Project Management

What Is Project Management?

Graphics courtesy of The Balance CareersOpens in new window A projectOpens in new window is a unique endeavor to produce a set of deliverables within clearly specified time, cost and quality constraints. Project management is a phrase used to describe a planned, methodical approach to project completion. Such an approach emphasizes “front-end” planning in order to minimize problems in the later stages of the project, as well as emphasizing control of timing and spending.

Project management deals with the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to the planning, coordination, and reporting of project activities with a view to meeting project requirements.

It is an add-on to general management, meaning that it cannot readily exist or be effective without a solid management base. Although it requires its own methodology to bring to bear, in general, it provides the means of focusing attention on a specific goal, task or target.

Projects bring about change and project management is recognized as the most efficient way of managing such change (APM 2012, p. 3).

Badiru (2008), for instance, describes project management as the process of managing, allocating, and timing resources in order to achieve a given objective in an expedient manner.

The objective may be stated in terms of time (schedule), performance requirements (quality), or cost (budget). It is the process of achieving objectives by utilizing the combined capabilities of available resources.

Havranek (1999) on the other hand, describes project management as the “art and science of planning, organizing, integrating, directing, and controlling all committed resources—throughout the life of a project—to achieve the predetermined objectives of scope, quality, time, cost, and customer satisfaction”.

The ultimate benefit of implementing project management principles is having a satisfied customer, whether in form of an individual, community or an organization.

Completing the full scope of work of the project in a quality manner on time and within budget provides a great feeling of satisfaction. When projects are successful, everybody wins!

It is in view of the above that:

The challenge in large companies is to provide guidelines for managing project activities and a consistent procedural framework, both for individual projects and across projects. This enables leaders from all specialties to work together and communicate with one another (Salazar-Aramayo et al. 2013).

Managing a project implies planning and monitoring its execution, enabling objectives to be achieved.

Project management no longer has a specific focus (managing projects), but rather has become an organizational skill that permeates all levels of the company (Kerzner 2010; PMI 2013). The need for project management is no longer debated, but rather what form it will take (tools, techniques or processes) (IPMA 2006).

The Importance of Project Management

The critical role of project management as a key enabler of organizational strategy to implement projects successfully has been widely established in areas such as the planning and control of time, resources, cost and quality.

Sixty years ago, project management was confined to the Department of Defence contractors and construction companies. Today, the concept behind project management is being applied in such diverse industries and organizations such as defence, construction, pharmaceutical, petro-chemicals, mining, banking, hospitals, advertising, information technology, state governments, local governments, and the United Nations.

Majority of literature on management science stresses the importance of project management as an efficient tool to handle novel or complex activities. Kerzner (2010), for example, has suggested that it is more efficient than traditional methods of management, such as the practice of functional divisions in a formal hierarchical organization.

The process of bringing new projects on stream and into the market imposes demands on established organizations and necessitates different management techniques from those required to maintain day-to-day operations.

In such circumstances, where companies have a finite, unique and unfamiliar undertaking, the techniques of project management can be successfully implemented. These undertakings would call for more and faster decision making techniques than possible in a normal operation and making the right choices will be critical to company success.

The use of modern project management has become associated with such novel complex problems, which are inevitably called a projectOpens in new window. Consequently, the success of project management has often been associated with the final outcome of the project.

Project management and project success are not necessarily directly related. A project is considered successful when it is carried out within the desired deadline, budget and quality level, meeting the expectations of the primary stakeholders.

At this point, the work of Baccarin (1999) and Cookie-Davies (2002) is particularly relevant in distinguishing between project management success and project success.

This is considered the most significant, if not the single most important success factor (Havranek 1999).

This implies that project success cannot be measured until after the project is completed. By contrast, project performance can be measured during the life of the project.

Thus, project management success is synonymous with project management performance, because the interest is in assessing management performance and not project results.

There are many projects, where everything is done by the book, even applying the PMBoK guideOpens in new window, but the customer (society, government or investor) is left unsatisfied. For example, there is no point in finding substantial reserves of oil, gas or minerals and in successfully developing them unless the product or result can be disposed at a realistic price.

Thus generating cash revenue to pay operating costs, to meet the requirements of the host government’s “take” (i.e., taxes, royalties or share of production), minimize the environmental impact of the exploration venture on the ecosystems, and duly recover the capital committed to the venture.

To believe otherwise would be likened to the old medical saying: “the operation was a success, but the patient died”. A project cannot be considered successful if it fails to meet the sustainability (economic, social, and environmental) objectives.

The best approach of judging project success is not only by using the traditional measures of “on time, on budget, and on target”, but rather to assess the project outcome based on the “product sustainability” success, i.e., a sustainable outcome both for current and future generations.

Indeed, project management plays a major role in achieving successful business results and a sustainable outcome. Key problem solving skills and techniques relevant to the environmental restoration and remediation industry include: scoping, environmental planning, estimating, modeling, organizing, monitoring and controlling the environment with a view to optimizing project performance targets. In addition, teamwork, motivation, contracts, negotiations, risk assessment, handling data, and documentation are essential requirements for a successful project.

Managing the complexity of major capital projects in today’s natural resource landscape has never been more critical. Against the backdrop of a decline in both global economic conditions and corporate revenues, stakeholders are demanding improved return on investment (ROI), reduced risk exposure, and greater transparency.