Business needs necessitate the development of projects in a dynamic organization. To maintain the dynamics, it is necessary to understand the project management framework essentials comprising of Project, Project Profession, Project Manager and the Project Management Processes
A thorough knowledge of above terms helps the organization, the Project Manager and his team, and the stakeholders to carry out / support project operations. This blog is about these terms
Project Management Framework Essentials-1, the basic elements for understanding Project Management
Project and Project Management BLOG 2
The Project
The Project Manager
The Professional
The Project Management
What does project mean?
The business directory meaning is given below:
Project – an individual or collaborative enterprise that is carefully planned to achieve an aim in a defined period. A project is a task that requires a lot of time and effort.
A project is a series of actions or steps that can be taken to achieve an end. A project is considered complete after completion of required processes in the project life cycle.
About projects:
The project has a beginning and the end.
It is temporary.
It delivers products, services or results.
The project deliverables may be tangible or intangible.
The project is unique. No two projects are similar.
A project is a temporary endeavor with a beginning and end. It is unique and delivers goods services and results. The project is a business need and is executed for the necessary requirement and in different environment (political, social, environmental, location specific etcetera).
The project is unique as there cannot be the two similar projects.
Projects have their origin centuries back and remains of these projects still can be seen. Let us not forget the wonders of world – the old and the new, which were the projects and were managed.
A body of knowledge with agreed contents was created to account for all the good practices, the art and science of management and was called as Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). Project Management Institute which is recently a pioneer in project Management throughout the world issued a guide to PMBOK. This guide is regularly updated and upgraded.
PMBOK-describes the knowledge within the profession of project management
PMBOK guide of PMI is a baseline which can be used to customize the use of good practices, tools and techniques etcetera for delivering the goods and services through various projects in various environments. It also provides the support to achieve Project
Management Professional certification (PMP®) – a much needed certification for better managing the projects using Intelligent Quotient (IQ) and Emotional Intelligence (EI) techniques.
This guide is based on standard of American National Standard Institute (ANSI)- ‘The Standard for Project Management’.
Project Life Cycle– PLC is from start to end of the project period and passes through the phases of Initiation, Planning, Execution and Closing. During its travel through different phases it needs the support of Project Processes and Knowledge Areas.
Every part of the PLC above may be considered as project phase of varying durations depending upon the magnitude of the project. The project phases may be Sequential (second phase starts after completion of first phase), Overlapping (second phase may start before the completion of the first phase),
The project management process includes the efforts required to project, in project initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closing in all the knowledge areas of the project
The project management matrix shown above contains all the Knowledge Areas, the Project Management Process Groups and the project processes which further need detailed study to grasp and master the Project management
Project Manager
The very important person for linking project, its management, management of the business objectives and the customer or sponsor need, is the Project Manager.
The managers utilized the skills and experience, tools and techniques, the processes to complete the work and in doing so they were recognized for their efforts and as such they became professionals.
It has been noted that in the organizations, this post is designated to a person based on his participatory technical support or as per seniority list. And most of the time it is seen that he is very qualified person with in depth knowledge in some knowledge areas. Such person is not the right person assigned at a job of project manager. The Project Manager should be a generalist having knowledge of project works, including technical, social, commercial and environmental aspects. He may have not in-depth knowledge, but have wide knowledge in the application area, along with use of tools and techniques, experience, good interpersonal skills with good communication abilities. He should be supported by specialist members in the team in the various operations of the project. An Example of the project team is given below:
The project manager should place a plan for execution only after it is agreed with the stakeholder
Project manager must be a professional.
Professional
Wikipedia defines professionals as follows:
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who earns their living from a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the knowledge and skills necessary to perform their specific role within that profession. In addition, most professionals are subject to strict codes of conduct and ethics. PMI provide professional certificate covering these aspects.
Medics in many Western countries take the Hippocratic oath upon entering the profession, as a personal commitment to upholding a number of ethical and moral standards.
And in maintaining this ethics and conduct the professional is supposed to have f the following traits, but not limited to:
Must be an Expert
Laborious- to get his output acknowledged.
Good communication and willingness to satisfy the stakeholders
Sharing of experiences / knowledge and good practices
One must maintain a cordial atmosphere in dealing with the profession and have a desire, direction, dedication and discipline for the profession so that he may ultimately get the reward for his skills, knowledge, tool a and techniques require for successful completion of professional job.
“A true professional not only follows but loves the processes, policies and principles set by his profession.”
― AMIT KLANTRI
Sometimes senior person or specialist of the organization are appointed to takes over the responsibility. Such person may not be fruitful unless he cashes the opportunity given with his will power and using both the IQ and the Emotional Intelligence. But it is not desirable to do so.
A professional should be appointed with wider work area knowledge of all the subjects, may be in little depth. Project Manager, if selected because of his knowledge, tools and techniques, skills and their application, and to the satisfaction of organization, may ultimately be responsible for success or failure of the project.
Project manager must use both art (the use of Emotional Intelligence) and science of management (the use of work-oriented IQ) to manage his work.
“Management is, above all, a practice where art, science, and craft meet.” – Henry Mintzberg
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