Project management is the management of activities to change the current state of an organization to a desired future state of the organization. Project management is a complex organization of decision-making, planning, implementation, control, and documentation of the experience from start to finish. In addition to traditional project management, there are related areas of project management that you may encounter, have encountered, or are actively participating in. These related endeavors often are superior to individual project management, are part of project management, or equate to less than the management of any given project. To respond to changes in the business environment, many companies have transformed themselves from operations-oriented to project-oriented businesses.
The goal of any project is to bring about beneficial change to the company. A project is a “unique endeavor” that has a “ timescale” – in other words, a beginning and an end, when you’ll hand in the deliverables. A project has an “approved budget” and always involves “an element of risk.” Project management comprises the activities, skills and processes that will bring the project to successful completion. Research indicates that as many as seven out of every 10 projects fail: they are late, overbudget, of poor quality or all of the above.
Given the growing importance of projects to corporations, which must continually adapt to rapidly changing circumstances, these kinds of disappointing project results are a matter for concern. The main reason projects fail is that they lack a systematic implementation methodology such as the “Method123 Project Management Methodology” (MPMM). This method begins by breaking down all projects into four phases: 1. “Project initiation” – the problem or opportunity, and conduct a study to determine what outcome you desire. 2. “Project planning” – Assess the elements essential to the execution of the plan, including but not limited to necessary tasks, resources, quality goals and risks. 3. “Project execution” – Implement the plan. 4. “Project closure” – Deliver the solution, conduct a “post-implementation review” to assess the project’s success and end the project.