A project refers to a unique set of activities that are meant to produce a defined outcome and has a specific timeline in which to operate (start and finish date) and a specific allocation of resources. A project must be bounded by its results, time, and resources. If any of these parameters are missing, then that falls short of being a project. The timeline a business operates through constitutes the project life cycle, also referred to as the coherent sequences of activities to achieve the goals or objectives of the project. These activities further entail four phases. The four phases are project initiation, project planning, project execution and control, and project closure. Project closure signifies the end of the project.
At the helm of each project, there must be a team leader, in this case, a project manager. This is an employee who plans and organizes the resources necessary to complete a project. More often than not, determining the project manager heralds the beginning of most projects. The best project managers are good inspirations and leaders to their teams. They are “big-picture oriented”, communicate effectively, are good organizers, result-oriented and knowledgeable enough about the project they are undertaking, and also are committed to the use of project management procedures. He is responsible for making sure that the project management exercise is effectively carried out, he, therefore, ensures that team members understand and practice project management and that they also understand and keep their responsibilities. He keeps team resources focused on developing and carrying out the plan, making timely adjustments to the plan, maintaining the project profile, arbitrating and resolving conflicts within the organization, and reporting to team members and others on the status of the project, and maintaining the issues logo.
The role of project management is to manage and reduce the project cycle time through the acknowledgment of projects as a key link between the strategic goals of the organization and tactical work being performed by discrete works. Project management is also used to create the future, by understanding both customer requirements and the solutions to meet them. It also allows the cross-functional teams in organizations to work smarter through co-coordinating their services and highlighting their needs and what their requirements may be at later stages of the development of a project. An organization can not just let its members perform independently to accomplish projects since this may create divisions within the team. Due to a lack of clearly laid down protocols, there may be money laundering and lack of responsibility among the team members since there will be no accountability. It will also lead to unreliable and unpredictable schedules that are mainly based on guesswork and pressure from the seniors. Failure to account for risks may also lead to total disaster. Project management enables the members to draw upon their individual strengths by providing an efficient infrastructure of defining, planning, and managing project work, despite the structure of the firm’s organization.
New technology like the use of personal computers and the growing complexity in and availability of project management software tools have all increased the efficacy of a ‘methodology’ for addressing a variety of project problems. Systematic logging of all issues in an issues log makes decision-making about these issues easier since the process of logging in itself focuses on the issue. Technological advancement has also facilitated the development of formal issues management process that includes a time tracking of how long issues are open, and an automatic escalation that is to operate in case the issues remain unresolved for too long. This has led to a reduction in time spent on issue resolution. As explained above, an effective technological process can effectively speed project work and improve teamwork.