Part 3: What is Project Management?

Part 3: What is Project Management?

Project Management

• Project Management = Application of Knowledge, Skills, Tools, and Techniques to Project Activities to Meet the Project Requirements
• There are 49 Project Management Processes

• Project Management includes
  • Identifying project requirements
  • Addressing the needs, concerns, and expectations of the stakeholders when planning/executing the project
  • Communicating with the stakeholders in a way that is active, effective, and collaborative
  • Managing stakeholders towards meeting project requirements and deliverables
  • Project Management is ITERATIVE
  • PROGRESSIVE ELABORATION = the project plan becomes more detailed and more improved as the project progresses.  As the project evolves, estimates become more accurate.
  • Progressive Elaboration means adding new details NOT new objectives, requirements, or scope.
  • We will learn more about Stakeholders later
• Project Management also includes balancing project constraints.  A Constraint is something that limits your project.  No project has infinite resources.  The Six Constraints are
  • Scope
  • Quality
  • Schedule
  • Budget
  • Resources
  • Risk

When you change one constraint, it affects the others.  For example, when Vortex decides to complete the design of its oven two weeks ahead of schedule, its engineers must work overtime.  Paying the engineers extra for working overtime increases the project’s cost.  Thus, they must increase the Budget (a constraint).

Other constraints could also be affected.  By rushing the engineers, there is an increased Risk that the design won’t be completed on time.  Or the engineers will make more mistakes in the design, and the oven will be produced at a lower quality.