project management log

One of the most prominent characteristic of a project as a concept, is its sharp delimitation in time. It has clear start and end dates and is designed to achieve a unique scope, unlike the ongoing operations specific for business management. Sometimes, the end date of a project is the most important characteristic of the project. It is the starting point when designing the project deployment, any other characteristic being subordinated to this. In fact using a project management software allows a project manager to add a higher level of transparency regarding the interaction between various factors that interact when developing a project. Keeping some of this variables constant (like the end date of a project), allows to the project managers to determine and control the others (like cost or scope of the project).

Because of it’s very limited nature, a project duration can be clearly divided into five main phases. In the following observations we will presume that the
client has clear expectations regarding the project and knows decently well what results he needs. The five main phases of a project are the following:

- defining
- planning
- execution
- controlling
- closure

In the defining stage an important aspect is to speak with the people who are affected or exert influence over the project evolution. These people are referred to as the stakeholders. Getting their feedback will help you outline the project activities. This is commonly known as the scope (the work that should be done). It is equally important to write down both what will and will not be achieved. You want to make sure you know what the stakeholders are expecting. In this phase the aims and objectives are set, including the development of project deliverables and the desired outcomes of a specific set of activities.

The planning stage presumes breaking the deliverables into subdeliverables down to a level where activities can be outlined
. Subsequently can be defined the relations between tasks and their timeline for completion. An important aspect of this stage is defining the requirements for completion of the project, stipulating the needed resources as well as any other requirements deemed necessary. The risks and project constraints are identified and contingency plans originated to address any of these potential issues.

The execution phase takes the major part of the project. Here is most likely that surprises and conflicts to occur and sometimes corrective actions should be taken in order to bring the expected performance in accordance with the project plan. Project manager is responsible for coordinating individuals and make them acting like members of the same team.

As the work begins, the next stage of controlling the project defines the success or failure of a project manager, as the constant surveillance and adaption of project plan are required to reflect the progression of invol
ved activities. A project manager should take advantage of the methodologies and software available on the market. A large number of them are available online.

In the project closure stage, the team will be pulled together to analyse project performance and outline the learned lessons.

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If you’re looking for guidance to help you manage your project with added confidence, then this article will help you.

Below I discuss seven key principles, based upon the PRINCE2 project management framework, designed to improve the likelihood of your project succeeding.

1. Business justification: every project should lead to a worthwhile return on investment. In other words, we need to understand the benefits that a particular project will bring, before committing ourselves to any significant expenditure. During the lifecycle of a project, however, circumstances can change quickly. If at any point it becomes clear that a return on investment is no longer feasible, then the project should be scrapped and no more money wasted.

2. Defined roles and responsibilities: everybody working on the project needs to understand the nature of their involvement: for what is each person responsible, and to whom are they accountable? Without clear roles and respo
nsibilities, nobody will know precisely what he or she is supposed to be doing (and everybody will pass the buck at the first sign of trouble). In such a chaotic environment, the progress of the project will be seriously jeopardised.

3. Manage by exception: project sponsors should avoid getting too bogged down in the day-to-day running of projects and instead allow the project manager to concentrate on this area. Micro-management by a project sponsor is a hindrance, not a help. Project sponsors should set clear boundaries for cost and time, with which the project manager should work. If he/she cannot provide the agreed deliverables within these constraints, concerns must be escalated to the sponsor for a decision.

4. Manage by stages: break the project up into smaller chunks, or stages. Each stage marks a point at which the project sponsor will make key decisions. For example, is the project still worthwhile? Are the risks still acceptable? Dividing a project
into stages, and only committing to one stage at a time, is a low risk approach that enables the sponsor to manage by exception.

5. Focus on products: it is vital that clients and customers think carefully about the products, or deliverables, they require, before the project begins. The clearer they can be about their requirements, the more realistic and achievable the plans that can be produced. This makes managing the project much easier and less risky.

6. Learn from experience: don’t risk making the same mistakes on every project; consider why certain aspects went well or badly, then incorporate the lessons learned into your approach to your next project. Humans have an amazing capacity to learn, but when it comes to repeating errors made during previous projects, we all too often fail to learn the lessons.

7. Tailor to suit the environment: whatever project management methodology or framework you favour, it must be tailored to suit the needs of your
project. Rather than blindly following a methodology, the project manager must be able to adapt procedures to meet the demands of the work in hand. How you plan on a two-week project is likely to be very different from how you plan on a two-year project

In summary, the project management principles discussed here can be applied universally, irrespective of language, geography or culture. These principles have been proven in practice over many years; adhere to them, rather than struggle on without a coherent strategy, and you will have a greater chance of project success.

Simon Buehring is a project manager, consultant and trainer. He works for KnowledgeTrain which offers [url=http://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/prince2-training-courses.php]PRINCE2 courses[/url] in the UK and overseas. Simon has extensive experience within the IT industry in the UK and Asia. He can be contacted via the KnowledgeTrain [url=http://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk]project management cou
rses[/url] website.

Centuries ago our ancestors executed projects of advanced difficulty such as discovery of new lands, construction of enormous buildings, relocation of tribes, war strategy development. All that can be characterized as labor organization. Over the time human beings invented methods and processes to help them manage their activities more efficiently. With the beginning of the era of high technologies scientists transformed the accumulated knowledge into a whole new discipline called project management. In order to save time, money and efforts modern world has a strong tendency to organize our daily life as much as possible so people could easily perform several tasks without quality loss of their work. To meet our personal needs we use notebooks and daily planners, whereas companies need far more sophisticated tools in order to maintain their business effectively. This is when enterprise project management comes to the rescue.
Today’s industry of project management software
represents an abundance of companies offering their services for all dimensions of business. But what exactly are they trying to sell us? What do they mean by effective resource project management, project management tool, IT project management, project management software and online project management? Why all these services are vital in order to survive in today’s competitive market? Let’s try to answer all these questions.
First of all without a perfect understanding of planning, scheduling and controlling even the most brilliant idea has a high rate of failure. In order to execute the above mentioned tasks project team needs to develop a system that would help them work within the organization’s culture, manage stakeholder expectations, understand the business objectives, solve various problems, make correct decisions, easily communicate with each other and effectively maintain the project itself. The computer and Internet access have made project management a lot eas
ier. Nowadays with the help of specially designed project management software, project management tools and online project management employees can exchange information, share their knowledge and experience by means of the world web. Computer project management allows managers to handle all aspects of the project remotely so no more time and money is being wasted or lost on business trips, conferences and meetings. IT project management tools allow to see progress at every step of project implementation. Resource project management software can be customized to meet the requirements of any business, makes work process tension free and smooth and allows your company to succeed.
Benefits of enterprise project management software
- Makes the decision making process fast, apt and effective. The centralized project data stays reliable and up to;
- Facilitates real time communication, file sharing and proofing for members of the team, management and clients, reduces time
and budget wastage;
- Allows to track and time projects through disciplined updating procedures and time-frames;
- Helps to achieve the objectives and goals of company’s projects by means of one centralized project management system;
Today’s there is a great abundance of companies developing IT project management software and only most sustainable and professional companies like VCSonline can survive in such a highly competitive market. VPMi Professional is one of the best full featured online project portfolio management system with thousands of satisfied customers. It lets you and your clients to keep their conversations, ideas, schedules, files, to-do lists and more in a centralized data system. VPMi Professional will save your time and money and will greatly increase the effectiveness of all aspects of your business.
Make your business more effective, save time and money with VPMi. A team of highly qualified professionals will provide your company with an eff
ective project management software tailored to the needs of your business at a moderate price. VCSonline is the leader on the market of enterprise project management and is ready to prove it.

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Project management is a well planned approach for a process from start to end. It is concerned with the planning and guiding of the project from start to finish. Any process needs to be guide in usually five stages. They are initiation, planning, execution, controlling and closing. Project management can be applied to almost all type of projects but especially it is applicable in software development projects to control the complex process. Project management is an organized effort and it is planned very carefully. To accomplish a specific project, project management is essential.

Project management is handled by project manager to implement the project successfully towards its goal. For successful completion of any project it is necessary to have a proper project management. The main objective of the project management is to attain its goal successfully.

Numbers of approaches are there to manage the activities of the project. They are:

The traditional a
pproach-This approach aims towards the completion of the project in sequence or in traditional manner. For the completion of the project there are five stages in this approach. They are:

* The stage of project initiation
* The stage of design or project planning
* The stage of production or project execution
* Project monitoring and controlling systems
* The stage of project completion

Extreme project management- To execute project task, the critical chain project management give more emphasis to human and physical resources. By this method of planning and managing projects all the constraints are exploited and priority is also given to it. In critical chain project management all the projects are planned and managed only when the resources are ready.

Extreme project management- Complex type of project is handled in extreme project management. In this project management experts always try to identify the different models which is ‘light weig
ht’ such as Agile Project Management.

Scrum techniques and extreme programming for the development of software are used in this method. It is the combination of management of human interaction and process modeling.

Event chain methodology- The complement to the critical path method and the methodologies of critical chain project management is another method that is Event chain methodology. This project management deals with the model of uncertainty. The main focus of this management is towards identifying and managing the events or the chain of events which will affect the schedule of the project. Event chain methodology follows the following principles:

* Event chains
* Project tracking with events
* Probabilistic moment of risk
* Project tracking with events
* Event chain visualization

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Read information on [url=http://www.nickmutt.com/erp-project-management.htm]ERP Project Management[/url] and [url=http://www.nickmutt.com/erp.htm]Definition of ERP[/url]. Also read [url=http://www.nickmutt.com/benefits-of-erp.htm]Benefits of ERP[/url] before you decide to implement an ERP in your organization.