Introduction to Project Management
Project Management is a broad, catch all, term which encompasses a lot of business processes. Some will be intuitive and others less so. Here at CompuSkills we aim to try and clear things up for everyone, no matter your background experience. As organisations of all sizes, from large international corporations to small start ups, are becoming more aware of the need to successfully manage projects, project management has become more important. There is little doubt today that a well managed project can be the difference between an organisations success or failure.
One of the basic ground rules of project management, whether you choose to do it yourself or contract the work out to an agency such as ourselves, is to use a methodological approach.
Why use a Project Management Method
As mentioned previously, projects fail all the time, all over the world. For some organisations this is an acceptable risk for others this can mean the end of the line. By using a Project Management Method (either a formally documented one such as PRINCE2™ or one your company has formulated itself) you can avoid the common pitfalls, ensure the right people know what is expected of them and ensure that your organisation has the best possible chance of succeeding with the project.
Basic Principles
There are some basic principles of project management and if your organisation intends to create it own methodology, it is definitely worth considering these:
- A project must be managed to be successful
- A project is something you (or your organisation) are doing for the first time
- A project has a clearly defined start and end point
- The reason behind the project must be clearly spelt out before it starts and all parties involved must understand this reason.