Your All-Inclusive Guide to Project Management

With the sheer number of projects actively conducted across several industries, we can't even begin to comprehend the importance project management has garnered in recent times. But to understand this level of importance, we'll need to familiarize ourselveswith project management.

Project management involves using relevant techniques, skills, knowledge, and tools to ensure that the finished project delivers value to people. In addition, tech companies require project managers to guarantee that the client and the team are aligned to prevent clashes and catastrophes within the software project.

The Rise of Project Management

The global COVID-19 pandemic brought about dramatic changes to the business world and affected the project management domain as well; evidence of change is present in the KPMG report, which showed that an astounding 58% of individuals stated that COVID-19 had a substantial impact on their projects.

The reason for these changes can also be subject to the introduction of remote and hybrid work strategies, which had to be integrated into project management techniques to continue successful business operations.

These events showcased the importance of project management in such troubling times; it's no wonder why 89% of organizations across the globe now house a minimum of one project management office while 50% go a step ahead by having more than one!

Why Hire a Project Manager?

The widespread perception of project management has mostly stayed the same, even with its rising popularity. Even now, only 46% of companies place a high priority on a culture that values project management, this low level of prioritization is due to how several companies consider project management a cakewalk, which is far from the truth.

Any project manager can contest that their role entails a lot more than just managing project teams while balancing time and budget constraints.

To be an effective project manager means uniting clients and teams with a shared vision for a successful project such that relevant client requirements are met and understood by the team, which results in a final product that goes beyond the status quo. This leads to a positive and productive process being experienced by the team and client that reverberates beyond the delivery of the project.

And how can we forget the benefits employers gain as project managers make sure that their teams remain vigilant and creative and use their practices and skills to reduce their organization's operational expenses.

Project Management Lifecycle

The project management lifecycle is at the epicenter of all successful projects. It allows the effective use of resources in allocated budgets while mediating fruitful communication between team members and the client. Additionally, it enables project plans to bear fruit by achieving relevant objectives. Its four phases are as follows.

Initiation

The initiation phase involves the identification of the purpose of the project and what it hopes to achieve. Following this, a project mandate is circulated describingthese factors and allocates a budget for them. This phase can include the following.

• Feasibility study
• Identification of project stakeholders
• Identification of project scope

Planning

After project approval, it's time for the planning phase; here, the project lead segments the entire project into smaller tasks & delegates these tasks to individual team members in accordance with their respective skills. A schedule is then created to ensure that these tasks are completed in a given timeframe. This phase can include the following.

• Project plan creation
• Risk anticipation
• Project kickoff meeting

Execution

And now, the phase we've all been waiting for, it's finally time to start working! The execution phase involves keeping the work on track, managing timelines, solving the teammate's problems, and ensuring everything goes according to plan. This phase can include the following.

• Organizing workflows
• Team management
• Providing project updates to stakeholders
• Budget management
• Monitoring quality of work

Closure

Finally, we reach the end of it all, the phase of closure! We enter this phase after project completion, where the final deliverables are presented, and the project success is determined. The project manager and team can now consider the positives and negatives experienced within this endeavor. The final phase can thus include the following.

• Team performance analysis
• Documentation of project closure
• Analysis of project performance
• Post-implementation interviews

Project Management Methodologies

Now we take a deeper dive into project management as we aim to understand the intricacies of project management methodologies that help in meeting industry-specific needs of varying types of projects.

Waterfall Project Management

The waterfall project management methodology is well-known in the tech industry and is often associated with the software development life cycle. It uses linear steps that occur consecutively, reminiscent of a waterfall. Each task within the project is completed in a timely and sequential manner, reducing the likelihood of mistakes.

Lean Project Management

The lean project management methodology focuses on making the best use of the available time and resources, thus preventing waste. Moreover, the project can create a greater value level with fewer resources. Additionally, it brings about a greater level of sustainability to the project while keeping it under the allocated budget.

Agile Project Management

The agile project management methodology also found its way into the tech industry because it focuses on continuous improvement and monitoring of deliverables. This is achieved by undertaking all project tasks concurrently so that they occur in parallel to one another. This allows quick and easy identification of effectively rectified errors without having to restart these tasks entirely.

Conclusion

Successful software projects are the pride of tech companies worldwide, and with the power of skilled project managers, success is but a heartbeat away! But where to find such individuals that embody the knowledge and skills needed to elevate your project's success Aspired can provide you with vetted project managers that can turn your projects into success stories for the ages.