What is project management?

Definition

Project management is the application of processes, methods, skills, kno

wledge and experience to achieve specific project objectives according to the project acceptance criteria within agreed parameters. Project management has final deliverables that are constrained to a finite timescale and budget.

A key factor that distinguishes project management from just 'management' is that it has this final deliverable and a finite timespan, unlike management which is an ongoing process. Because of this a project professional needs a wide range of skills; often technical skills, and certainly people management skills and good business awareness.

When do we use project management?

Projects are separate from business-as-usual activities and occur when an organisation wants to deliver a solution to set requirements within an agreed budget and timeframe. Projects require a team of people to come together temporarily to focus on specific project objectives. As a result, effective teamwork is central to successful projects.

Projects require a team of people to come together temporarily to focus on specific project objectives. As a result, effective teamwork is central to successful projects. Project management is concerned with managing discrete packages of work to achieve specific objectives. The way the work is managed depends upon a wide variety of factors.

The scale, significance and complexity of the work are obvious factors: relocating a small office and organising the Olympics share many basic principles, but offer very different managerial challenges. Objectives may be expressed in terms of:

• outputs (such as a new HQ building);
• outcomes (such as staff being relocated from multiple locations to the new HQ);
• benefits (such as reduced travel and facilities management costs);
• strategic objectives (such as doubling the organisation’s share price in three years).

Why do we use project management?

Project management is aimed at producing an end product that will effect some change for the benefit of the organisation that instigated the project. It is the initiation, planning and control of a range of tasks required to deliver this end product. Projects that require formal management are those that:

• produce something new or altered, tangible or intangible;
• have a finite timespan: a definite start and end;
• are likely to be complex in terms of work or groups involved;
• require the management of change;
• require the management of risks.

Investment in effective project management will have a number of benefits, such as:

• providing a greater likelihood of achieving the desired result;
• ensuring efficient and best value use of resources;
• satisfying the differing needs of the project’s stakeholders.