Projects are all around us

Everything that we wear, that we eat, that we touch, or use every day, was an outcome of a successful project to create a unique product that you’re enjoying now. Projects literally run the modern economy. And they are managed through project management processes.

What is the project?

So, before moving to project management fundamentals. let’s first understand what the project is?

A project is a temporary endeavor, undertaken to achieve a particular aim in a certain duration and budget. Every project has a start and finish date with something to deliver under a certain cost.

The project always produces a unique output, and it doesn’t continue forever. It ends, when the objectives are met. In short, projects are Temporary, Time-bound, and unique.

Projects require continuous movement of resources and procedures to achieve their goals. Without these rhythmic efforts, the project cannot reach its desired destination in a given budget & time.

Project Management fundamentals

In the 1950s, organizations started to systematically apply project-management tools and techniques to complex engineering projects.

While the Project management term itself wasn’t coined until the 1950s.The use of project management dates back to the ancient genesis of flood times. It’s how Noah managed the construction work of the ark to save humanity on the earth.

Project management is the art and science of getting things done in a given timeline and budget. An art because there is no one definitive answer for how to best manage a project, and a science because there are well-developed techniques and processes that can help significantly to complete a project successfully.

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements”. It’s how the first high-speed rail system was constructed in Japan in 1964 and is widely known as the bullet train.

It’s how the world’s largest offshore wind farm was constructed in the factory in London and installed in the middle of the ocean. It is how the International Space Station was created by a consortium of 15 nations and five space agencies.

Definition for Project Management

To further understand the project management fundamentals, you must know that how project management bodies define project management.

According to Project Management Institute, Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.

According to Association for Project Management, Project management is the application of processes, methods, skills, knowledge, and experience to achieve specific project objectives, according to the project acceptance criteria within agreed parameters. Project management has final deliverables, that are constrained to a finite timescale, and budget.

As per Wikipedia, Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve goals, and meet success criteria at a specified time. The main challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals within the given constraints.

Project management requires both theory, and practice.

Project management is a hybrid area that combines different disciplines, methods, and ideas.

For efficient integration of these knowledge areas, project team need to monitor, and control the various flows. You can think of project management as managing three flows of project. The flow of the people, the flow of the process, and the flow of the tool.

It needs mastery of theoretical concepts but also the skills to temper them with practical considerations.

It also deals with a reverse flow of return of experience at the end of project life for improvement in future projects.

Any organization that wants to manage its project successfully, needs to have the right people, the right process, and the right tools. All three together at same time.

The primary constraints of a project are scope, time, and budget. also known as triple constraints.

The triple constrains, also known as project management triangle, refers to the boundaries of time, scope, and cost that apply to every project. The project management processes are responsible for meeting these constraints, and controlling project schedule, cost and scope.

Conclusion

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to a project. It demands both theory, and practice. It’s combination of different disciplines, methods, and ideas

Do you have a question about project management? Let me know by leaving a comment below right now. 

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