Why do We Need Project Management?
Objectives and key points for Successful project management
Project management is essential to the success of a project. What is the purpose of project management? And even if the methods and fields of project management differ, there are common points for success. This article introduces the objectives of project management and the key points of successful project management.
Learn more: Understand the meaning of WBS in project management
Table of contents:
- What is project management?
- The necessity of project management
- Objectives of project management and points to note
- Objectives of project management
- Points to note in project management
- What is successful project management?
- Key Points of successful project management
- Key Points of unsuccessful project management
- Project management can be successful if you learn the patterns and follow the success points
What is project management?
A project is the formulation of a plan to achieve a specific objective within a defined time frame and the execution and completion of that plan. Project management is a management method to manage various issues to ensure that the project objectives are achieved within the time frame.
The success of a project is determined by the ability to manage it properly.
The necessity of project management
In a project, many employees are divided into multiple teams, working on tasks that are subdivided into smaller tasks to achieve a goal.
Managing the progress of a task is extremely important because each task is often interrelated.
A delay for one task has a significant impact not only on that task but also on others and thus the overall progress plan.
In addition to managing progress, project failures can also be caused by the inadequate definition of objectives and objectives and execution plans (quality, delivery time, budget, personnel, etc.) and poor management at the start of the project. In this case, the project will fail no matter how well you manage the progress. To make a project successful, you need to define the project well in advance and make sure that you execute it with planning. In other words, project management is essential to the success of a project.
Objectives of project management and points to note
Objectives of project management
The purpose of project management is “to manage the project as necessary to achieve the project objectives within the defined deadline and budget.” In general, project management is required to adhere to “QCD,” which is an acronym for “Quality (quality and specifications),” “Cost (cost and budget),” and “Delivery (deadline)” required for a project.
Points to note in project management
For a successful project, the following points need to be taken into consideration:
1. Clarify the purpose and goal of the project
For example, if you start a project with a deadline and budget to build an e-commerce site for your company’s product, can you call the project a success no matter what kind of e-commerce site you create as long as you build it on time and within budget? If you don’t set sales targets, profit margins, conversion rates, and other indicators and aim to meet them, you can’t call it a success.
2. Visualize the scope and share it with project members
By clarifying the purpose, the scope becomes clear. For example, if the project objective is to climb to the top of Mt. Himalaya, some people would start from the foot of the mountain with a focus on budget, and some would go to the point where they could use a vehicle with a focus on speed. The climbing route is also different depending on the project members, and the project cannot be successful efficiently. For e-commerce sites, it is necessary to set indicators and visualize and share how to achieve those indicators so that project members can clearly understand them.
3. Clarify the work scope and deliverable scope and coordinate the two
By visualizing the scope, it becomes clear what to do. However, if you do not set conditions for what you need to do, you may add things that are not necessary. It is better to add it to the project, but if it delays the schedule or increases the cost by affecting other tasks, and as a result, the project will fail. You will clarify what to do and what to deliver from it, and you will proceed with the task while coordinating both, taking into account the overall schedule.
4. Clarify preconditions and constraints
In project management, if the delivery date, cost, quality, and other preconditions and risks are not identified before the project starts, it will not be possible to create an alternative plan if the project does not proceed as planned. And even if you do, you will not be able to implement it due to a lack of budget or personnel.
What is successful project management?
This section introduces the key points of success and failure in project management.
Key points of successful project management
1. Information is shared
If the project goals (objectives and targets) are not shared between the project manager and the project members, it is difficult to reach them because the vectors are not heading in the same direction.
2. Communication is in place
Information sharing requires visibility into information and close communication between project managers and members; and between members and members. Document management is essential for sharing information on projects involving many members.
3. The tasks and responsibilities of each member are clearly defined
A project is a collaborative effort with multiple members. Each member’s tasks, responsibilities, schedules, etc., are clearly defined to make the project go smoothly. For this reason, task management is important.
4. Choosing the suitable methods and tools for the project
Project management tools and methods vary depending on the content and purpose of the project. The appropriate tools and methods must be selected and used.
5. Project managers have an awareness of increasing the sense of responsibility of members
The project will not succeed if each person does not fulfill the prescribed responsibilities in a limited-time operation. As a project manager, you need to manage your members to perform their tasks responsibly and have an awareness of increasing their sense of responsibility.
6. Strict risk management and early identification of risks
Most projects do not proceed as planned. It is important to anticipate risks in advance and to be able to identify the signs of risks as early as possible.
7. Have cost control in place
It is necessary to keep track of costs and control them so that they do not exceed the budget as much as possible.
Key points of project management that fail
1. The project plan is vague, there are few management items, and it is insufficient.
A project that is not well planned and has many ambiguous parts will not succeed. In a project, it is necessary to take the time to examine each element of the project, such as identifying tasks, creating a schedule, and estimating costs, and formulating a solid plan.
2. Lack of communication
Lack of communication between the project manager, members, and members can lead to delays in the schedule due to a lack of understanding of progress and problems.
3. Poor task management
Even if communication is insufficient, if you have good task management, delays and troubles can be detected early and dealt with before it becomes a big problem. If you don’t manage the tasks well, your project won’t succeed.
4. Lack of document management
Projects typically experience a large number of rescheduling specifications and tasks. If you don’t have a document that shows the entire project, you won’t get the information you need, and you’ll make the wrong decision when you run the task, which can lead to the project failing.
Project management can be successful if you learn the patterns and follow the success points
Projects fail if they are not well managed. However, failure has a cause, and you need to learn that cause so that you don’t make the same mistakes while keeping track of the points of successful project management. The key to successful project management is document management and task management. For necessary and sufficient task and document management, I recommend you use project management tools with information sharing tools.
