All organizations or companies have daily activities and they also have ongoing projects. The main difference here is that a project is temporary with defined timeframe, scope, and resources.
A project is also unique operation with specified goal such as, market expansion, new product development, system improvements, etc. Project Management is the field of managing projects using available knowledge, tools, and techniques to meet the project requirements.
Project Management Institute (pmi.org) defines project management as a five-group process: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. Initiating phase evaluates the current condition or issue to define the goal of a project and consider whether this project is feasible and necessary for solving such issue.
Hence, it is important to conduct feasibility testing during this stage. The planning phase focuses on creating the roadmap towards the goals and objectives. One prominent principle for setting goals is S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) concept.
Specific means it is clear what the goal is, who is responsible, the reason for the goal, the deadline, and other critical information about the goal. Measurable means each goal has a specific variable or criteria that reflect the results. Attainable defines what resources and steps are needed for each goal and realistic means the goal is feasible for the project. Lastly, Timely means every goal has a defined timeframe.
The project Execution phase is where every action and deliverables are executed. This phase usually starts by having a ‘kick-off’ meeting where the project manager informs every stakeholder about the projects.
Activities within this phase include developing a team, setting up tracking systems, task allocations, adjusting projects if needed, etc. During the execution phase, monitoring and controlling are also conducted to measure the progression and performance and solving existing problems through corrective actions.
Moreover, Project Managers also observing important KPIs, budgets, risk factors, schedules, and other important aspects of the project to ensure the project is aligned to the plan. Lastly, the closing phase indicates that the project is completed and presented to stakeholders. The results, decisions, problems, and performance are evaluated to improve the upcoming projects.
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