Project management: organization, planning and execution

Project Management is the applied use of knowledge, skills, and techniques to manage and deliver tasks in-time with on-budget outcomes, fulfilling all requirements. Project management practices can either be defined as formal or informal. The formal project management practices consist of devising plans, setting up of objectives, and formulating rules and standards for the project team to execute a task. Whereas in the informal project management practices, the project is executed without any documentation and management approach. The formal project management approach is preferred as beforehand planning, along with setting up of clear milestones, results in favorable outcomes for the business.

Before starting a project, organizations should devise a plan including the goals and deadlines. The four phases of a project life cycle should be followed which are concept, planning, implementation, and closeout. These phases help in communication with the stakeholders on how well the project work is being done and the naming of phases in a project life cycle provides a reliable approach for conducting work on the project as all team members are aware of the updates. An individual having leadership and interpersonal skills should be allocated as the leader of each phase. Effective project management techniques include documenting the scope, objective, and requirements of the project in a way that answers the queries of all stakeholders involved. In any organization, it is an important project management practice to have well-defined roles such as a project manager, finance manager, etc. Accepting different working styles and ideas of team members make a project an accomplishment. Having a team with members that can adjust in an adverse environment makes it easier to work. As if an unexpected change occurs in the project management process, without any havoc members will be able to handle the situation.

The success rate of a project can be improved by establishing a separate end-to-end set up for the management process. This helps in keeping the projects organized, properly resourced, and directed correctly. Usually, implementation of this is a long term process; however, once it is created last-minute losses in a project can be avoided. The project team should design the process efficiently so that it is easier to understand and helps in bridging up the gap that is due to strategic decisions. Having an efficient workforce can extend the value of the project. One of the well-organized ways to vividly improve performance and management of the project is by creating transparency across all the phases of the project. Each member of the team contributes to the project in a different aspect; thus, each team member is accountable for their task. This allows all team members to be updated about the project and have a sense of owning up the project work. Moreover, collaboration and open communication is key to the success of any project. As when team members work without any differences towards a common goal the project has better outcomes than expected as they discuss their progress frequently and are open to improvement suggestions from each other.

It is essential while working on a project to focus on the quality of the project which at times is ignored. Quality checks on a project can be conducted by first identifying methods and criteria that will be used as the standard in each phase of the project life cycle and then using them to compare. Projects should be conducted using an exceptional method with any unpredicted deviations from the ideal plans that are reported and resolved. A successful project management practice involves escalation procedures in which problems are handled on the lowest appropriate levels. If the issue is not solved on lower levels than only it should be elevated to the higher organization level people until they completely resolve and close it. This decreases the workload on each person involved in the execution of the plan. Furthermore, for fruitful project management, late changes or disruptions should be avoided as they lead to additional costs and schedule getting off track. Companies often seek ways to achieve a better position in the market, therefore; the organization should look for ways that depend on information systems and technology in the development of project management strategies as well as the project they are working on. This innovative approach will help attract consumers to the project.

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