Quality is an important constraint for every organization that aims to deliver reliable products to its customers.  To ensure the quality of the end deliverable, one must take up serious actions during the developmental stages of the product. Working on a project is certainly not a breeze as it requires skilled manpower, time and money. Most importantly, co-ordination and co-operation need to prevail among the team members for the smooth running of the project. Overall management of the project can help you ensure this.

What Is Project Management?

Project Management can be defined as the set of activities that ensure the completion of a project. The activities refer to the application of knowledge, tools and techniques to meet the desired project requirements.  Every organization needs to implement project management in order to achieve their goals in a systematic and strategic manner. But, who is going to run this management process and protect the organization from utter chaos? The Project Manager is responsible for coordinating and monitoring all the project related activities. He is like a supervisor who ensures smooth sailing during the project development lifecycle. He is held accountable for the prevalence of a friendly and encouraging environment among the peers in his team. Being a Project Manager is not as easy as one may think. Only a person with extensive leadership and management skills can pull this off. He has to periodically check the progress of each individual and ensure that deadlines are strictly met. Another undeniable responsibility of the Project Manager is to pay attention to the Project Management Triangle. Three major constraints make up this triangle: Time, Cost and Scope. It’s the Project Manager’s duty to strike a balance among the triplets to achieve high-quality results. This process can be done in a series of steps.

INITIATION

This is the first and foremost step to every project an organization undertakes. This is the very beginning of the project’s lifecycle where the customers need to be convinced with the ability of the organization in delivering the product exactly the way he wants it. This is also a crucial phase as requirements gathering is done here. It is inevitable that the client’s requirements are understood clearly before beginning the project or else it could lead to adverse effects.

PLANNING

The next stage, after analyzing the client’s requirements thoroughly, is planning the project. It’s always good to have an idea of the process outline before diving into it head-on.  This is where the requirements can be analysed and made sure they are feasible. An approximate budget for the overall project is estimated so that the Project Manager can be ready even in situations where additional costs are incurred.  Project planning involves putting together a strict schedule that all the team members must adhere to so that the project is completed on time.

EXECUTING

Now that the team has a plan, an idea of what they are required to do, it’s time to get down and start working.  Every member in the team has a portion of the work assigned to him that needs to be carried out rigorously. The Execution phase is yet another important phase and the longest one in which deliverables are to be presented to the customers before the deadlines for the purpose of reviewing. The Project Manager has to ensure the maintenance of healthy relationships among the peers for the efficient execution of the project activities.

CONTROLLING

All the activities in progress need to be controlled and monitored efficiently by the Project Manager. Even though the project execution and the monitoring phases are completely different, they should be implemented simultaneously. This makes it easier to identify the possible risks, quantify them and develop a mitigation strategy.

CLOSING

This final stage in the lifecycle marks the end of the project and its final status is reported to the upper management. The client is also informed about the completion of the project and the end product is successfully delivered to him. A Project Closure Report is prepared which enlists all the activities that conform to the completion of the project. This report acts as an indication that the customer requirements have been met.

IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT NECESSARY?

An organization without a strategic and planned project management process is akin to a ship sailing without control. Project Management is what gives the organization the much needed motivation to accomplish its objectives. Sometimes, when a team is left to work on its own, there might not be clear objectives and this may hinder the development of the project. A good Project Manager can prevent the team from faltering and encourage them to put in all their efforts to work towards the ultimate goal. Project Management also helps to control the quality of the product being delivered. Generally, during project development, the employees have to deal with a huge amount of stress, pressure and much more due to tight schedules and strict deadlines. When employees work under such adverse conditions, the developed product may not be of the desired quality and may fail to meet the customer’s expectations. Hence, there is an absolute necessity for Project Management in organizations that wish to carry out the entire development process in an orderly fashion.

Is This The Right Career For You?

If you’re still wondering why you should take up such a rigorous yet, interesting career position that demands your leadership skills be shown to the world, keep reading to find out! The number of job opportunities in this particular field is immense and there is a chance that it’ll only keep growing. As new business organizations are steadily evolving, the need for manpower with effective leadership and problem-solving skills to enhance productivity is indispensable. Moreover, project managers are not just assets of the IT industry, others require them too. You will have to encounter new opportunities and challenges almost every day, embrace them and learn from them. There are also several certifications available to expand your career choices in this field. Some of them include Project Management Professional (PMP), PRINCE2 and much more. Another ideal certification for a Project Manager is an ITIL certification as it focuses on supporting and managing IT service management which caters to different business needs. If you’re a developer with technical expertise, you can easily transition to the Project Management field with much ease. A quick search in PayScale reveals that the average pay for an entry-level Project Manager.