Why is WVF suggesting you wear yet another hat? Well, we aren’t exactly. Here, we just want to show you how a basic understanding of project management (PM) can help you reach your business goals that can fuel sustainability and growth.

If your goals are no closer to fruition than words in a doc, then PM methodology could be just what you need to adopt—whether you deploy the principles yourself or hire a contractor with the proven PM skills.

 

 

What is a project?

  • It is a temporary set of activities to achieve a specific
  • Its goal could be a new product or service or a specific outcome, such as a new accounts receivable process to improve cash flow.
  • It has an endpoint.

A successful project is one that is completed on time and within budget; unfortunately, only 44% of projects are assessed as successful!

A project follows a documented plan that includes a timeline (aka lifecycle), providing the necessary resources—money, personnel, and equipment.

There are five stages in project management:

Project initiation: Someone (likely, you the owner) expresses the need for the project to stakeholders who could be a forum of best customers, selected vendors, investors, or others who have a “stake” in the success of the project and would deem the project of value. The scope of the project is clearly defined at the start since adding to the original scope after project initiation is risky and can contribute to project failure. For example, scope creep can require additional funds which are not forthcoming or additional staffing which is not available. The last step in this stage is to create the project charter.

Project planning: At this point, the details of the project, including the expected deliverables (the items to be produced, such as a new gadget or service.) The time frame for the execution is developed. All the tasks are listed and their schedule for completion is created as well as the allocation of resources as noted. If, for example, you are a prime contractor, you would inform the team members of their roles and responsibilities in the execution of the contract/project.

Project execution: This is the longest stage, of course, and requires that you are following the project plan you created in the project planning stage.

Project monitoring and control: This phase is intermingled with the execution stage where you should be aware of any risks or issues that have arisen. Can you mitigate problems that will negatively impact the project? If you are running low on budget for the project, this is the time to tap into a contingency budget, liquefy an asset, or request a bank loan to enable continued execution of the project plan.

Project close: Project deliverables are reviewed and approved; the project is declared closed.

Now, you can decide if PM should be added to your own business training list or if you should hire a  contractor  who is skilled in the discipline.

Note: The organization that sponsors the Project Manager Professional (PMP) certification is the Project Management Institute; it publishes the standards in the Project Management Book of Knowledge. The discipline is offered in many colleges and universities. Depending on the complexity of your project, you can create your project plan on a spreadsheet or utilize PM software (namely a Gantt chart for planning and monitoring the project elements.