Project Management: What You Should Know8 min read

In the next several posts I’ll be writing about project management.
This is a topic I covered as a lecturer for students at Kosice Tech University
(University Pavla Jozefa Šafárika).

So let’s start and let’s see what was the presentation lifecycle.

I will start with some generalities about Project Management, some formalities like Methodologies and useful tools and then I will move on to how to assemble a team from scratch I will bring the presentation to an end with how to deal with and handle the team (which is, in my opinion, most critical and harder part to do), since, as we all know, there are good times but unfortunately bad times knock on our doors as well.

ABOUT PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Some general definition of project management is like this:

Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints.

Wikipedia

Each project consists of a phase:

• Initiation
• Planning
• Execution
• Closing.

Project management is an exciting field of study! It involves managing projects from start to finish, including developing a plan, executing the plan, and monitoring progress along the way. 

With project management comes the opportunity to work on a variety of different types of projects and see them through from start to finish. 

I’m looking forward to showing you more about this exciting field and giving you insights of the skills necessary to become a successful project manager.

Project management has been an incredible asset for me professionally and personally. I have always loved the idea of juggling multiple tasks, meeting deadlines, and the most complicated task of all, forming a cohesive team, with one goal in mind: success.

When I was first introduced to project management, I felt my skills as an organizer were finally put to use! 

Now that it’s part of my daily routine, I have come to understand why it is so important – not only does it help keep me organized and on track but also helps me get the most out of the time available.

THE IRON TRIANGLE

What’s important to talk about when talking about project management is the iron triangle of project management.

TIME-SCOPE-COST is a concept in project management that basically means that you can control only two angles of this triangle.

If you try to remove some of these you will get different effects. For example

Schedule delay causes coordination problems, right?

Scope or frequently referred as Quality, sacrificing quality to accelerate delivery leads to decrease in time and cost 

Manipulating the Cost might cause some small wins but in the long run, doesnt pay off.

As you can see you can only adjust 2 out of 3 angles, the last one has to flex.

So be picky when choosing which one is important for you to sacrifice.

EFFECTIVE PROJECT MANAGEMENT

I’ve found that effective project management starts with setting clear goals, deadlines, and expectations. 

That way everyone involved can plan accordingly and there will be no surprises along the way. 

It’s also important to set aside enough time for brainstorming sessions or any other type of team-building activities.

Clear goals

I am an advocate for setting clear goals. Whenever I begin a project, I take the time to break it down into smaller objectives with specific deadlines. 

Doing this helps me keep track of my progress, stay on task and motivate myself.
In addition, as a team leader, I also use this method when delegating tasks to members of my team. 

It allows everyone to understand their role and prioritize their work based on deadlines that have been established.

One of the most rewarding aspects of setting clear goals is that it encourages collaboration within a team environment. 

When tasks are divided into smaller segments with specific deadlines, there is less room for error and more opportunities for the successful execution of the project by all parties involved.

Expectations

Expectations are an essential part of project management. As someone who loves working in teams, I always come into projects with high expectations in terms of quality and outcome. Setting deadlines and achievements to strive for helps create a sense of urgency that encourages my teammates and me to strive for excellence while also efficiently managing our time. 

When people work together towards a common goal, amazing things can be accomplished–and setting expectations can help provide direction and motivation. 

When it comes to teamwork, having expectations is essential to successful collaboration between team members. 

Everyone needs to know their role in order for the project to reach its desired outcome by the deadline set forth.

Deadlines

Deadlines are an integral part of project management. Being able to deliver a product or service on time is essential for success, and I have found that working towards deadlines helps me focus. Establishing a timeline ensures the completion of tasks during certain stages of the project, which allows me to plan my workflow accordingly, leading to greater efficiency. 

Deadlines also help me stay organized and motivated; having a target date at the forefront of my mind, keeps me pushing for results and encourages teamwork as well.

When I work in teams, setting deadlines helps coordinate efforts between everyone involved. It creates an environment of accountability by ensuring all members fulfill their responsibilities within a specified timeframe; this way we can trust each other to meet our objectives on schedule. Working together towards meeting deadlines requires effective communication and collaboration among team members which further strengthens our bond and improves productivity overall!

Since we are talking about effective communication, I would like to draw attention to soft skills and I would like to point out the 5 essential Project Management skills. There are a bunch of skills needed for the PM role but these 5 I would like to point out to you:

TOP 5 PM SKILLS

5 Essential Project Management Skills

1. Essential Communication Skills (basically soft skills or in other words people skills, which i find the most important one as this is so in high demand right now)
   
   Effective management skills depend heavily on communication abilities. Strong communication capability and useful leadership skills usually go together. Project management is about leading teams from distinct different departments who may not be accustomed to working together. Members often have distinctive abilities and are expected to bring a unique sense to the table. A versatile communicator is an asset to an effective project management team. This soft skill, I find the most important one as this is so in demand right now. Among other soft skills, there is Leadership, Motivation (this topic I will cover later), Conflict Management, Organizing things (meaning building a great team around yourself), Time-management and of course decision-making.   
   
2. Essential Time Management Skills
   
   Effective managers normally have an understanding of time management and the capacity to effectively prioritize tasks. They’ll be likely to motivate employees to complete work on time and avoid procrastination, which can increase their productivity and minimize distractions in several key project areas.
   
3. Project Management Organizational Awareness
   
   Different types of organizational structures can affect management style. In businesses with a functional organizational structure, a traditional business hierarchy features directors with a new overall quality. In a project-based organization structure, organization teams are given autonomy to handle specific projects.
   
4. Essential Problem-Solving Skills
   
   Project management typically involves having an existing solution to a problem before initiating a new situation. In order to be proactive and on the lookout for potential problems, project managers should have a solid understanding of the following problem-solving method:
   • Clearly communicate your objective to help give a clear set of goals and objectives that help you achieve success.
   • Investigate the matter extensively in order to identify factors that may be involved.
   • Consider all ways and means of solving the issue and gain perspective on each solution’s pros and cons.
   • Among all the choices you found in the previous step, choose the best option.
   • Oversee the implementation of your decision, and adjust as necessary to meet the unique challenges resulting from it.
   • Take note of any obstacles that will arise in your effort to solve the problem and what you can do to overcome those challenges.
     
5. Essential Leadership Skills
   
   Effective project management begins with the capacity to establish clear leadership paths. A project manager equipped with professional communication skills and a calm temperament is capable of listening to all team members and mediating in conflict situations effectively. Leaders should also be able to develop a diverse target audience and manage the project’s workflow.
   Effective project managers often make excellent decisions and provide tasks to subordinates capable of handling them.

With this, I will finish part one of the PM series. In part 2 of PM series, I will write about METHODOLOGIES AND TOOLS.