Project Management

In today's technology world, project management faces projects of increasing size, complexity and risk. project management is to make sure that all of the components come together and to see that the project is completed on time and within budget.

Yet the definition of "all the components" keeps getting broader and more complex. More and more ELV projects depend on critical systems integration (SI) issues, including multiple vendors, open systems design, enterprise solution implementation, legacy systems maintenance, and multi-site deployment.

 

Hence, we need to establish the basic organizational structure of a project.  The key people involved in a project are defined as follows:

 

  1. Management. One level above the project manager, this person is the organizational contact for the project.  They often deal with funding the project, providing resources and support, and are usually accountable for project success. 
  2. Project Manager.  The person that handles the day-to-day administration of the project and project team, and is directly accountable for its success.  Large projects can be managed by a project management team.
  3.   Project Team.  The person or people who perform the project's technical work, reporting to the project manager.
  4. Stakeholders.  A party that has an interest in the work being performed by the project.  This ranges from the design team, supply chain, PRO to interact with government regulators. 

 

Phases of a Project

  1. Initiating.  The tasks required to authorize, fund and define the project, generally on the organizational level (above the project).  The organization defines a business need the project is meant to satisfy.
  2. Planning.  The project management team define how the project will be carried out, who will do the work, how long it will take, and so forth.  The planning phase should define the project in sufficient detail that all stakeholders' expectations are understood.
  3. Execution.  The project work is completed and the end product or service is achieved while secondary stakeholder requirements are satisfied.
  4. Monitoring & Controlling.  Concurrent to the project work (execution phase) the project management team monitors and controls all aspects of the project - schedule, cost, stakeholder's requirements, etc.  If any part causes problems, changes to the project plan are made.
  5. Closing.  The project has completed it's product or service, and the project must be closed.