what is project management 
project management is the planning and organization of a company s resources to move a specific task event or duty toward completion it can involve a one time project or an ongoing activity and resources managed include personnel finances technology and intellectual property understanding project managementgenerally speaking the project management process includes the following stages planning initiation execution monitoring and closing we ll discuss each of those stages in more depth later in this article project management often is associated with fields in engineering and construction and more lately healthcare and information technology it which typically have a complex set of components that have to be completed and assembled in a set fashion to create a functioning product no matter the industry project managers tend to have roughly the same job to help define the goals and objectives of the project and determine when the various project components are to be completed and by whom they also create quality control checks to ensure completed components meet a certain standard from start to finish every project needs a plan that outlines how things will get off the ground how they will be built and how they will finish every project usually has a budget and a time frame project management uses a type of triage process to keep everything moving smoothly on time and on budget that means when the planned time frame is coming to an end the project manager may keep all the team members working on the project to finish on schedule many types of project management have been developed to meet the specific needs of certain industries or types of projects three of those types are waterfall agile and lean types of project managementthis is similar to traditional project management but includes the caveat that each task needs to be completed before the next one starts steps are linear and progress flows in one direction like a waterfall because of this attention to task sequences and timelines is very important in this type of project management often the size of the team working on the project will grow as smaller tasks are completed and larger tasks begin the computer software industry was one of the first to use this methodology with the basis originating in the 12 core principles of the agile manifesto agile project management is an iterative process focused on the continuous monitoring and improvement of deliverables 1 at its core high quality deliverables are a result of providing customer value team interactions and adapting to current business circumstances agile project management does not follow a sequential stage by stage approach instead phases of the project are completed in parallel to each other by various team members in an organization this approach can find and rectify errors without having to restart the entire procedure this methodology is all about avoiding waste both of time and of resources the main idea is to create more value for customers with fewer resources when managing a project with this approach the goal is similar to that of the lean enterprise production principle the only resources that will be used on the project are those that directly contribute to its successful completion there are many more methodologies and types of project management than listed here but these are some of the most common the type used depends on the preference of the project manager or the company whose project is being managed kanban is a highly visual and intuitive project management methodology designed to optimize workflow and enhance productivity at its core kanban relies on a kanban board a visual representation of the project s tasks and their status tasks are depicted as cards that move through different stages of the workflow typically represented as columns on the board such as to do in progress and done as work progresses team members move cards across the board providing real time visibility into the status of each task and the overall project by visualizing work in this way kanban promotes transparency collaboration and efficiency allowing teams to identify bottlenecks prioritize tasks and maintain a steady flow of work perhaps considered more of a process improvement tool six sigma can still be used in project management six sigma is a rigorous and data driven approach to process improvement that aims to minimize defects and variability within organizational processes six sigma utilizes a structured methodology known as dmaic define measure analyze improve and control in the define phase project goals and objectives are clarified and key metrics are established to measure process performance the measure phase involves collecting relevant data and analyzing process performance against established metrics to identify areas for improvement in the analyze phase root causes of defects or variations are identified through statistical analysis and data driven techniques once root causes are understood the improve phase focuses on implementing targeted solutions to address identified issues and optimize process performance finally the control phase involves establishing controls and monitoring systems to sustain improvements over time ensuring that processes remain stable and continue to meet desired performance levels scrum is a popular agile framework designed to enhance team collaboration and deliver value iteratively scrum breaks down project work into manageable units called sprints usually lasting between one to four weeks each sprint begins with a planning session where the team selects a set of tasks from the product backlog to complete during the sprint once the sprint starts the team works collaboratively to achieve the sprint goal holding daily stand up meetings to discuss progress address challenges and adapt as needed throughout the sprint scrum teams focus on delivering incremental value often producing a potentially shippable product increment by the end of each sprint at the conclusion of the sprint the team conducts a sprint review to demonstrate the completed work to stakeholders and gather feedback steps of project managementdifferent project management frameworks may identify more or less steps in general there s five stages of project management each discussed briefly below the initiation phase serves as the genesis of the project where an idea is nurtured into a clear vision it involves brainstorming feasibility studies and refining the project concept to align with organizational goals and stakeholder needs in the initiation stage project objectives are defined along with the scope of work and the desired outcomes planning is the phase where the blueprint for the project is crafted planning involves breaking down the project into manageable tasks sequencing them logically estimating resources and developing a comprehensive project plan planning usually entails some sort of resource allocation tasks resource allocation ensures that the necessary people materials and budget are available when needed risk management identifies potential threats when those resources may not be achievable at the right time or quantity the execution phase is where the project plan comes to life and the project team swings into action tasks are assigned and the project team members collaborate to bring the project deliverables to fruition quality assurance processes are implemented to verify that project deliverables meet the specified quality standards the execution phase is the period of intense activity as the project potentially visibly progresses toward its goals once the project is underway the monitoring phase involves tracking project performance against the plan identifying any deviations or issues and taking corrective action to bring the project back on course change management processes are implemented to address any changes to the project scope schedule or resources project managers use this phase to tackle any obstacles that come up i e late deliveries personnel being unavailable etc the closing phase marks the culmination of the project journey loose ends are tied and hopefully accomplishments are celebrated in the closing phase the final deliverables are handed over to the customer or end user and any remaining administrative tasks such as contract closure or financial reconciliations are completed it s usually a good idea to debrief on lessons learned to implement better processes or project management techniques for future similar projects example of project managementlet s say a project manager is tasked with leading a team to develop software products they begin by identifying the scope of the project they then assign tasks to the project team which can include developers engineers technical writers and quality assurance specialists the project manager creates a schedule and sets deadlines often a project manager will use visual representations of workflow such as gantt charts or pert charts to determine which tasks are to be completed by which departments we ll touch on visualizations in the next section they set a budget that includes sufficient funds to keep the project within budget even in the face of unexpected contingencies the project manager also makes sure the team has the resources it needs to build test and deploy a software product 