What Are the Steps in Project Management?
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Project Management, Planning and Initiation
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The Project Management Professional is a well respected and sought after certification. Project managers who hold this certification are in high demand. The certification requires extensive experience, educational requirements and the passing of a comprehensive exam. There are five primary process involved in project management: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Controlling and Closing of the Project.
The initiation stage establishes boundaries for the project. It determines the scope of work and primary budget for the overall project. This step is critical and serves as the foundation for the rest of the project. Poor planning during the initiation stage could bring the whole project crumbling down. It is essential for the project manager to understand the business needs and goals for the project. He needs to be fully aware of the budgetary requirements and deadlines. Meetings will take place with management to help set these guide lines.
The planning details the project and plan in place to the project. The project designs, details, prototypes or drawing will be reviewed. This is meant to satisfy the client or sponsor of the project. The project will be signed off on, and the initial supplies will be ordered. This is where the supply chain and delivery cycle are put into place. It is critical that the needed supplies arrive to prevent any possible work-flow stoppage. As long as the client, customer or sponsor is satisfied with the outline and initial planning phases, then the work is ready to begin.
Executing, Monitoring and Controlling
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The executing stage coordinates all of the resources needed to begin the project. This includes labor and raw materials. The work will actually begin and materials will start to arrive. It is the project manager's responsibility to coordinate the different work groups and their assigned duties. Most projects have to be completed in modules or sections. For example: you cannot frame a house before the foundation is poured. The foundation workers must ensure that the rough plumbing has been installed before they pour the foundation. These are all separate tasks in the overall project that must be completed in a specific order.
Effective monitoring and controlling are essential in arriving at a satisfactory completion to the project. This step is conducted throughout the building or designing stages of the project. The project managers are responsible for ensuring the project is being completed on time, on budget and that the quality of the work is good. The project manager must manage the deliverables and make sure the work groups are reaching their milestones on schedule. Failure to complete one phase of the project may cause a devastating chain event to occur with all of the subsequent tasks. The project manager must manage the variables, measure the performance, monitor the deliverables (supplies) and analyze the budget variances.
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Closing
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Closing the project involves winding down the work and receiving final approval from the client or sponsor on the projects acceptance. This phase may include a series of inspections, walk through and meetings. Once this phase is closed, the project is over. Management can now close the books on the project and determine if the project was a financial success.
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