Scope, Deliverables, Communication Management and Risk Management - Coursework Example

Expert interview report Student’s Name University Affiliation INTRODUCTION This report has been written purposely to highlight fundamental elements of project management in a bid to expand knowledge concerning the topic. Ideally, it will contain background information and critical analysis of core aspects including scope, deliverables, communication management, risk management, leadership and management, timelines, budget and project quality. Information acquired from a quest lecturer, who is a professional project manager, will be compared with existing literature in project management. At the end of the essay, a conclusion will be drawn to highlight major points to assist the reader to capture vital elements of the report. BACKGROUND Mr. Dan Boariu was the quest lecture whose input became the center stage of the report. Mr. Dan is a professional project manager at the Victoria University. The university is a renowned educational facility offering various courses to students from many parts of the world. Being a large institution, numerous projects are undertaken in various areas, thus the need to engage professionals in project management. Professionals are required because most of the projects are costly, meaning that mistakes can adversely affect the institutions financial situation. In such institutions, professional managers are tasked with spearheading projects to ensure that they run smoothly, while reducing costs, risks and improving quality. The work of project managers is to oversee various activities and processes within a project to ensure that they are aligned with budgets, quality standards, timelines and expectations. Project managers undertake close scrutiny of every activity and process on daily basis. Any deviation from expectations must be met with new changes to bring the project on desired course. CRITICAL ANALYSIS What is project management? Project management is a combination of activities and processes associated with controlling, planning, motivating and organizing resources, protocols and procedures to attain certain goals in scientific or daily problems. Preferably, it is the presentation of techniques, skills and knowledge in execution of projects in efficient and effective manner. It involves strategic competency of a group or organization, which enables them to align project results to group or organizational goals. Project management involves five major processes namely: planning, initiating, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. Knowledge of project management also draws from ten key areas, that is, amalgamation, cost, workforce, participant management, scope, superiority, communications, time, procurement and risk management (Heerkens, 2002 P. 14). Research has shown that the most fundamental elements in project management are time, quality and cost. The three elements are said to be the core components of project management, which ensures success, reduction of risks, efficient monitoring and achievement of project expectations. Project scope Project scope is an important part of project planning, which involves establishing and documenting a list of certain project goals, deliverables, tasks, costs and datelines. Project scope means determining the work needed to be accomplished to achieve various features and functions of a project. Defining project scope is very important because it will guide project managers and other participants. It assists in knowing what is to be achieved, measures of success, control aspects and setting time and quality standards. The workload and resources required to create a product or service are essential in establishment of project scope. When defining project scope, a project manager has to identify various elements, such as project goals, project objectives, tasks, sub-phases, resources, tasks, budget and schedule. For project managers, understanding and defining project scope is imperative in attaining sense of purpose and focus when executing the project (Patel, 2008 P. 38). Project deliverables In project management, deliverables refers to intangible or tangible objects created because of the project, which is envisioned to be provided to a customer. A deliverable can be a consequence to be realized or an output to be provided. A project deliverable is different from project milestone in that it is a result of the process, whereas milestone is a measure of development towards an output. Project deliverables comprises of documents that describes nature of output to be expected. In project management, defining project deliverables is essential because consumers in the postmodern society are extremely demanding. In most cases, consumers require products and services that are tailored towards their needs. Defining all project deliverables assist managers in knowing what they are working on. In addition, definition of project deliverables assist in delegation and assigning responsibilities, identifying communication management plan and forecasting project budget. Ideally, it assists in aligning project processes and activities towards desired outcome with an aim of satisfying consumers. Project costs Costs incurred in project management may include land costs, construction costs, professional compensation, furnishings, equipment financing and other financial resource outlay. When estimating project costs, every resource required for completion of the project is quantified in financial terms. Analyzing cost aspect of project management ensures that there is enough money for completion. Without cost analysis, a project can stall because of unforeseen challenges related with resource procurement. When beginning a project, successful completion can be ensured by creating a budget. A list of resources needed for completion is created to establish financial resources required. Notably, spending will be based on scope and project deliverables. When creating a budget, it is important to cooperate with other stakeholders, such as legal team, finance and professional builders. Project cost management (PCM) is a technology commonly applied to estimate cost and productivity across the life cycle of a project. PCM comprises of four processes, that is, planning cost management, estimating costs, determining budgets and controlling costs. Project quality According to the Oxford dictionary, quality refers the standard of something as measured against other aspects of similar nature. Quality is the state of excellence of something. In project management, quality is fundamental because it denotes value for financial, human and technological resources applied to serve consumer interests and preferences. While considering quality in a project, managers have to engage in quality planning, quality assurance and quality control. Quality planning implies specifications needed for output to be considered successful. Quality assurance means providing metrics that reveals whether quality has been attained. Finally, quality control involves measuring and correcting quality deviations during the course of project implementation. Quality is one of the three core elements in project management that ensures that objectives, goals, purpose and consumer needs are closely considered (Turner, 2006 P. 94). Without engaging workable strategies of quality assurance and control, success can be highly doubted. Timeliness Time is another core element that project managers must consider. While planning for implementation, project managers must set timelines for completion of every activity and phase. Time required for completing every phase, task and sub-task must be clearly defined. Definition of time gives an ample space for planning and execution of every process and activity. Tracking of project activities is made possible by creation of timelines. When planning for project time, schedules are used to specify all activities and dates of completion. Time schedules will act as guideline for procurement of necessary equipment, tools and other resources, such as professionals required to conduct various activities (Turner, 2006 P. 95) . When creating project schedules, different techniques are applied. Setting timelines for project processes and activities will assist in follow up of every activity. A project will be termed as successful if all pre-set timelines are followed. Setting timeline before implementation will guide in making decision whether all deliverables will be achieved. Communication management Communication refers to transmission of information between different stakeholders within a project. Communication within a project ensures that all interests of stakeholders, particularly consumers, are engrained in project activities. Communication is made possible by employing effective communications management strategies. Communications management implies a systematic manner of planning, implementing, checking, and re-engineering all channels of communication within and between organizations. Communications management calls for identification of both internal and external stakeholders. In addition, all needs of various stakeholders must be made known to allow creation of communication channels. Board members and clients are the most vital stakeholders. Thus, communication with those stakeholders will ensure that project will be successful. Besides, communication between internal stakeholders is crucial because it will ensure cooperation, coordination, cohesion and unity of action (Lock, 2007 P. 92). Risks Risks are uncertainties that can occur at the course of project implementation. Successful project management calls for effective risk management strategies. Unforeseen risks can cause project downfall or failure to deliver as expected. Thus, knowing risks that can be involved will help in planning so that negative expectations can be handled. Risk management is central because it contributes in encouraging proactive nature, raising awareness, defining breakeven point and formulation of mitigation strategy to be applied for solving deviations. Leadership and management In the contemporary society, leadership has been identified as one of the key elements of management. Leadership encompasses leading a collection of individuals towards achieving organizational goals. Integrating leadership principles into project management will affect greatly the success of a project. Style of leadership is known to influence nature of operations within a group or organization. Without effective leadership strategies, group members not be motivated or gain desire to achieve project objectives and goals. Moreover, leadership will act as a uniting element to all stakeholders by encouraging cooperation, communication, consideration of needs and breeding trust (Levin, 2013 P. 52). Modern leadership principles favor unity of action by inspiring group members, irrespective of their position, to contribute ideas towards project implementation. CONCLUSION In conclusion, project management is a vast professional arena that comprises of various aspects necessary to align nature of deliverables with project objectives. Students aspiring to become professional project managers must gain in-depth understanding and skills required in implementation of project goals (Görög, 2011 P. 45). They have to acquire skills in amalgamation, cost, workforce, participant management, scope, superiority, communications, time, procurement and uncertainty management. Every aspect of project management is fundamental. Nevertheless, cost management, timeliness and project quality are normally treated as core requirements. The triple constraints are regarded as driving force towards successful implementation of projects because they cut across other elements. Adequate information, skills, commitment and leadership strategies are required in implementation of projects. References Görög, M. (2011). Translating single project management knowledge to project programs. Project Management Journal, 3(13), n/a-n/a. Heerkens, G. (2002). Project management. New York: McGraw-Hill. Levin, G. (2013). Project Management for Non-Project Managers. Project Management Journal, 44(5), e2-e2. Lock, D. (2007). Project management (9th ed.). Aldershot, England: Gower. Patel, V. N. (2008). Project management. Jaipur, India: Oxford Book Co.. Turner, J. (2006). Towards a theory of project management: The nature of the project governance and project management. International Journal of Project Management, 24(2), 93-95. Read More