Project Management 101

Project management is a very important business concept because it is in place to ensure that projects are completed in a timely manner and in the best possible way for the company. Project management is basically the discipline of setting goals and achieving those goals. Typically, the entire scope of project management is handled by an individual project manager.

Definition of a Project

A project can be several things. Projects usually involve engineering or building a product, but it is not always necessary. A project is the path through which a result will be achieved. Simply put, a project is a task and at the end of the project is the result.

Two Project Approaches

There are two approaches to projects and project management. The traditional approach views the project as a process. There is a beginning, an end, and everything in between. The non-traditional approach, called the agile software development approach, in which the project is considered a relatively small task. One approach is to view the entire project (traditional) and the other approach is to view each individual step as a small task (agile software development).

Project management history

Project management ideas have been around for quite some time, but they didn’t become isolated until after the Sputnik crisis of the cold war. Project management arose because the United States Department of Defense needed to develop its military faster and more efficiently. To do this, the Department of Defense invented the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). At exactly the same time, the DuPont Corporation invented something similar called the Critical Path Method (CPM). These were the foundations of modern project management.

Project Management Techniques

Project management usually involves setting a schedule. There are predetermined goals that must be met at certain times. Ideally, the project is well organized so that the manufacturer and/or company can plan for the project to be completed at a certain time. Project management aims to be efficient and still produce high quality. By setting specific dates and having the entire project sometimes overseen by a project manager, it usually makes employees work more efficiently.

The project manager is the most important part of project management. The project manager makes sure that everything in the project moves smoothly. He or she is usually very organized and makes sure that the employees meet the requirements in the specified time intervals. Project managers often have the most accurate idea of ​​the project’s fate.

Conclusion

Project management may not be a terribly difficult concept to understand, but it is very important. In any business (especially manufacturers), completing a product or reaching a goal is the lifeblood of that business. Project management is about making sure everyone working on a project is on the same page and understands the goals and timeline. Project management is also a continuous process throughout the entire project. Project managers serve to ensure that projects run smoothly and are completed efficiently.