Everyone supports project management to make it easier and more successful for businesses and other organisations to finish their projects. Today, many companies use project management because it helps them decide which tasks are most important and how to solve problems, making it more likely that the project will be finished successfully. But project management benefits the company and the customer since the customer is involved in the whole process.
This blog will discuss ‘What is Project Management?’ in detail. We will learn about the importance and characteristics of project management.
What is Project Management?
Project management is keeping track of all the tasks that need to be done within a specific time frame and budget for a project to be completed successfully.
In addition, project management has six limitations:
- Scope
The project must be planned with the scope in mind and a list of deliverables that have already been set.
- Time
One of the most important KPIs for a successful project is meeting deadlines, which is why time management is essential for everyone involved. If you want to finish the project on time, give yourself as specific a timeline as possible.
- Quality
It is rare for something like quality to be affected by something else, like time or money. The project’s rate will decrease if time and money are saved.
- Cost
The budget is also significant. It includes labour, production, administration, software, and equipment costs.
- Risk
At each project stage, it’s up to the project manager to look for possible risks. Risk assessment involves thinking about different “what-if” scenarios and finding ways to deal with each one.
- Resources
Each job needs a different set of materials. In this case, “resources” could mean anything from “people” to “time” to “equipment” to “other supplies.”
Moving forward, let’s discuss the characteristics of project management.
5 Characteristics of Project Management
Project management requires a focus on systems, which include goals, context, parts, and how they all work together. This is why a “systems approach” to management is sometimes used to describe project management.
As a result of adapting ideas from the classical, behavioural, and systems views to the unique needs of projects, a new set of pictures has come about, which could be called the “project viewpoint.”
According to Cleland and Kind, the following are some of the traits of good project management:
- Single Focal Point
- Project Integration
- Focused product delivery
- Team Work
- Multifunctional in Nature
Single Focal Point
The project manager makes sure that everyone and everything that needs to work together to finish the project does so. They are officially in charge of the project and have the power to make decisions outside of the standard chain of command. How the project is set up shows that the work is interdisciplinary and goal-oriented.
Project Integration
Because every project is different, it often needs help from various departments. The project manager’s job is to bring together all of the professionals working on the project.
Focused product delivery
A project manager’s main job is to ensure all technical needs are met on time and on budget. Functional units must have a steady supply of resources to work toward the organisation’s overall goals instead of just specific project goals.
So, project managers and functional managers often disagree about how to divide a project’s resources in the best way.
Team Work
To get the most out of their motivation and work, all project team members and supporting functional units should be involved in making decisions, taking on responsibilities, deciding what the results will be, and deciding on incentives.
Multifunctional in Nature
Even though the project organisation is temporary, the functional units that make it up are not. When a project is done, the people who worked on it split up. Some return to their usual departments, while others move on to new things.
A project can be started by more than one part of a company. While R&D is in charge of developing new technologies, marketing usually starts product development and related projects (R&D).
When a project is managed, it starts a chain of supporting tasks, such as evaluating employees, reporting on finances, and entering and organising data.
Importance of Project Management
A good project manager will have many rules and procedures to control the workers and the work. In a business setting, good project management has a lot of benefits.
Cost-cutting
If you create procedures and processes once, you can use them for all future projects. One of the benefits of project management is that it provides a standard way of doing things. Because of this, less time and money are needed to finish the project.
Improving working conditions
If a project goes well, the client will want to be more involved. This improves the work environment, which boosts the confidence and morale of the project team.
Better financial management
If the actual costs of a project are estimated more accurately, the company can handle its money better. Because of this, it may be easier to plan for and control financial stability and costs.
Resolving difficulties
Challenges with a project take a lot of time and work from everyone on the team. This is because team members need to learn how to solve project problems. When problems arise in the middle of a project, the management process helps find and implement solutions quickly, as long as the project is planned and managed well.
Risk assessment
With the help of the project management process, it is possible to accurately predict and avoid risks that could hurt the project soon.
Improving the quality of the end product
The project management method allows team members to meet their customers’ needs better. After figuring out what a customer wants, the team may implement quality assurance and control measures to meet those needs.
Let us discuss the characteristics of a project now.
You May Also Like: The Real AWS Interview Questions and Answers You Need to See
6 Characteristics of a Project
Each project is unique. Each project needs to be treated as a separate task. Here are some of the things that make a project stand out.
- Objectives –
Each project has goals, such as how much money needs to be spent, how good the end product needs to be, and how much work needs to be done. The first step is to figure out what the fundamental goals of the project are. The success of a project can be measured by comparing the original plans to the updated versions of those plans. This is called “time-to-time analysis,” It can be used along with other metrics that depend on the project’s goals.
- Single entity –
On the other hand, a project is a group of activities that work together. This means a project is still seen as a whole, even if many people work on it. Teams are often put together for the duration of a project.
- The Life Cycle –
A project’s life cycle comprises stages: beginning, growth, peak performance, and end. A project has to go through many steps before it can reach its end goal. Take, for example, a project to make software. Its life cycle is called SDLC, which stands for Software Development Lifecycle. It includes many steps, like planning, defining, designing, building, testing, and deploying.
- Team Spirit –
The people working on this project come from different backgrounds and specialise in various fields of study, so they must work well together. Harmony, enthusiasm for the mission, and teamwork are all critical for success, but more is needed to reach the goal independently.
- Uniqueness –
In some ways, no two projects are the same. Even if the business plans for both projects are the same, there will be a lot of differences. When figuring out what makes a project unique, it’s essential to look at various factors, such as goals, project features, possible uses, etc.
- Flexibility –
A project is a change of some kind. During the life of a project, a lot of things can happen. As a result of the changes, efforts may become more flexible and easy to change.
This concludes our study of project management’s meaning, importance, and characteristics. Getting a certification in project management is a great way to learn more about managing projects.
