Project Management: Key Factors, Skills, and Lifecycle
Factors Affecting Project Success
Market Dynamics
The market significantly influences project development. Customer needs in dynamic markets translate into project changes, impacting deliverables and timelines.
Organizational Culture
Projects operate within organizational cultures. Team behaviors, influenced by organizational styles and habits, affect project dynamics and outcomes. Decisions are perceived differently by team members, leading to varied levels of support or dissent.
Resistance to Change
Resistance to change, stemming from a desire to maintain familiar routines, can impact project realization. Project management must address this resistance to ensure successful implementation.
Stage-Specific Factors
Project challenges often arise at specific stages. For example, strained relationships due to conflicts or differing perceptions can significantly impact outcomes. Focusing on the problem itself, rather than individuals, is crucial.
Drastic Course Changes
Changes in direction, often due to market shifts or environmental factors, can negatively impact projects. These changes can disrupt tasks and deliverables, leading to frustration and unmet goals.
Emotional Influences
Projects are driven by people, and their emotions matter. Commitment, affinity with tasks, empathy, and overall project enthusiasm contribute to achieving desired results.
Stakeholder Situations
When multiple organizations are involved, the situation of each can affect the project. For instance, a supplier’s financial difficulties can impact resource allocation, creating a domino effect.
Learning Curves
New technologies introduce uncertainty and learning curves. These factors can consume resources, time, and costs. Once the learning curve flattens, expectations may shift based on the technology’s capabilities.
Impact on Affected Parties
Project results can affect individuals, particularly if their work is modified or automated. Resistance from those affected can create barriers to project completion, as seen in outsourcing projects.
Project Management Knowledge Areas
Core Resources
Projects utilize resources like human capital, time, scope, and cost. Optimizing these resources is crucial for achieving desired outcomes. Each area requires specific knowledge and proper administration.
Quality Management
The combination of resources results in deliverables (products or services) that must meet expected quality standards. Quality management is essential throughout project development.
Communication Management
Effective communication is vital for keeping stakeholders informed and engaged. Poor communication can lead to disinterest and diminish the project’s perceived importance.
Procurement Management
Projects require inputs throughout their lifecycle. Ensuring timely access to resources with the required characteristics is crucial for avoiding cost and time overruns.
Integration Management
Effective project initiation and integration, including defining requirements, team roles, and work organization, are critical for success.
Risk Management
Projects face potential risks that can threaten their completion. Risk management involves anticipating and mitigating these risks to minimize negative impacts.
Project Phases and Lifecycle
Phases and Deliverables
Project phases are typically defined by key deliverables. The completion of a deliverable marks the end of one phase and the beginning of another. Quality assessments are usually conducted before starting a new phase.
Technology Project Phases
Technology projects often involve phases like requirements definition, solution design, implementation, testing, and deployment.
Traditional vs. Spiral Lifecycle
The traditional lifecycle involves sequential completion of project phases. The spiral lifecycle iteratively repeats phases (requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment) until project completion.
12 Essential Project Management Skills
- Project Definition
- Work Planning
- Contract Administration
- Supplier Management
- Work Plan Administration
- Situation Management
- Scope Management
- Risk Management
- Communication Management
- Documentation Management
- Quality Management
- Metric Administration
Work Plan Management
The work plan, a key deliverable, outlines tasks, order, effort, and assignments. It’s an estimate of how work will be completed, subject to change.
Situation Management
Situations arise when problems impede project progress and require external help. A defined process for identifying, evaluating, and resolving situations is crucial.
Administration
Administration involves planning, organizing, directing, and controlling activities to achieve objectives using available resources and techniques.