Meaning Of Project Management

Project in simple words is a series of tasks that need to be completed in order to reach the pre-determined outcome. A project can also be defined as a set of inputs and outputs required to achieve a desired goal. Projects can be either simple or complex and it can be managed by one person or more. Every project is temporary because every project has a definite beginning and end and therefore, has defined scope and resources.

According to PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) 3rd edition, a project is defined as “temporary endeavour with a beginning and an end and it must be used to create a unique product, service or result.”

A project is unique in terms that a project is not a regular business operation, a project has a set of activities

Projects are unique

2. Projects are temporary in nature with a defined beginning and end

3. Projects are completed when the project goal is accomplished or the project is considered no longer viable

Project Management

Project management is the science of managing all the aspects of a project for the beginning till the end using a well-defined structured methodology. The process of planning, organizing and managing of resources to achieve the organizational goal is the objective of project management. Every organization has Project Management Office aka PMO, which is the repository of all the projects handled in and by the organization. The PMO reports to the CIO (Chief Information Officer) by updating them with regular status updates regarding all the ongoing projects in the company.

Project management activities:

1. Planning: Planning in project management means defining the project objectives, scope and planning for resources.

2. Scheduling: The tasks that fall under scheduling are development of detailed milestones and guidelines for the project. Scheduling is done before the actual project work begins.

3. Controlling: These activities involve developing budget and finance control points, measuring of scheduled tasks

Non-numeric models

a. The sacred cow: Here the project is suggested by a senior or powerful individual in the organization. The project is considered sacred in the terms that it will be maintained until completed successfully or the executive management terminates it. The project is initiated from an opportunity, for example, the market opening to launch a new product.

b. The operating necessity: When a project is started to in order to keep the system it is the operating necessity. For example, when flood threatens a plant, a project to build a protective desk is operating necessity. These doesn’t require any formal evaluation, however if the system for which the projected is initiated is worth saving the estimated cost of the project, the project will be reviewed making sure to keep the project cost as low as possible.

c. The competitive necessity: The projects on many occasions are started off with a desire to maintain a company’s competitive edge in the market. For example, Emami, a cosmetics company in India, came up with the range of men’s fairness cream to maintain a competitive edge over the others in the same market