Project Management

Every Business has a project to complete at least once during the course of a year. Some companies have one every week, or month. Project Management is the planning, managing, leading and organizing of a specific goal. As our book shares, "project management provides people with a powerful set of tools that improves their ability to plan, implement, and manage activities to accomplish specific organizational objectives". (pg. 2) The point of a project management team is to achieve this goal to the best of their ability in the time and space they are given. A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. (pg. 4) As we all know a project has a beginning and an ending. Most projects are broke down into sections completed by different members of the Project Management team. The difficult comes into play when a project requires a lot of work but needs to be completed in a short amount of time. Time constraints are common in projects. Most projects are broke down into sections that are evaluated as they go to make sure the team is on the right track. Normally each section is followed by another section that can't be completed if the one before it was not don't properly. Because of this the project manager needs to make sure he has a strong team that works well together and understand the need for everyone to work as a team and help each other complete the common goal they all share for the end of the project. Most projects also have a certain budget to follow, and are working on something that has never been done before. Because of this there are no prior projects to work off of, or get ideas from. Starting from scratch can be rewarding and challenging all at the same time.

The importance of project management is simple, it gives each person involved in the project a clear vision of what is expected and what goal the company is working towards. Each project is unique and serves a purpose in a bigger idea the company has. Whether the project is to land a new client or to take a company to the next level in their market, either way keeping everyone involved and aware of where the company is heading is going to ensure that everyone is on the same page. What we need to remember is a project is not every day work. One day you may work on an outline for one client and a new database for another the next week.

We also have what we call Project life Cycle. Most project managers find this tool useful as a cornerstone for managing projects. The point of a project life cycle is to recognize that projects have lifespans or a time constraint. It will also reveal the changes that can occur during a project. Changes like in the member's effort or in the focus of the end result of the project. The Project life cycles passes through four stages: Defining, Planning, Executing, and Delivering. The Defining stage gives the specifications of the project. This includes responsibilities are assigned, and teams are formed. Planning stage is where the level of effort needs to increase. The plans should be drawn up for the project, and what all it will entail. What will the schedule be and who it will benefit, and what the budget is? The major portions of the project are done in the Executing stage. A physical product should be produced, for example a software program. The members and management should check where they are budget and time wise. They need to see if they are on schedule or maybe even ahead of schedule. In this stage you can also see where changes will need to be made. In the Delivering or closing stage the project is presented to the client or customer. This stage is where you will also get reviews about the project. The benefit of using the Project Life Cycle is you know that you know what should be doing on in each step and that they are following a specific track. They members also know that their client is expecting for them to follow this cycle and report to them on how each step is coming along. Having an outline is helpful during a project. Break things down into sections makes it easier to focus on one thing at a time and make sure it has your full attention.

When using a project life cycle, you have the steps to follow but the team members have to understand how important research is to a project. Not only do you want to do research on what the project is about, but about the company the project is for and what the client is expecting from this project. For example, if your redesigning a software for a company, you need to know what they expect form the new software. The speed, what they need to be able to do in the software, etc. Using the project life cycle and getting good research can cut down on project time by years. Most of your research should be done during the planning stage. This