Communications Planning, Information Distribution, Performance Reporting, Managing Stakeholders - Essay Example

?Project management is the set of activities undertaken to accomplish a task at hand. As the implies, it is the managing of all elements that are in the scope of a particular project. A project itself is a separate independent entity that has various stages and components. The stages start from the initiation phase and last till the completion phase. Various other variables of the project include the stakeholders, budget, investors, policy makers, and the staff employed. The discipline of project management ensures that the objectives behind a project are met in a desired manner. The management of project components and clustering them under one unit is very important (Haugan, 2011). Project management enables following the guidelines and use of the right kind of tool and technique for performing the project. It further allows integration of stages of a project that are namely planning, organizing, staffing, leading and controlling phase (Weihrich & Cannice,pg 4, 2010). Project management further keeps a check on the various constraints that must be taken into account. These constraints are in time completion of project, keeping the costs within the allotted budget, and finally monitoring the performance at different levels of project by individuals and workgroups. The project performed was aimed at providing relief to the commuters in the particular area which is being congested due to traffic .A solution is proposed in form of A3 Hind head project which will ease the traffic load and bring about relief. Out of the nine broadly defined areas of management, four are needed to be taken into consideration which are as follows: ‘Managing the scope of the project in controlling the project through aims, goals and objectives of its sponsors. The first of nine elements is indispensible and must be taken into consideration. As a general rule of management and project execution, the knowledge of particular area, and identification and understanding of scope is the foundation brick towards the rest of proceedings. A clear scope will help moving in the right direction while a deviated scope would result in divergences (Marmel, pg 14, 2007). The aim of any project enables drawing boundaries and focus on the region of interest only. Not just in case of the A3 Hind head project, but every project needs to have its aim clearly defined. The aim should be clearly conveyed to all the stakeholders both inside the organization and outside in order to enable them working according to the requirements. ‘Managing time planning, scheduling and controlling the project to achieve the time objectives through recognized control methodologies.’ This is the second most important element of managerial approach. Effective planning in any stage of project has its direct effect on the project, planning gives a roadmap as to what to achieve and how to achieve it ,it is the table work for practical implementation, scheduling of activities enable synchronization of work and allows reduction of extra activities which might consume resources and do not contribute towards the productivity. A generalized objective of any project is the completion of project in time, the element of scheduling is one of the most important factors to be considered since delay can have severe negative repercussions on the project and its stakeholders. Scheduling enables achieving work break down structure (Harris, 2010). The controlling aspect is also implementable to different components of the project body. Controlling could be in form of the spending, the inventory, and the transportation costs. Methodologies always help in standardizing the working procedures. Projects that involve the public directly, can less afford delays and schedule stretches, Hind Head is a similar case where public contact is in direct question, therefore this is one of the four most important elements needed to be taken in to account. Project Integration Management – develop the project charter, scope statement, and Plan. Direct, manage, Monitor and control Project Change. Project integration pertains to the unification and channelization of all the processes undertaken which range from scope definition to the strategy planning to the field level execution. Charter development would serve as a manifesto that will determine the action plan. This approach will result in a synergetic effect which will enable enhancing the capabilities of each of the units and contribute towards the ultimate cause of providing relief to the commuters. Integration management involves using all the required tools, techniques and expertise available in bid to make the project a success. Choice of this unit for project element will allow coping with the change management and further creation of alternates (Cioffi, 2002). ‘Project Communications Management – Communications planning, information distribution, performance reporting, managing stakeholders Communication is of immense essence for every project. Communication in our daily life plays the role of tool which enables reaching out to each other. In the context of project and organization, without communication the overall proceedings would come to a halt. Different working groups and stakeholders are involved in a project both inside the organization and outside. Within the organization communication can be between the top management and lower management and outside the organization it could be with the donors, supply chain staff and other participants (Kliem, 2007)). Besides the above mentioned areas of importance, a project mix of costs consideration along with quality should be the priority while handling the project. Costs should not exceed the budget and processes should be performed with in the allotted funds. In terms of the quality, it is the unique metric that can turn the project hard work either way. Customer satisfaction can be achieved through quality. Quality is a subjective definition and varies from field to field which is the achievement of conformance level (S & A.,pg 1, 2009). In context of this project, quality can be measured by the ease provided to the commuters along with the material used. The four highlighted elements cover nearly all the important areas of the project and if they are implemented in accordance with the guidelines of project management portfolio, it can result in hundred percent success of the entire project that is aimed at benefiting the common citizens who use the fairway on regular basis. The project manager plays a key role in putting all these plans to successful execution (Newton, 2009). Bibliography: 1-Cioffi, D. F., 2002. “Managing Project Integration”. Vienna: Management Concepts. 2-Harris, P., 2010.” Planning and Scheduling Using Microsoft Project 2010”. Victoria: Eastwood Harris Pty Ltd. 3-Haugan, G. T., 2011. “Project Management Fundamentals: Key Concepts and Methodology”. Vienna: Management Concepts. 4-Kliem, R. L., 2007. “Effective Communications for Project Management”. Boca Raton: Auerbach Publications. 5-Marmel, E., 2007. “Microsoft Project 2007 Bible”. Indianapolis: John Wiley & Sons. 6-Newton, R., 2009. “The Project Manager: Mastering the Art of Delivery”. Harlow: Pearson Education, Limited. 7-S, N. R. & A., A. A., 2009.” Total Quality Management”. New Delhi: New Age International. 8-Weihrich, H. & Cannice, M. V., 2010. “Management”. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Read More