The Tenets of Project Management
Project management is critical to getting work done correctly. Project management’s goal is to create something that will be repeatable, consistent, and useful for many people. If everyone built projects in a different way, teams would have a very hard time working with each other. Project management also ensures that the project delivers the desired results, that it’s completed within the specified timeframe, that it stays within budget, that people and resources are being used appropriately, and more. This is just the tip of the iceberg. For these reasons and more, the discipline of project management is still critical to getting work done correctly and efficiently.
Project management has been around for a very long time, but there were some challenges to project management, and back in the 1950s, organizations started to standardize project management tools and techniques with construction and engineering projects, such as buildings, roads, defense work, and manufacturing.
Years ago, there was also a lot of confusion about project management and how you could build and complete your work in an effective and timely way. As work became more complex, the Critical Path Method (CPM) and Project Management Body of Knowledge became the standard in 1996 and still are used in management practices.
The CPM is a technique that addresses the challenges of project management. It is used to plan, schedule, and manage complex projects by helping project managers identify the most important tasks and activities of the project and determine the overall timeframe of the project – it provides a representation of the project schedule and the key activities of the project.
The Project Management Body of Knowledge provides standardized terminology and guidelines for best project management practices. It’s a great reference for managing any project.
Four Aspects of Project Management
In 2017, a study suggested that the success of any project depends on how well four key aspects are aligned:
- DEFINE: What are the aims and expectations of the project? (Why are we doing this?)
- PLAN: Forecasting into the future for effective ways of building.
- MANAGE: Organizing people, materials, and activities, including collaboration and communication with lines of authority.
- REVIEW: How did the project make out, and what did you learn to improve the next one?
A project has a beginning and an end. Children play with a beginning and an end. A project needs to drive communication and collaboration if the project is to scale. Children like to work together and invent new and exciting ways to build stuff.
In today’s streamlined business world, project management is no longer strictly a specialty. Now, almost everyone is required to play the role of project manager despite lacking the necessary certifications, Gantt charts, or the Critical Path Method. Your employees need a solid skill set they can apply every day to overcome the challenges of project management and meet this growing demand. HRDQ’s Rocket: The Project Management Game is a practical, hands-on game that requires participants to create a rocket following the appropriate steps from planning to completion, learning each phase along the way. Rocket is based on the global industry standard, Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).
