- something that has not been done before and has a unique result. And they are performed by people.

Because projects are unique, they are continuously and constantly modified, improved and details are added as more information is known about the project, which is called progressive elaboration or  rolling wave planning. 

Projects are planned, executed and controlled and they drive change in organizations to achieve strategic goals by enable business value creation. 

You usually initiate Projects to solve problems or to take advantage of an opportunity. 

Now that we got the definition of projects out of the way, what is project management? 

It’s the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements by using five process groups: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and control and closing.

Managing projects include: 

·      Identifying requirements 

·      Addressing needs, concerns and expectations of stakeholders in a project

·      Maintaining communications among stakeholders. This includes setting up and carrying out the communication

·      Managing stakeholder expectations of the project deliverables

·      Balancing project constraints such as: scope, quality, schedule, budget, resources and risks

In addition to project management, there is program management and portfolio management. 

Program management is group of related projects and/or subprograms that are managed in a way to gain benefits and control instead of managing them individually. Program management concentrates on determining the way multiple projects should be managed 

Portfolio Management is a collection of projects, program, sub-portfolios, and operations that are grouped together for effective management of the work to meet strategic business objectives. 

Note that operations management is different from project management. Operations management focuses on the management of ongoing production or goods and/or services. The key word is ongoing. Project management is creating something unique, one-off. You can use project management to solve an issue and that solve becomes an operational. 

Some companies put this all together and have a project management office or PMO. A PMO is a dedicated department that centralizes the management of projects. It standardizes policies, methodologies and templates for projects within the organization It also provides guidance to others and support on how to manage projects and trains individuals on managing projects within the organization.  The PMO is responsible for managing projects within the organization and provides project managers to facilitate the project. 

That is your PMP in a Snap, we’ll talk next week.