Project Management Chapter 1

Introduction to Project Management

• Project management is a growing profession with over 16 million professionals worldwide.
• The world spends nearly $10 trillion on projects of all kinds, making up about 25% of the global GDP.

What is a Project?

• A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.
• Projects have a clear start and end date, and involve a specific set of activities to achieve a specific goal.
• Examples of projects include replacing laptops, adding new features to software, and upgrading technology infrastructure.

Project Attributes

• Projects have a unique purpose and are temporary in nature.
• Projects are developed using progressive elaboration, and require resources from various areas.
• Projects have a primary customer or sponsor who provides direction and funding.

Project and Program Managers

• Project managers work with project sponsors, team members, and stakeholders to meet project goals.
• Program managers oversee programs, which are groups of related projects managed in a coordinated way.
• Program managers often act as bosses for project managers.

The Triple Constraint of Project Management

• Successful project management involves meeting three main goals: scope, time, and cost.
• Project managers strive to balance these three goals to satisfy the project sponsor.

Project Management Knowledge Areas

• There are 9 project management knowledge areas:
  • 4 core knowledge areas: scope, time, cost, and quality.
  • 4 facilitating knowledge areas: human resources, communication, risk, and procurement management.
  • 1 knowledge area: project integration management, which affects and is affected by all other knowledge areas.

Project Stakeholders

• Stakeholders are people involved in or affected by project activities.
• Stakeholders include the project sponsor, project manager, project team, support staff, customers, users, suppliers, and opponents to the project.

Project Management Tools and Techniques

• Project management tools and techniques assist project managers and teams in various aspects of project management.
• Examples of tools and techniques include project charters, scope statements, WBS, Gantt charts, and change requests.

Project Success

• Project success can be defined in several ways, including:
  • Meeting scope, time, and cost goals.
  • Satisfying the customer/sponsor.
  • Meeting the project's main objective.

What Helps Projects Succeed?

• Executive support, user involvement, experienced project managers, clear business objectives, and minimized scope are all factors that contribute to project success.

Project Portfolio Management

• Project portfolio management involves grouping and managing projects and programs as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise's success.
• Portfolio managers help make wise investment decisions by selecting and analyzing projects from a strategic perspective.

The Role of the Project Manager

• The project manager's job description includes planning, scheduling, coordinating, and working with people to achieve project goals.
• Experienced project managers can often help influence success factors.

Skills for Project Managers

• Project managers need a wide variety of skills, including:
  • People skills
  • Leadership
  • Listening
  • Integrity, ethical behavior, and consistent decision-making
  • Strong team-building skills

Ten Most Important Skills and Competencies for Project Managers

• The top 10 skills and competencies for project managers are:
  1. People skills
  2. Leadership
  3. Listening
  4. Integrity, ethical behavior, and consistent decision-making
  5. Building trust
  6. Verbal communication
  7. Building teams
  8. Conflict resolution and management
  9. Critical thinking and problem-solving
  10. Understanding and balancing priorities