The Process of Project Management
Let's look at the project management process:
Figure 3: The project management process sequence
With this framework in mind, some of the tasks that happen within each block are:
Initiating |
Planning |
Executing & Controlling |
Closing |
Conduct a situation analysis
Conduct a feasibility study
Identify the involved departments
Develop evaluation criteria
Select the core team
Write a requirements document |
Develop the core project team
Identify project tasks
Complete work breakdown structure
Develop a responsibility chart
Develop a task network plan
Identify critical areas (risk analysis)
Develop baseline project schedule
Identify the critical path |
Monitor project progress
Hold milestone meetings
Refine detailed plan for the next milestone
Implement plan changes
Complete regular project status reports |
Complete project documentation
Conduct project review
Record and share project experiences
Close out project
Ensure project benefits get achieved |
Figure 4: Table showing distribution of tasks
The above items describe the technical side of project management. Now let us focus on a few behavioral approaches that permeate all activities throughout every project.
A requirements document includes a goal or project objectives statement. It says what you will accomplish, by when, and for how much. Get this statement clear and validated by your sponsor and partners, and you just made the work much easier. Many projects suffer the plague of vague goals, scarce resources, and impossible deadlines. That should become the old story. Many teams I've facilitated through this step in the process are amazed by the power of clear, convincing, and compelling statements of purpose, vision, mission, and goals. People finally understand exactly what the project is about. Discussions then focus on how, not what, to do. This invokes their creative juices and leads to more productive projects. You are now embarking upon the new story.
|
Definitions
of Project Success
