Project Management In Companies. All The Steps To Take Into Account!
Surely at some point you have thought about making a change with respect to the way your company works , there will probably be things that do not work correctly and you have come to think about reorganizing the operation of various areas. Of course it is always a good idea! But it is always recommended that, before starting the planning of a project, we have to have an elaborate plan so that we can ensure that we achieve the objectives , that is why in this article we will talk about a very useful tool to achieve transformation: project management.
Table of Contents
What Is Project Management?
In order to understand what project management is, you first have to know what is meant by a project in a business environment , which is defined as an accumulation of tasks with a short, medium and long-term vision , which must be executed to develop a business idea or goal. Therefore, project management encompasses the methodologies that are needed to achieve the objectives of a project, as well as the planning and guidelines necessary to achieve it.
Therefore, defined in this way, practically any step that the company decides to carry out can be considered as a project , since they are fundamental in the daily activity of the company and the success of things going well depends on the success in project management.
Project And Its Characteristics
The projects are carried out in a differentiated way to the business activity , since it is required to establish specific objectives to carry out said project. The way to carry out the project is conditioned by the complexity of the objectives, the importance and scalability, that is, the probability that the project can be carried out.
Project management is characterized by monitoring, establishing and executing the fulfillment of realistic, specific, achievable and measurable achievements that can fulfill the organization’s tasks, always guided by three main objectives:
- Drive toward final approval and completion of the project.
- Monitoring of the beginning and evolution of a project.
- Detect problems that may arise and look for various ways to solve them.
How Is Project Management Carried Out?
Below you will have a brief description of the steps to follow to carry out an optimal management of your projects.
Management Plan
- Make an overview.
- Define the scope: specify what actions are needed and how far you want to go.
- Develop the objectives: which must be listed and explained specifically.
- Identify roles and responsibilities.
- Determine the results to be achieved or provided.
- Generate a calendar: creating a calendar we will have the possibility to control the times , in order to be able to divide the project into phases defining each of the tasks, the objectives to be met and the start and end dates of each of these phases .
- Allocate the budget.
- Approval: Everyone involved in the project must review this plan for approval.
Phases Of A Project
The projects are divided into 5 phases that we will detail below:
Project Feasibility Analysis
It is based on checking if the project is viable, the first question we have to ask ourselves is, will the benefit that will be obtained at the end compensate for the investment that is needed? In order to answer this question we will have to analyze elements such as time, the resources needed and the intended economic value.
Thorough Job Planning
Before starting the project, a calendar must be created establishing the dates on which each part of the project begins and ends, as well as all its tasks and its necessary resources. It is important to note that if not carefully defined, this can negatively impact the business.
Realization Of The Project
During this phase , the set of techniques, the ways of managing resources and the way of managing processes are put into practice.
- Monitoring and control of the project: it is the most important phase, since it is based on closely monitoring and controlling the development of the project, in order to check if the planning and quality expectations established from the beginning are being met, with adequate monitoring. It depends on whether the project is ultimately successful or not.
- Closure of the project: the differences between what has been foreseen during the planning and what has actually happened are evaluated , carrying out an evaluation through a checklist or control list.
Project Management Methodologies
Within the project management methodologies, there are 6 different categories that, below, we will summarize how they work:
The Traditional Sequential Methodology
It is a methodology based on sequential phases , that is, until one phase is finished, it will not be possible to move on to the next one, therefore, at all times it is possible to control the development and completion of each phase. Although it allows a good follow-up of the procedure, it has a disadvantage , that if it is necessary to modify a phase , it is necessary to go back to the beginning and start almost from scratch.
Agile
Some elements are appreciated above others:
- Employees and their interactions on tools and processes.
- Efficient software above documentation.
- A collaboration with the client on a negotiation.
- The ability to answer about the ability to follow a given plan.
- Change management: is a methodology that focuses on change management , taking control of change when it appears and projecting possible risks .
Methodologies Supported In The Process
We work with Business Process Management, BPM ( business process management ), focusing on the procedure to carry out the work as a series of techniques.
Other Methodologies
Its purpose is to manage change while incorporating environmental sustainability into its processes. They are those methodologies that do not fit into any of the previous categories , but that is why they are still important.
In summary, to make important changes within a company , it is best to carry out project management so that in this way you can have a methodology with a series of established steps and, with objectives in each one of them, being certain that act on planning and guidelines in order to meet the objectives that have been established from the beginning.
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