Items Required for Project Management

What are the essential items required for project management, and what are the key points for success?

For a successful project, no matter how big or small, you need to manage the essential items of the project. If you proceed with the project management that captures these items, you can make your project successful efficiently. However, the creation and management of these documents are one of the most important tasks of a manager, as many different documents are required to manage the necessary items.

There are many ways to manage projects, but the key to success is the same regardless of the methodology. Here, for beginners entrusted with project management, I will introduce the items necessary for project management and the points to note for successful project management.

Table of contents:

• What are the items required for project management, and what are the duties of a manager?
  • Launching the project
  • Planning the project
  • Execution results and progress management
  • Termination
• Four points of project management
  • Document sharing and version control
  • Process segmentation, task management, and information sharing
  • Thorough budget management
  • Management of project stakeholders
• What documents are necessary for project management?
  • Project management plan
  • Schedules
  • Specifications
  • Reports
  • Assignment table
  • Project costing table
  • WBS and Gantt charts
• Summary

What are the items required for project management, and what are the duties of the manager?

This section introduces the items required for project management work and the tasks of the project manager related to those items as the project progresses. Project management is broadly divided into the following four steps.

Launching the project

The first step here is for the manager to clarify the project’s objectives. Determining the objectives will help determine the project goal. 

Clarifying the project goals will help set appropriate milestones.

Planning

The manager must prepare a project management plan for each of the following control items required in the project plan.

The required controls and their objectives are as follows:

• Integrated management (aims to promote the project by integrating the entire project management)
• Scope management (to realize the objectives of what the project will do and the deliverables of what it will produce)
• Cost management (to clarify and manage the overall cost of the project)
• Procurement management (to resolve delays and problems with material suppliers and subcontractors)
• Quality management (to control quality)
• Risk management (anticipate project delays and prepare for the risks)
• Personnel management (assign tasks to project participants and ensure the right people are in the right places)
• Communication management (to prevent issues from arising due to lack of communication)
• Schedule management (managing plans and results)
• Stakeholder management (managing customers, external suppliers, and other parties and companies involved in the project)

Execution results and progress management

The manager keeps track of the progress of each task according to its items. Because the project is carried out by many stakeholders, update the document as it progresses so that everyone can share it.

Termination

The manager delivers the deliverables and closes the project with a report on what will be helpful for the next project and what needs attention.

Four key points of project management

There are four key points to successful project management. If you don’t follow these points, your risk of project management failure increases.

Document sharing and version control

Projects that many stakeholders work together can’t progress well if everyone can’t share different documents. Also, the project can change for a variety of reasons. 

If changes are not reflected in the documents immediately, the project will proceed with the wrong content, and trouble will occur. 

Modifying a document is not just an overwriting, but it’s hard to tell when, where, and what’s changed before you know what was changed, and you might need something to do before it changes. Therefore, document versioning is required.

Process segmentation, task management, and information sharing

There are many tasks in a project, and the manager needs to manage all of them. 

By managing each task, you can manage the progress of the process, such as who performs what tasks and by when, and you can better understand the status of the entire work. 

In addition, tasks not included in the initial planning stage may arise. If the contents of such tasks are not shared and managed among the people involved, especially when there are connections between tasks, the project will not progress well. 

Managers must ensure that everyone can share information for each task and pay attention to whether they are sharing it.

Thorough budget management

Projects are important not only to achieve their objectives but to achieve them within the budget given. You always have to manage your budget and actual costs.

Management of the project stakeholders

A project involves the participation of many parties to achieve its objectives. If even one person fails to fulfill his or her responsibilities, the entire project will be affected. It is important to understand the abilities and personalities of each person involved, assign tasks evenly to avoid waste, and respond flexibly to any delayed tasks, processes, or work.

What documents are necessary for project management?

Project management requires many documents. The following are some of the most common documents:

Project management plan

It is a document that describes the plan to achieve the project’s objectives and provides an overview of the entire project. 

Generally, it describes the contents of the project’s management items.

Schedule

Schedule management is critical because projects have a duration. Scheduling is done with calendars and Gantt charts to visualize and manage the plan and progress against the plan.

Specification document

It is a document that specifies the function, performance, and structure of the deliverable that is the project objective. The work of the project is based on these specifications.

Report

Project stakeholders are required to report to the manager on time on the progress of tasks, including the work completed and date, work in progress and expected completion date, work planned for the future and expected completion date, budget status, workplace issues, and suggestions for project improvement. It may be reported regularly, weekly, or irregularly.

Assignment table

It is a document that shows who is supposed to do what task, when, and how long. It clarifies the division of work and responsibilities.

Project profitability chart

As mentioned earlier, budget management is important in a project, and progress is managed on a monthly, semi-annual, or annual basis for each work process or task, or in units of a certain outcome, against the budget at the time of planning.

WBS, Gantt chart

WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) and Gantt chart are some of the tools used for project management. 

A WBS is a document that breaks down the work of a project into smaller tasks in stages; and displays them in a tree structure, which can be used to identify all tasks, eliminate omissions, and accurately estimate the time required. The WBS also makes it easier to visualize all the tasks and manage the project.

A Gantt chart is a document that manages the progress of tasks in chronological order. It visualizes the progress of all tasks and makes it easier to manage the schedule.

Summary

A project manager has many tasks. Among them, the most important ones are task management and document management. 

Task management is also progress management, which leads to keeping the schedule. Document management is about organizing and sharing information to create a more accurate and easy-to-work environment. 

And if they are not shared without excess or deficiency by the people involved, project management cannot be carried out smoothly. That is why task management and document management are most important.

In order to do these two things effortlessly and accurately, I recommend using a project management tool. In some cases, project management tools alone are insufficient for information sharing. If you cannot collaborate well with other members, consider using an information-sharing tool (internal wiki or business chat).