What is project management?

Project management is an integrated administrative process similar to the management of organizations, but it is within a limited time and framework and with a specific goal and the project ends with achieving this goal.

The idea of project management arose due to the complexity of the tasks of organizations, which led to the need to create independent entities to manage a specific task that requires specific physical, financial, and human capabilities without placing excessive pressure on the organization by choosing a working team that includes experts and professionals from all relevant disciplines to carry out the necessary operations to complete the project, which includes:

• Determination of human, physical and financial needs.
• Planning;
• Organizing;
• Execution;
• Monitoring, controlling and problem solving;
• Delivering;
• And closing.

Advantages of project management:

The main benefit of project management is that it helps manage projects effectively and solve problems faster. Following best practices can help:

1. Increases the efficiency of achieving goals.
2. Increases the chances of success.
3. Project management is a sophisticated approach of strategic management.
4. Efficient use of resources.
5. Effective time management.
6. Isolating the work team from the bureaucracy of the organization by excluding it from the hierarchy.
7. Better communication among the work team as it decreases the distance of authority.
8. Mitigating the effects of problems as the project runs in a controllable environment.
9. Projects provide flexibility in planning and execution.
10. Projects provide a competitive advantage for the organization by boosting the bottom line.
11. Increases the probability of customer satisfaction.
12. Accurate planning and organizing process.
13. Good projects provide a successful practice for the organization to be repeated whenever needed.

Project elements:

Projects consist of three main elements that combine to implement the project’s tasks and then achieve its objectives:

1. Human resources.
2. Budget.
3. Materials.

Project management process:

1. Initiating.
2. Planning.
3. Executing.
4. Controlling.
5. Closing.
6. Assessment and improving.

1-Initiating:

This is the starting point of the project where the need arises to establish it. The project may be to implement one of the operations carried out by the organization to gain profit (i.e. contracting) or public benefit however it can be an internal project to develop the organization or bring about a change in systems or expansion in other markets.

• Setting the main goal:

The initiation phase includes setting the main goal of the project, however, to address the goal is has to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timed)

• Project manager (PM):

A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers are responsible for the planning, procurement, and implementation of a project in the organization with a defined goal and planned [deliberative] activity. As project representatives, project managers are the first point of contact in the event of problems or challenges and lead the problem-solving team, before the problem escalates to higher levels. 

The project manager is appointed as he/she, in turn, determines the work team required to complete the tasks and achieve the goal of the project, and he/she is the link between the project team and the senior management of the organization.

• Strengths and Constrains:

Before carrying out the planning process, it is necessary to identify the available capabilities as well as the obstacles facing the initiation of the project. There are many models that organizations use to analyze the environment surrounding the field of business, and the best of them in the project planning and management process is the SWOT analysis.

SWOT is an acronym that stands for (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). Each point in this model represents a vital aspect that affects the survival and continuity of the project in a cutting-throat work environment, including internal and external factors.

This analysis can be applied in all administrative, economic, productive, or service fields, whether governmental or non-governmental.

• Authorization:

At this stage, the competencies and powers granted to the project manager, as well as the chain of command, are determined. These powers include financial decisions, work organization, hiring or laying off employees as well as hiring experts from outside the organization, and authorization to contact government agencies or other organizations as a project representative. However, with all these powers and authorities, there is also responsible for the actions and decisions, as the project manager remains accountable for his decisions before the management.

2- Planning:

• Statement of work (SOW):

A statement of work (SOW) is a document that is used in the field of project management. It is the narrative description of the work requirements of a project. It defines project-specific activities, services, and schedules for a provider who provides services to the customer. The SOW usually also contains detailed requirements and prices with standard legal and governance conditions.

A statement of work typically addresses these subjects:

• Purpose: Why are we doing this project? A declaration of purpose answers this.
• Scope of work: This describes the work to be carried out and specifies the hardware and software required. The definition of the scope.
• Location of work: It describes where the work should be done, including the location of the hardware and software and where people will meet to get the work done.
• Period of performance: This indicates the allowed time for projects, e.g. B. Start and end time, a number of hours that can be billed per week or month, where the work should be done, and everything else that has to do with scheduling.
• Deliverables schedule: This part lists and describe what is due and when.
• Applicable standards: It describes all industry-specific standards that must be adhered to when fulfilling the contract.
• Acceptance criteria: This indicates how the buyer or recipient of goods determines whether the product or service is acceptable, usually based on objective criteria.
• Special requirements: This lists special hardware or software, special personnel requirements such as degrees or certifications for personnel, travel requirements, and everything else that is not included in the contract details.
• Type of contract/payment schedule: The project acceptance depends on whether the available budget is sufficient to cover the required work. Therefore, a breakdown of payments by prepayment or tier is usually negotiated at an early stage.
• Miscellaneous: Many points that are not part of the main negotiation may be included because they are important to the project and overlooking or forgetting can create problems for the project.

Project plan:

Planning is known as choosing from different alternatives to achieve the goals of the project.

Planning depends on predicting the future, choosing between available alternatives, defining in advance what must be done along with the necessary procedures for its implementation, and when and how to implement, meaning that any precautionary process must include answering the following questions:

• What should be done? (what)
• Where will this project be performed? (where)
• When should this work be done? (when)
• How will this work be performed? (How)
• Why should this work be done? (Why)

Planning Responsibility:

1. Planning is the responsibility of the project manager on a tactical and operation levels, thus the responsibility for strategic planning remains at the senior levels.
2. Usually, in large organizations, there is a planning department that assists all administrative levels to prepare plans and programs. The planning department sets the master plan, and if the senior management approves it, then it becomes in the form of instructions.

The planning process:

• Project glossary:

A glossary is an alphabetical list of technical terms, or abbreviations and their definitions, which usually relate to the project. It is prepared to unify concepts between the project team as well as between project management and its clients.

• Key performance indicators (KPIs):

After the completion and approval of the plan, the key performance indicators are identified, so that they can be measured and observed, to know the progress or delay of the project in carrying out its tasks to intervene at the right time to find out the root causes of the problems and work to solve them.

Examples of KPIs:

• Project schedule.
• Estimated time of delivery comparing to actual performance or project completion.
• Development backlog.
• Financial status.
• Resource allocation.

3- Executing:

It is the stage of actual implementation of plans and programs to achieve the project’s objectives. Projects differ in the way and method of implementation, however, there are a set of procedures that the project manager must undertake, namely:

1. Data recording and analysis.
2. Quality management.
3. Time management.
4. Safety precautions.
5. Logistics and supply chain management.
6. Administrative affairs.

In addition to applying any requested or imposed change either by the management or the stakeholders according to circumstances of economic, legal, or environmental change.

Monitoring and controlling:

It is the process of monitoring and identifying deviations in addition to identifying the problems by periodically comparing the actual performance with the standards and developing fundamental solutions to them.

The monitoring and control process can be clarified through the following steps:

Closing:

This stage takes place when the project succeeds in achieving its goal and begins handing it over to the other party or moving from the preparation and construction stage to the operating stage if it is an internal project for the organization. There is a set of procedures to be taken upon handing over and closing the project as follows:

1. Evaluation of the end product according to standards that were set in the planning phase.
2. Handing over documentation.
3. Legal, budget and contract closer.
4. Archiving all relevant documentation and records.
5. Relocation of personnel and material resources from the project location.

Final actions:

The project management team led by the project manager must seek feedback from the stakeholder, in addition that the team must conduct a meeting to evaluate the whole process and draft a final report including best practices and setbacks to be taken into account whenever the organization initiates the project again.