Project Management

Project management is defined as the process of organizing the execution of a project. Project management improves the ability to plan, implement and control various tasks as well as the degree of utilization of production means or resources (personnel, machinery, capital) and leads to a reduction in project implementation costs or an increase in business profits.

Common examples are:
• the construction of a building,
• the introduction of a new product,
• the creation of a new software,
• the installation of a new machine in a production unit,
• planning and launching a new advertising campaign.

What does managing a project involve:

  • Determination of requirements
  • Addressing participant needs, concerns and expectations.
  • Effective and efficient communications between participants.
  • Appropriate management of stakeholders to meet requirements and create expected deliverables.
  • Balancing competing factors, including: scope, quality, schedule and budget.
  • Resources.
  • Risks

Five stages in managing a project:

Every project has a series of stages that the director must know in order to manage it properly. These would be the ones shown below.

  • The first is to define the goals to be achieved. This is perhaps the fundamental, to know what we want. The main goal, the most general and the specific ones that help to achieve it should be detailed.
  • Analysis of the situation. To learn how to get what we want, we need to be clear about where we are starting from. We need to know our strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats that the environment offers. A SWOT (or SWOT) table can help.
  • The strategy you should follow. This is the conclusion of the previous section. We start from the knowledge of what we have or what we are good and not so good at. On the other hand, we know what the market offers and what the obstacles are. Now we have to start the road and for that we have to choose a suitable strategy.
  • Once selected, it must be carried out. This stage is necessary because it will provide us with feedback to know if we are doing well or not. It will give us relevant information about the last stage.
  • Feedback. It is time to know the result of the strategy, to know whether we have succeeded. Otherwise, we may apply appropriate corrective measures. For this reason, it is important to have a way to account for possible deviations.