Friday 10 August 2007

Project Management

The July edition of PM Network, the monthly magazine from the Project Management Institute, ran a feature on the importance of project management on small projects. When you are building an airport, putting a man on the moon or constructing a nuclear reactor the need for planning and organization are clear. What this article points out is that the consequences of not properly managing a three month project can be just as disastrous for the organization.

What is Project Management? It is the distillation of the scars and bruises from thousands of endeavors into a model of good planning and follow up. The principles are self-evident. The discipline of applying the principles consistently is priceless. Here's a quick summary:

  • Schedule Management - putting everything on a calendar
  • Team Management - marshaling your human resources
  • Communications Management - keeping everyone informed
  • Quality Management - assessing the output
  • Risk Management - planning for what could go wrong
  • Change Management - not letting the size of the project get out of control
A good summary of Project Management principals is on the Human Resources and Social Development Canada website.

In my field of accounting software implementation, there is a tendency to describe experienced implementers as project managers, whether they have project management training or not. I will be forever grateful to the former IBM consultant who took me aside on a project and said, “If you want to be a real project manager, take the courses from the Project Management Institute.”

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