What is Project Management?
Project management uses processes, skills, tools, and knowledge to complete a planned project and achieve its goals. It differs from general management because of the limited scope of a project, concrete deadlines, and specific deliverables.
A project exists temporarily and must balance the involved team members’ time and usually the organization’s limited financial resources—a daunting task but one that can be accomplished in a few deliberate steps that utilize special methods and tools.
Stages of Project Management
Project management begins when a manager or team initiates a project. The five steps of project management include:
- The initiation phase. The project manager will assign—or ask for team members to volunteer—to complete specific tasks.
- The planning phase. The team agrees on a schedule with the client or among themselves for the project. The team may also create a communication schedule with key stakeholders, determine the project’s standards and set a budget during this phase.
- The execution phase. This phase is where the work gets done. Employees may work independently or as a team on tasks determined during the previous phases.
- The monitoring phase. The project manager monitors each person or team’s progress along the way to ensure the project is on track to meet the overall deadline and achieve its goals. This phase often happens simultaneous to the execution phase.
- The closing phase. Finally, the project manager ensures the team completed the project to the agreed-upon standards and communicates that the team completed the project.
Project Management Tools and Techniques
Even though every project has its own goals and challenges, team members can utilize similar project management tools and techniques to complete their various deliverables.
How to Use the Toolkit
| Project Phase | Document Name | Purpose | Terminology | Link to Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inititation | Communication Plan | Outlines the flow of information and sets a communication schedule for increased visibility and feedback opportunities. It ensures everyone involved has a clear understanding of the project’s progress. | Executive Sponsor: High-ranking official who provides strategic oversight and support for a project, ensuring its alignment with the company’s objectives. Stakeholder: A key individual or entity with significant interest or influence in a company or project. | Communication Plan |
| Inititation | Project Charter | Official document that authorizes the initiation of a project, outlining project goals, scope, necessary stakeholders, and criteria for success. | Milestone: A significant achievement, product, or deliverable that is vital towards the project’s progression. | Project Charter |
| Inititation | Stakeholder Register | Tool utilized to identify, document, and track all interested parties involved in a project. | Stakeholder Register Template | |
| Planning | Gantt Chart | Tool that visually demonstrates a project’s schedule and dependencies, assisting in planning, scheduling, and monitoring a project’s deliverables. | Dependency: A task that relies on the completion of a different task or milestone. Deliverable: A product produced from project activities, such as a product, service, or documentation. | |
| Planning | RACI Matrix | A tool that helps identify risks, roles and responsibilities for each milestone or task in a project. | RACI Matrix | |
| Planning | Risk Worksheet | Document to track and assess all potential and identified risks, to support mitigation of risks | Risk Worksheet | |
| Planning | Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) | Tool that takes a project to a more granular level producing a step-by-step overview, breaking the project down into smaller, manageable components, to assess scope, cost, and deliverables. | Scope: Refers to the defined parameters and functions of a project and sets guidelines that determine the boundaries of the project (i.e., what will and will not be included in the project work). | WBS Work Breakdown Structure |
| Execution | Project Plan | Document that outlines the execution and stages of a project, including scope, cost, schedule, risk management, resource management and communications. | Project Plan | |
| Execution | Status Report | Document that tracks the project progress against the project plan. | Mitigation plan: Strategic approach that identifies, assesses, and develops a plan to minimize any potential risks that may impact a project. | Status Report |
| Monitor & Control | Root Cause Analysis-Simple | Systematic process to aid in the identification of a cause or issue, with an aim to implement a solution to prevent future recurrence. | Root Cause Analysis - Simple | |
| Monitor & Control | Root Cause Analysis- 5 Whys | Systematic process to aid in the identification of a cause or issue, with an aim to implement a solution to prevent future recurrence. | Root Cause Analysis - 5 Whys | |
| Monitor & Control | Issues Log | To identify and monitor problems before they become serious. | Issues Log | |
| Closing | Lessons Learned | Process of documentation of stakeholder feedback, experiences, pain points identified through the project lifecycle for future improvement. | Lessons Learned |
| Additional Resources | Document Name | Purpose | Terminology | Link to Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Practices | Meetings-Agenda and Notes | Structured guide for a meeting, detailing topics, and key points to ensure efficient facilitation during discussions. | Meeting Agenda and Notes Chart Template | |
| Best Practices | Meetings-Updates and Action Items | Structured guide for a meeting that offers alignment among the project team, tracks progress, challenges, and ensures all necessary parties understand their responsibilities. | Deliverable: Quantifiable outcome or product, produced as a vital component of the project. Action Item: Task or activity assigned to an individual or a group of stakeholders. | Meeting Updates and Action Items |
Resources for Skill Building and Certification
- Project Management Institute (PMI)
- Main Website Project Management Institute | PMI
- Toolkit MI Toolkit
- PMI Phoenix Kickoff Free Project Management Course| PMI KICKOFF™
- PMP Exam Prep book by Rita Mulcahy
- PMP books and YouTube videos by Aileen Ellis
- Agile Alliance Agile Alliance
- Scrum Alliance Class Certified Scrum Master
- What is Project Management? Project Management Definition, Objectives & Examples | AIMS UK – YouTube
- What Is Project Management? Definitions, Examples & More – Forbes Advisor by Meredith Galante and Adam Hardy