The Key to Successful Project Management: Planning and Preparation

Introduction

Project management is a key part of every project. This article provides a list of techniques that you can use to manage your projects more effectively, improve their performance and produce superior results. 

Project management techniques are used to ensure the success of a project. If you want to be successful, you must use the right project management technique for your team, company, and situation.

The first step in choosing which technique is best is determining what kind of project you're working on. For example, if your task involves designing a new product or service then it will be appropriate for you to use exploratory methods like brainstorming sessions and brainstorms because these activities encourage innovation and creativity among employees within your organization. On the other hand if instead, all that needs doing involves updating an existing program then more traditional approaches like assigning tasks according to clear criteria would prove more effective than relying solely on informal communication channels such as email chains (this approach can also be extremely useful when dealing with smaller teams). 

WBS

The WBS is a hierarchical decomposition of the project deliverables. It helps to understand what is required to complete the project and identify those items that need to be identified as work packages. A well-developed WBS will show you where your resources are needed, who can do what works within their competencies, and how much time it will take for each component in its development phase. The WBS also identifies dependencies between components such as software or hardware requirements on other elements such as human resources or equipment purchases.

Project Time management

Project time management is the process of managing the project schedule. The main tools used in this process include the Gantt chart and project management software. A few other techniques include: 

·        Using a project management tool or software that has built-in functionality for tracking your projects' progress (e.g., Microsoft Project) 

·        Having an experienced team member who can help you with this aspect of your business 

Project Scope Management

Project scope management is the process of planning and controlling changes to the project scope. The goal of this approach is to ensure that both the definition and understanding of your project's scope are clear, complete, accurate and consistent. This helps ensure that any changes made to your projects will be in line with what you originally intended. It also allows you to control costs by ensuring that they stay within budget constraints while still allowing room for growth as needed during the development or testing phases of a project. 

Project Quality Management

Project quality management is the process of ensuring that the project deliverables meet the requirements. It ensures that the project is completed on time and within budget, meets expectations from stakeholders and customers, and provides a clear benefit for all involved. 

Project quality management can be defined as an objective approach to managing projects with respect to their outcome or impact on society or the economy. Quality management aims at improving processes so as to ensure consistent results over time; this involves measuring performance against standards established by organizations (ISO 9000) or individuals (ISO 9001). 

Project Budget Management

Project budget management is the process of ensuring that all costs are accounted for and controlled. The project manager is responsible for managing and controlling the budget throughout the life of a project. 

The following are some key aspects of budget management: 

·        Budgeting techniques 

·        Budget preparation (cost baseline) 

Project Risk Management

Project risk management is a process that seeks to reduce the probability of occurrence and/or impact of risks associated with a project. Risk management aims to avoid, minimize or accept specific risks as an inevitable part of any project, thereby ensuring that these types of problems don’t cause you to fail at your goals. 

Risk Management is about identifying those risks so you can mitigate them before they become problems for your team or organization. Risk management involves two main activities: identifying potential problems (known as risks) and then determining how best to address them before they occur by identifying possible solutions (options). 

Project Cost Management 

Project cost management is the process of monitoring and controlling project costs. It involves identifying, estimating, accumulating, recording, and reporting on project costs. Cost management also involves managing cost variances and monitoring project budgets. The project manager should be responsible for cost management in any situation where a firm has been contracted to deliver a product or service with a fixed price tag based on estimates provided by the vendor at the tender stage (see section 3). 

Project Procurement Management 

Procurement management is the process of managing a company’s procurement process. In this article, we will look at what procurement management is and how to manage it in a project. 

Procurement Management Benefits:

Provides transparency and accountability to all stakeholders involved in the acquisition of goods or services for use by your organization; ensures that contracts are awarded based on merit rather than political connections or friendships; helps ensure that costs are reasonable, particularly if you want to use government money (which sometimes becomes available) or private financing sources such as bonds/loans 

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) & Work Package

A WBS is a hierarchical decomposition of the project into smaller components. It is used to define the scope, deliverables, and cost of a project. The WBS is created using inputs from all relevant stakeholders (e.g., customer/client) and then refined based on analysis and input from each team member who will be involved in completing one or more tasks within it. 

The WBS helps you organize your work so that you can better manage it by breaking down projects into manageable pieces called work packages (WP). WPS are usually small enough to be completed within one calendar year but may last longer if needed for various reasons such as large scope items requiring multiple cycles of development or testing before release 

PMI Scheduling Approach 

PMI scheduling approach is a hierarchical project management process that uses an organized structure to build, monitor, and control a schedule. The PMI Project Management Institute (PMI) defines the process as follows: 

The project schedule is a plan for the completion of project activities. 

Schedule development involves identifying all required tasks, estimating their duration and assigning them to the assigned resource(s). 

Schedule management involves monitoring progress against this schedule so that any deviations are identified and corrected immediately before they affect client expectations or affect future projects if not addressed quickly enough before they become critical issues for clients. 

PERT (Program Evaluation & Review Technique) 

PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) is a project management technique that is used to schedule and estimate the time required for completing a given project. PERT is a network diagramming tool that uses data flow diagrams to determine the critical path of a project, which is defined as the longest path through which all tasks must pass in order for the project to be completed on time and within budget. By analyzing this critical path, you can determine how long each activity will take and whether it can be completed within your allotted budget. 

A typical PERT network diagram consists of three basic components: nodes representing resources or tasks; arcs representing dependencies among these resources/tasks; dashes connecting nodes together indicating dependencies between those nodes 

CPM (Critical Path Method) – Precedence & Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM) 

The Critical Path Method (CPM) is a project management technique that is used to determine the sequence of tasks that needs to be performed to complete a project. The CPM works by determining which tasks are critical and need to be completed first, second, third, and so on. 

The CPM can also be used for risk assessment purposes where it helps you identify risks that may impact your project’s completion time or budget. In this context, it is referred to as Risk-Based Project Management (RBM).

 The project management techniques mentioned here improve the effectiveness of your projects and make them more likely to deliver value. 

The project management techniques mentioned here improve the effectiveness of your projects and make them more likely to deliver value. They guide you through all stages of a project life cycle, from planning to implementation and monitoring. 

Project managers use these techniques to plan their work effectively based on their knowledge of what needs to be done, who’s responsible for it, and when it should happen. They also use them as tools for controlling the activities involved in each phase of a project life cycle (e.g., planning, executing/executing phase). 

The main purpose behind using these techniques is to ensure that there are no waste or unnecessary costs associated with completing an activity or activity within a specified period; this helps ensure that resources are used efficiently while meeting deadlines set out by executives at any stage during development (especially before launch). 

Conclusion

I've tried to cover all the project management techniques that are commonly used in our industry. I hope this article has helped you understand what they are, how they work, and why they're useful. You can find more information about these topics on the web or by contacting your local PMI chapter.