What Is Project Management?
The growing competition between global and local organizations is constantly growing. In order for a company to effectively conduct its business strategy, and attract and then retain the desired customers, it must adapt to the modern requirements of the audience and solve the problems that arise. Project management (PM) is one of the most effective ways to organize the company’s work. Tereso et al. (2019) point out that the implementation of project management practices creates additional business value, enlarged benefit execution, and superior gain management activities. Simply put, project management is an organization of the work in such a way as to fulfill all the requirements for the project being developed.
The Role of Project Manager
Thus, the project manager is presented as a person who is responsible for the complete implementation of the project and for the distribution of goals and tasks among the employees involved. This specialist must fulfill the requirements of the task, the team, and their own conditions. Among the roles of a project manager, several crucial ones can be distinguished:
- achievement of the project goals;
- planning the work required for the project;
- allocation of necessary resources;
- constant quality control;
- analysis of the achieved and expected progress;
- maintaining team spirit.
Pitfalls That Occur in Projects When There Is No Project Management
The work of a project manager is of particular importance for companies, especially for large organizations. Insufficient knowledge or unqualified specialists can lead to unsatisfactory results or negative consequences. A qualified manager with experience in such work will help in the organization, control, and give confidence in the successful completion of the project. Thus, the first pitfall that can be caused by the lack of project management is that tasks between employees may be distributed incorrectly. This issue will entail a shift in the deadlines. The ability to work strategically as a project manager implies the ability to model the future situation, the ability to identify the need for changes, develop a strategy for changes, and apply proven methods.
In addition to managing team members, the project manager is engaged in the correct allocation of resources. This aspect is especially valuable since their incorrect distribution can lead to significant financial and human losses. Human resource is especially important since it is responsible for labor productivity. The third pitfall may be delays in the implementation of the project and loss of profit as a result. This can happen due to the ever-growing need for project management and due to the shortening of the life cycle of modern products. Any inconsistencies with the project schedule will have negative results for all parties involved.
The speed of work and response have become the basis of successful activity. That is why large organizations turn to multidisciplinary specialized project management. This allows you to speed up the process of developing and releasing new products and services.
How Using Project Management Can Benefit the Creation of an Information System
The project manager is engaged in monitoring the implementation of strategically important projects through reporting. It is often formed once a week according to a certain set of indicators. Moreover, the development of project management in the company is monitored on the basis of a quarterly report on all projects carried out during this period of time. Thus, PM contributes to the development of the company’s information system.
The use of such type of management can benefit the creation of an information system the fact that it will lead to the rational use of the company’s production potential. This fact will contribute to the further development of production capacities. In addition, project management will improve the quality of work of the company’s employees involved in projects and improve the quality of control over the implementation of the working phases of the project by the project manager.
It should be noted that in modern conditions, the role of effective management based on a well-built information system is greatly increasing. Management mistakes, when relying on insufficient or incorrectly interpreted data, can lead to the collapse of even a large company. Effective project management cannot be imagined without collecting information and processing it by various methods. The manager can help to process, analyze and distribute the received information correctly. In addition, the construction of a comprehensive information system aimed at solving the tasks facing the company when developing projects is a reflection of the effectiveness of the organization.
Recommendations and Strategies for Project Management
The development of a strategy and the use of specialized methods is presented as one of the most important conditions for the effective development of the company and one of the priority tasks of top management. The strategic plan for the implementation of the project includes complex and complex tasks. That is why it is important to remember that such problems are solved gradually. One of the tools for distributing efforts over time is a strategic ladder.
When applying this strategy, it is necessary to determine the main success criteria that will make it possible to evaluate the results of each stage, the timeliness and quality of achieving the intermediate stages, and the final goal. During the planning process, the project manager can have an idea of the sequence in which the work needs to be performed and what adjustments need to be made.
To achieve the best results, it should be the responsibility of the project manager to maintain communication with all interested parties. From the first day of work, the most important task is to communicate with everyone whom the plan concerns in any way. This list can include managers, sponsors, clients, and key consumers. Sometimes, it may be that when working with large projects, the manager may not be able to cope with all the tasks at the same time. That is why it is recommended to create a risk management group. This kind of activity is always mediated by various risks. Therefore, it is important to have a team that will track them and is able to neutralize them in a timely manner. Thanks to this work, the project will be able to bypass a significant number of dangerous situations.
Time is the main resource of the project, which requires special attention. Time management is related to the management of the subject area and consists in determining the timing of the project and its control points. In addition, it takes into account the optimization of time characteristics, monitoring the development of the project, and forecasting the date of its completion. The main recommendation for taking into account time in project management is the process of temporary design with the help of calendar planning of work and control of work schedules.
Another project strategy that can be applied to organizations working with larger production is the Power Strategy. The source of the so-called strength is that production can be set up more efficiently and with fewer costs and losses than creating small projects that are very different from each other. This strategy is characterized by a reliance on the company’s image. For companies with smaller sizes and productivity, a Niche Strategy can be applied. It provides for the production of special, narrower projects for a certain range of consumers. The work of such companies becomes indispensable for the corresponding group of clients.
Conclusion
Modern society is characterized by sudden and rapid changes taking place in all spheres of life. For planning, successful implementation, and adaptation of the company’s activities, it is important to use the latest types of management. Such methods include project management. This type of management implies specialized activities based on the use of modern knowledge, skills, and methods to achieve effective results. At the same time, there is an impact on employees and the application of various strategies for the successful implementation of projects.
References
Tereso, A., Ribeiro, P., Fernandes, G., Loureiro, I., & Ferreira, M. (2019). Project management practices in private organizations. Project Management Journal, 50(1), 6-22. Web.