3.  Why Use Project Management?

1.

Why bother with project management we sometimes get asked. Good question! The answer is simple - the need for Leadership!

In the following pages we will present five great leadership reasons for using project management.

Leadership Reason 1 - So, if you want the results, especially the deliverable, to be successful in meeting the original "Goals and Objectives", then you should adopt project management practices.

2.

If you don't track and steer, it is easy to get off track.

With project management it is easy to get early indications of course deviations and quickly get back on track while you still have a fighting chance.

Of course, if you don't care, you can just muddle through - but don't blame us for any disappointments!

3.

By "success" we mean:

• Producing a deliverable that satisfies the project's "Goals and Objectives" by doing what it is intended to do, when and at what cost, and
• The beneficiaries, e.g. the "users", are not only happy with the product, but
• The product produces the benefits intended

4.

Leadership Reason 2 - In simple terms, "Human Relations" really means providing Leadership. In this context, "leadership" means an ability to get things done well through others. It requires:

• A vision of the destination
• A compelling reason to get there
• A realistic timetable, and
• A capacity to attract a willing team

So a project needs a leader to answer the questions: "What? Why? and How?". That is to say:

1. What is it that we are trying to do?
2. Why are we doing it? And,
3. How are we going to get it done?

You might also ask another four questions, namely: "Who? Where? When? And How Much?" But these four are secondary and will come later.

5.

The project's leader is usually recognized as the "project manager" or "PM".

Some companies don't like to use the term "manager" as it implies a certain level in their staffing hierarchy with salary implications, and so you might be called a "coordinator" or "facilitator", or even an "administrator".

Nevertheless, you are like the captain of a ship - knowing where to go, how to get there and making sure that the ship arrives.

So, the PM's job is to "plan, organize, conduct, track and steer" the project to its destination.

This responsibility is typically referred to as "Planning & Controlling".