Project Management Techniques

Project management is a creative process and the driving force behind any project success. Effective project management makes projects realize their full potential and creating the success that surpasses their expectations. Poor management, on the other hand, slows productivity and low creativity which affects the project negatively. Project management enables both the team and the client understands the project and its outcomes. Decisions made by both the parties about the project relies on the project’s strategies. Project management creates structures and manages commitments to deliver the agreed results. Project management techniques are essential in controlling over the project management, and ensuring that all project deliverables are managed. Project managers encounter multiple constraints which include time, scope and quality demands. A project manager must ensure that there is proper management of these constraints to ensure that projects succeed.

Lack of project management exposes organizations to many risks, which include unpredictable environment which they have minimal control. This mostly applies to organizations that are growing at a fast rate, and they are not able to keep up with customer’s demands. It can also refer to organizations that are going through hard times and are unable to downsize their strategic appetite to match their shrinking resources (Managementstudy. com, 2018). Proper planning for an organization’s system and structure of work ensures that there will be efficiency and effectiveness compared to companies that do not plan. Project management plays a crucial role in portfolio management as it is easier to implement the corporate strategy in a systematic way (Project Management Institute, 2010). The version will state the schedule of the project, gives the project manager the authority over the project, and indicate the project budget.

The following is an example of a project charter. Project Overview The purpose of the project is to build a new home for Mr. Kelly Jones family. It will be a single owned property built on a one and a half acre, located at 172 Knotty Pine Way, Murrells Inlet, SC, 20001-1234, USA. Mr. Kelly is retiring as an executive manager from a particular company and so needs a place where he can spend time with his family. Mrs. Kelly plans to open a restaurant in the area, and so the project needs to be completed by the end of March 2018. The home needs to be completed as soon, since their two daughters, Shantel and Allison are both in school, and therefore needs to settle as quickly as possible (Onlinelibrary.

Foundation building license 4. Garage front closed 5. Driveway complete 6. Interior and exterior wiring complete 7. Occupancy permit issued PART IV: ANY OUTSTANDING ISSUES The Prime contractor will be involved in ensuring that all the work is done Incentive approved for early deliverables will be 6% There will be a 6% penalty for late deliverables. All tasks contained in the WBS are identified, estimated, scheduled and budgeted. A work breakdown structure, therefore, integrates the scope, time and the cost of the project. A WBS is therefore essential in implementing technical objectives of a project (June 2003). A work breakdown structure is used as a technique of managing the project’s lifecycle, which is track activities involved in a project. The project manager develops a WBS when he receives the initial funding.

The hierarchical methodology comprises of all the project’s phases, critical decision points and other activities needed (wsu. edu, 2005). Work breakdown for Construction of Mr. and Mrs. Kelly Jones Residential house. Most pessimistic is used to calculate the expected duration if significant difficulties are encountered. For example, if to complete Mr. and Mrs. Nelly’s project, the most optimistic time would be 350 days. The most likely days would be 400 days and the most pessimistic days would be 450. If there is a convergence, EST is gotten from the path with the highest EFT. The EFT of the last activity is the project’s duration. LST for a reverse Pass =LST +LFT. LFT (last activity) =EFT. LST=LFT-T The LST of the following activities determines the LFT for the remaining activities.

A budget sheet is therefore developed, which is a fiscal document utilized in managing expenditures and performance of projects. Managing a budget refers to covering all the expenses involved in a project and ensures that it sustains in the long run. Budget preparation provides that specific outlines are developed and justified for use. There are three processes involved in budget preparation including the estimating the anticipated costs, explaining the budget outlines and ensuring there is cost-effectiveness. The first process in a budget process is estimating the anticipated costs to determine the dollar expression of the of project activities. List all the suppliers involved in the procurement process. Defines contractual relationships established by suppliers List the procurement items and the total cost incurred in the procurement.

Additional Category Define the additional expenses incurred in completing all the tasks and activities. Professional services acquired during the project. Justifying the Budget Outline After outlining the budget, the second process is known as justifying a budget. Cost-effectiveness enables the project manager gets an insight of the monetary inputs required to deliver project’s outcomes. Use of EST for accurate cost planning Accurate time estimation is an essential skill in project management. Without this, it is hard to estimate how long a project will take. Successful projects are judged on whether they were completed on time and the budget set. To achieve this, the project manager needs to negotiate reasonable budgets and attainable deadlines. Critical Preparation of a sound quality management plan Quality is defined as a process of meeting the customer’s expectations, mostly achieved through project’s activities.

A Quality Plan refers to various activities done before the beginning of a project and ensures there is quality throughout the project. Project Quality is important as it assists in defining these activities. They are also defined as activities that are aimed at delivering products while meeting customer’s quality expectations. Most of these activities are based on quality standards on delivering products (Visitask, 2004). Quality Assurance It means fitness for use because requirements have been adhered to. It mainly focuses on the project processes to efficiently produce project deliverables. It focuses on meeting standards by ensuring consistency throughout the project hence ensuring that any defects are eliminated. Quality Assurance is meant to assure product’s quality by ensuring the process involved in producing this product is free from any defects and adheres to all customer expectations.

Quality assurance is based on a process approach since its main purpose is to prevent any defects in project deliverables. These measures provide important information to product and service to ensure they meet their specifications. Without quality control, it is difficult for organizations to depend on standard processes without information of how they are performing. Cause and Effect Diagrams They are utilized to identify the cause of the existing problems. The diagrams are also used in analyzing risks found in the processes. Charts of Control They are used to demonstrate the process stability. The primary objectives of the risk management are to monitor and identify the changing risks. It also enables an organization minimizes the impacts of the project risks. Risk management allows the management focus on higher priority risks.

It becomes easier for management to communicate with the project team about project stakeholders. Risk Identification Activities that project team will undertake to identify risks are outlined. If the risk is simpler, the probability is used to analyze the risks. If the risks are more complicated, a risk software is used in providing advanced quantitative methods for analyzing risks. Risk analysis involves two processes, assessing each risk and its harm to the project. The second step is prioritizing all the risks for attention and actions. Risk Assessment Risks are assessed according to factors such as timeline, status, and responsibilities. Mitigation means reducing the probability and the impact of the risk (mdps. gov. qa, 2017). Strong Communication Plan to ensure smooth function between project Stakeholders Project communication requires the coordination of all the team members.