Project Life-Cycle Management and the Benefits of Project Management to an Organization - Research Paper Example

? Project Management Project Management Introduction Project management is an area of management which entails organizing, planning, motivating, and controlling of resources to ensure that specific goals are achieved in an organization. Over the years, project management has been instrumental in ensuring the success of huge organizations such as Cisco hence establishing its importance in any given organization. In order to understand project management better, it is important to consider what a project is. A project can be considered an endeavor which is temporary with a beginning and an end which is defined. It is usually constrained in terms of resources and time thus it is pursued in order to achieve unique objectives and goals with added value or beneficial change (Heldman, 2011). Thus, project management is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that all the goals intended for a certain project are achieved. This paper will research comprehensively the significant principles of project management by selecting the aspects of a project that are crucial and discussing them further. It aim is to establish the fact that project management as a discipline is crucial in successfully achieving an organization’s objectives Project Life-Cycle Management and the Benefits of Project Management to an Organization Generally a project life cycle management has four phases which are Initiation, planning, execution and closure (Watt, 2013). 1) Initiation The initiation phase involves developing a business case, undertaking a study of feasibility, establishing the charter of the project, appointing the team to undertake the project, setting up an office for the project, and finally performing a phase review. 2) Planning Planning involves creating a plan for the project, coming up with a resource plan, a financial plan, and a quality plan. Coming up with a risk plan, procurement plan, and a communication plan is also done in this phase. 3) Execution This is the phase where deliverables are built. It is also in this phase where the project is controlled and monitored. Here, “cost management, time management, quality management, risk management, change management, communication management, procurement management, acceptance management, and issue management are performed” (Murch, 2001). 4) Closure Here steps are taken to wind up the project formally. Project Organizations and the Importance of Leadership and Sponsorship From a project management point of view, there are three types of organizations, functional, projectized, and matrix organizations. In functional organizations, the manager is in charge of everything including team members completely. In projectized organization, teams are divided into different projects and when the project is over they move to another one. Finally, matrix organizations are a combination of both functional and projectized types of organization. Both leadership and sponsorship play a vital role in project management. The importance of sponsorship is that it avails all the necessary resources needed in project management ensuring that that the project meets its desired goals. On the other hand, the importance of leadership is that it plays a crucial role of controlling, planning and organizing the resources that have been provided by the sponsors ensuring that they are fully utilized enabling the project management team to realize their goals. Leadership in project management also ensures that a project is sponsored fully since it is tasked with seeking sponsors who are obvious beneficiaries of the project once it is undertaken and completed. Project Team Building and Techniques of Successful Team Building A project team is the group of personnel tasked with undertaking the whole process of the life cycle of project management. They may be each tasked to different processes of the project. There are various factors that should be considered when undertaking project team building. It is important for project leaders to understand the project which is about to be undertaken before building a team for the project. This is so since different stages and aspects of the project require specialized skills. For example, phases such as planning and execution require specialization of duties hence team leaders should come up with team members with the specialized skills required during the initializing phase. There are six aspects of successful team building. There must be room for creative thinking, specialization, division of duties, good relationship between team members and their leaders, and transparency in the allocation of resources (Nagarajan, 2004). Techniques for Project Scope Definition and the Importance of Managing Scope throughout the Project It is stipulated that project scope definition is one of the most crucial steps in project management (Tutorialspoint, 2013). There are two techniques of project scope definition. One technique is coming up with a high level scope statement. This is usually derived from documents such as a statement of work document. A statement of work document is a document that is formal in nature and defines the deliverables, work activities, a time frame in which the project should be undertaken. The other technique of coming up with a project scope definition is working hand in hand with the client in order for them to specify what they want to be covered by the project. The importance of managing the scope throughout the project is to ensure that the life cycle of the project does not deviate at any one point. This helps in saving both time and resources ensuring that the project is completed within the specified time frame and cost. Creation of a Work Breakdown Structure, and How and Project Manager Breaks Down the Overall Project into Packages In project management, it is essential for a project to be decomposed and broken down into components that are smaller for the project to realize success (Tonnquist, 2009). This is known as work breakdown structure. When creating a work breakdown structure there various issues that must be observed to ensure that the work breakdown structure works in favor of the project. When approached poorly, work breakdown structure might result in different parts of the project succeeding while others fail resulting in the failure of the project generally. When a manager breaks down a project into various sections, he or she should consider the amount of resources available. This should be done by estimating which part of the project cost more and which part of the project costs less. The manager should also consider the level of specialization required since there are parts of the project which require specialized skills while other parts that do not. Finally, the manager should also consider the time allocated when breaking down the project into packages. Importance of Contingency Planning and Why It Can Help Keep a Project on Schedule Contingency planning is where the project leader or manager ensures that the team is prepared for any outcome that is not planned for (Choundhury, 1998). This is usually done in the risk management part of the execution phase of the project management life cycle. Contingency planning is important in project management since it allows for the project team to be flexible incase of unforeseen risks such as insufficient resources. This is crucial since it ensures that the projects continues as planed even if any changes occurs during the time in which the project is being undertaken. Contingency planning ensures that a project is kept on schedule since there will be no event planned or unplanned for that will alter the course of undertaking the project ensuring that the client receives a complete project both on time and at the initial cost. Concept of a Phase Review and why it is Important to Sponsors The project phase review is usually done at the completion of the phase of planning in the project life cycle management. It is of importance to sponsors since it establishes whether the project is within the budget, whether the risks are mitigated and controlled, whether deliverables have been approved and produced, and finally it helps the sponsors establish if the project is on the right track assuring them that there will be no loses hence approving the next phase of the project. The Need for PM Software in Large Integrated Programs and the Benefits to the Overall Project Management Organization The importance of project management software in large integrated programs is the fact that it simplifies the process of combining the different aspects of the project from the different programs (Murch, 2001). This is tricky and time consuming in the case where software is absent. It benefits the organization of the project management since it allows for the systematic planning, and execution of the project. Conclusion It is crucial for teams tasked with managing a project to follow the steps involved in taking up a project. It is significant for such teams to understand clearly on the significant principles of project management and their implementation. This is important because it helps in saving cost and ensuring that the project is completed within the specified or allocated timeframe. It is also essential to note that project team leaders and managers play a very vital role in any project undertaken. This is so since their decisions and actions directly dictate the success or failure of the project. In order for a project to be successful project management as a discipline is crucial in successfully achieving an organization’s objectives References Choundhury, S. (1998). Project Management. New York. McGraw-Hill Education Heldman, K. (2011). Project Management JumpStart. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Method123. (2013). Project management Life Cycle. . Davids Square, Kennesaw, GA. Retrieved from: http://www.method123.com/project-lifecycle.php Murch, R. (2001). Project Management: Best Practices for IT Professionals. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Nagarajan, K. (2004). Project Management. New Delhi: New Age International. Tonnquist, B. (2009). Project Management. Salt Lake: Academica Watt, A. (2013). Project Management. PressBooks. Retrieved from: http://bccampus.pressbooks.com/projectmanagement/chapter/chapter-7-the-project-life-cycle-phases/ Read More