Project Management Refers to the Discipline of Securing - Essay Example

?Project management Introduction A project is a temporary endeavor whose beginning and end are clearly defined. Every project is undertaken to add value or bring beneficial changes hence its resources should be well organized and utilized to ensure they achieve the outlined unique goals and objectives. This requires the hiring of competent project managers who will conduct a good and successful project management. By definition, project management refers to the discipline of securing, planning, organizing and managing available resources with an aim of achieving a successful completion of a project and the attainment of its goals and objectives (Bjarne 2007). Each project undertaken is unique in terms of its timeline, cost, objectives, roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders and participants, issues and constrains and this requires the use of the right approach or methodology. The main challenges of project management are satisfactory achievement of goals and objectives and overcoming all project constrains. These constrains include time, project scope and budget. There is also a challenge of integrating and allocating necessary inputs. This means that a successful completion of a project and the attainment of its goals and objectives requires the use of the right approach or methodology and the utilization of appropriate project management tools and techniques. According to Ireland (2006), project management techniques refers to the ways in which we communicate, gather information and get things done in the most effective and efficient ways. Project management tools are helpful in the efficient organization and management of a project. Generally, the project management tools and techniques should have an overall effect of ensuring that the particular project does not over run and that it operates within its allocated budget. They are also important for the quick spotting of delays so that necessary steps are taken to rectify them (Ireland 2006). Wysocki (2007) defines project management methodology as a set of practices and processes that are repeatedly carried out throughout the project in order to deliver the expected outcomes. The chosen methodology gives a clear process of managing the undertaken project. After customizing to the project environment, the project methodology directs on what should be done, how, in what order and by when. A project methodology can therefore be used create a project roadmap, control change and scope, monitor quality, time and cost, manage staff and supplies, and minimize project risks and issues. Popular project management tools, techniques and methodology in market Project management tools The most popular project management tools in the market are Gantt chart, PERT chart, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Logic Network and Product Breakdown Structure (PBS). A Gantt chart is a chart that illustrates the schedule of a project. The chart tracks tasks across time hence it indicates the starting and finishing dates of the projects’ terminal elements (Wallace and Gantt 1922). Some Gantt charts are able to illustrate precedence network or dependency relationships between various project activities. Most importantly, it is possible to use a Gantt chart to show a projects current schedule status. This is done using a vertical TODAY line and percent-complete shadings. A Gantt chart is important in tool for showing resources, tasks, phases and milestones required as part of a project. The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) chart is a project management tool used for the analysis of all tasks involved in the completion of a particular project. This mainly includes identifying the time required to complete each project task and the total project. According to Malcolm et al (1959), a PERT chart gives a graphic representation of a project as a network diagram composed of numbered nodes linked by directional lines. The numbered codes represent project events or milestones while the directional lines represent project tasks. A PERT chart is therefore able to give a clear illustration of task dependencies. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a detailed, hierarchical tree structure of all project deliverables and the activities that have to be performed for the project to be completed. In actual sense, a WBS involves the decomposition of work in a deliverable-oriented hierarchical manner. This is the work that should be executed by the project team in order to create the required deliverables and accomplish objectives of the project. Haughey (2010) explains that the purpose of a WBS is to accurately and clearly organize and define the scope of a project. It makes project deliverables more concrete and precise so that the project team understands what is needs to be accomplished within each deliverable. Product Breakdown Structure (PBS) as a project management tool refers to a detailed, hierarchical tree structure of all components that form part of a project’s deliverable. These components are arranged in a whole-part relationship. A PBS is a product-based planning and hence it can be used to clarify the expected project products. It clearly identifies what the project will deliver while helping to develop a work breakdown structure (Project Management Institute 2003). According to Klastorin (2003), Logic Network illustrates the sequence of project activities across time. It illustrates relationships between project activities by indicating which one among them logically follows or precedes another one. This project management tool is important in the understanding timescale, dependencies in the project and workflow Project management techniques The most popular project management techniques in the market are critical path analysis, business change analysis and time cycle analysis. Others include gap analysis and facilitation. Business Change Analysis is a project management technique that is used to integrate all activities of change into a complete program of sequential changes. In this management technique, the needs of the business is the chief driving force behind all aspects of social, operational, technological and managerial changes (Klastorin 2003). In Business Change Analysis, all changes are identified and prioritized for correct sequencing and this helps to maximize benefits verses constrains (Klastorin 2003). Critical path analysis is an project management technique used to identify the essential and non-essential/non-critical activities associated with a work plan or business process and the slack associated with each non-essential activity. The results from this analysis defines the project’s critical path and this part is a sequential set of essential and related steps that comprise a value stream. Cycle Time Analysis is project management technique examines the time period required by an activity to complete its cycle. This time is measured by the length of time that a business input requires for it to be transformed to an output. According to Wysocki (2007), gap analysis is a set of techniques used to describe and examine the gap between the project’s current performance and its desired goals. Facilitation is a set of techniques used by a facilitator or a workshop leader to improve project team meeting or the operation of a workshop. Project management methodologies Long before the commencement of a project, a project manager has to decide the most suitable methodology to apply in their specific project. Though they may pick on what they have always used, this decision could also be guided by specific enterprise-wide initiatives. Popular project management methodologies include PRINCE2, Rational Unified Process, Critical Chain Project Management, Event chain methodology, Process-based management, scrum, and Adaptive Project Framework. PRINCE2 is a structured methodology that utilizes a process-based approach in project management. This methodology facilitates the management of projects within a well defined framework. The method describes how to design and supervise the project, how activities and people are coordinated within a project and the adjustments to make if the project fails to develop as planned. In this method, each process, its specific goals, key inputs and outputs, and activities to be carried out are specified. This facilitates automatic control of all deviations from the plan. PRINCE2 is divided into manageable stages hence it allows for efficient utilization of resources. In this method, a product-based planning is utilized and the development of a PBS is part of this (Wysocki 2007). Event chain methodology is a schedule network analysis and an uncertainty modeling technique that focuses on pointing out and managing events and event chains that impact on project schedules. This methodology facilitates quick modeling of uncertainties in the project’s schedules and helps to mitigate the unfriendly impact of psychological biases and heuristics. The method is based on five main principles that include event chain, critical events, project tracking with events, and event chain management (Project Management Institute 2003). According Kruchten (2000), a Rational Unified Process is a project management methodology that attempts to capture the best practices arising out of the development of modern software. This methodology allows the project managers and stakeholders to take into account the project’s changing requirements. The projects’ elements are integrated progressively and not once and for all. The risks associated with such elements are discovered during this integration process. In this methodology, the aim of the final assessment of a project is not only to give the status of the project but also, the changes required for in organizations. According to Bjarne (2007), the Adaptive Project Framework is a project management method that maximizes the value of a projector business by adjusting scope at every iteration. This methodology achieves this by making the client the main focus in deciding what constitutes the maximum value of the business. When the iteration has been completed, the client has the power to change the project’s direction depending on what was learned from all previous iterations. As a result of constant adjustments, the course of an APF project has to undergo through constant corrections to ensure that the business value is maximally delivered (Wysocki 2007). The method’s core value include being client-driven, client-focused, taking change as a better solution and not operating through the speculation of the future. Schwaber and Beedle (2002) explain scrum as an agile project management method whose goal is to greatly improve the performance and productivity of teams that have been paralyzed by complex and process-laden methodologies. In scrum, there is always a backlog of prioritized work to be done. In scrum, daily meetings called scrum are held and in these meetings, obstacles are raised and upcoming work and the project development are reported. There are also brief planning sessions in which the main items for the sprint are defined and a short heartbeat retrospectives for the reflection of past sprint (Schwaber and Beedle 2002). A scrum allows for the creation of self-organizing teams. This is achieved through the encouragement of verbal communication across all disciplines and among all team members. This methodology is designed for use in the management projects dealing with software development. It also a wrapper to other methods dealing with software development. Importance of project management tools, techniques and methodology Project management tools, techniques and methodology are important for the successful completion of a project and the attainment of the projects goals and objectives. The project management tools are important in the analysis of all tasks involved in the completion of a particular project and illustrating any task dependencies, if any, between the various project tasks. Others like the WBS are instrumental in the planning of the project. The project techniques have a big role in ensuring that the project activities run as scheduled while ensuring that all activities are directed towards the attainment of the project goals and objectives. Generally, project management techniques help to define the project’s critical path. The right project management methodology is important because it enables a project to honor its uniqueness in timeline, cost, objectives, roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders and participants, issues and constrains. A combination of the project methodology, techniques and tools gives a guide on what project activities are chosen and how these activities are coordinated for the attainment of project goals and objectives. Conclusion The type of project management tools selected is very important in the efficient organization and management of a project. Some of these tools illustrate precedence network or dependency relationships between various project activities while others like Gantt charts are illustrates the entire schedule of a project. Such information is essential in giving the actual status of a project at any particular time while forming a basis for future planning. The project technique selected serve as a guide of ensuring that the project operates within its allocated timeline and budget. It also identifies any mistakes so that timely actions can be applied. The project management methodology chosen by a project manager will determine the extend to which the project delivers the expected outputs. This is because it serves as a guide for managing the project. Therefore, it is true to say that the success of every project and the attainment of its goals and objectives depends on the selection of the correct project management methodology and the utilization of the most appropriate project management tools and techniques. References Bjarne Kousholt (2007). Project Management? –Theory and practice. Nyt Teknisk Forlag. Haughey Duncan (2010). Project Management Tools. Online: PMP http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-tools.html. Viewed on 21st July, 2011. Ireland Lewis (2006) Project Management. McGraw-Hill Professional. New York. Klastorin Ted (2003). Project Management: Tools and Trade-offs (3rd Ed). Wiley. New York Kruchten Philippe (2000). What Is the Rational Unified Process?Addison-Wesley Professional. Boston, MA. Malcolm et al (1959). “Application of a Technique for Research and Development Program Evaluation.” OPERATIONS RESEARCH (5) pp. 646-669 Project Management Institute (2003). A Guide To The Project Management Body Of Knowledge (3rd Ed). Project Management Institute. Agile Software Development with Scrum. Prentice Hall. New York. Wallace Clark and Gantt Henry (1922). The Gantt chart, a working tool of management. Ronald Press. New York. Wysocki Robert (2007). Effective Project Management (3rd Ed). Wiley Publishing, Inc. New York. Read More