Project Project Management? I define project management
Project Management 320 Assignment 1 Richard Herman Ferris State University 1. What is Project Management? I define project management in a literal sense; it is the act of controlling the process of a project to accomplish specific goals and objectives. 2. Describe the “iron triangle” or “triple constraint” and its significance in Project Management. The “iron triangle” is of extreme significance in project management because it is the sum of the key constraints (Scope, Time, Cost, and Quality) when planning a project. Together, Scope, Time, and Cost determine the Quality of the project. In a perfect world, a project manager would be able to complete a project before the deadline, at or under budget, and deliver a product or service that includes all of the specified features and functions to ensure that they are offering the highest quality service to their client, however this is not the case. Rather, in the real world, one simply cannot achieve all three constraints.
To better understand, I personally think of the “iron triangle” as a three-way game of tug of war. To deliver a project at the set cost and on time, the scope of the project will suffer and vice-versa. However, the “iron triangle” still remains important in project management because it works as a valuable tool to set the focus of the project. To win at the game of tug of war, typically, a project manager will plan their project to focus on and achieve two of the three constraints. 3.
PMI defines five process groups in Project Management. Describe each process group and how it is vital to a project’s success? Initiating, according to the textbook, “The Initiating Process Group consists of those processes performed to define a new project or a new phase of an existing project” (PMBOK Guide, PMI, pg. 54). The initiating process is vital to a project’s success because it sets the vision of what is to be accomplished. This process includes the obtainment of authorization to start the project or phase, the commitment of financial resources for the project, identifying the internal and external stakeholders who will influence the outcome of the project, and selecting the project manager who will carry out the operations of the project. Planning, according to the textbook, “The Planning Process Group consists of those processes performed to establish the total scope of the effort, define and refine the objectives, and develop the course of action required to attain those objectives.
” (PMBOK Guide, PMI, pg. 55) The planning process is an ongoing process, meaning that as the project goes on, documents such as the project management plan are further developed with greater detail (referred to as progressive elaboration). This process is vital to a project’s success because it is directly related to how well the project is planned, “Failing to plan is planning to fail”.
Executing, according to the textbook, “The Executing Process Group consists of those processes performed to complete the work defined in the project management plan to satisfy the project specifications.” (PMBOK PMI, pg. 56) This process is vital to a project’s success since a large portion of the project’s budget will be spent to coordinate and perform the work required to create the project’s deliverables. If the project is not executed correctly, the budget may be exceeded and the trust of stakeholders will be lost. Monitoring and Controlling, according to the textbook, “The Monitoring and Controlling Process Group consists of those processes required to track, review, and orchestrate the progress and performance of the project; identify any areas in which changes to the plan are required; and initiate the corresponding changes.” (PMBOK, PMI, pg. 57) This process is vital to the success of the Pproject because failing to effectively monitor the progress of the project will either result in failure or make the corrective action that is needed exceed the budget and or deadline of the project.
Closing, according to the textbook, “The Closing Process Group consists of those processes performed to conclude all activities across all Project Management Process Groups to formally complete the project, phase, or contractual obligations.” (PMBOK, PMI, pg. 57) This process is vital to the success of the project and future projects because of the importance to archive documents, record lessons learned, and celebrate the formal completion of the project or phase with the project management team.
