What is project management?

To understand why project management is important, we first need to define exactly what project
management is.
PMI defines project management as “ the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to
project activities to meet the project requirements.” A basic project management lifecycle covers four
stages:
 Initiation
 Planning
 Execution
 Closure
In other words, the purpose of project management is to plan and manage a project to successfully
complete its listed goals and deliverables. It involves identifying and managing risks, carefully managing
resources, smart budgeting, and clear communication across multiple teams and stakeholders.

Why is project management important?

Because projects are often complex and involve numerous stakeholders, having a project manager to
lead the initiative and keep everyone on the same page is critical to project success.
In fact, PMI found that organizations using any type of project management methodology are better at
meeting budget and staying on schedule while meeting scope, quality standards, and expected benefits.
So why manage projects so methodically?
Here are six reasons why you should use project management.
1. Realistic project planning
The need for project management during the planning phase cannot be overstated. Too often,
organizations overestimate how quickly they can achieve deliverables, underestimate the costs, or both
—a recipe for failure.
A good project manager considers the big picture and sets realistic and achievable goals, budgets, and
timelines. Without careful management, a project can quickly get off track before it has even begun.
To set realistic goals, budgets, and timelines, the project manager communicates with different
stakeholders to understand the strategic priorities and business objectives of the initiative. Based on
their research, the project manager then outlines a project plan that balances those priorities within the
constraints of time and budget. This process involves cost estimation, resource management, and risk
assessment.
2. Clear focus and objectives
Project managers help organizations hone in on their priorities and define their project objectives. This is
critical work because avoiding project scope creep is a top-three driver of project success.
When project management is left to the team, the scope and objectives can easily get muddled. Unclear
focus can lead to scope creep, missed deadlines, and overspending.
Plus, without a project manager to oversee the project plans and task breakdowns, many teams may not
notice potential risk factors as they arise. If they don’t address evolving project risks, the team could end
up prioritizing the wrong tasks.
A good project manager keeps an eye on all these factors so that the team can focus on the right tasks
at the right time and adapt as needed.
3. Strategic alignment
One of the most important reasons to use project management is to align projects with business
strategy. Mark Langley, the president and CEO of PMI cautions, “If your organization is not good at
project management, you’re putting too much at risk in terms of ultimately delivering on strategy.”
In other words, project management is a driver of organizational strategy. So if you aren’t applying it to
your initiatives, you are missing a crucial opportunity to grow.
As project managers oversee the planning and execution of a project, they help ensure the project’s
overall goals and its subsequent tasks and milestones all align with the organization’s strategy. Strategic
alignment at every level of the project keeps each stakeholder on the same page and ensures your
initiatives drive the organization forward.
4. Managed process
Project management is a proactive process that seeks to help the right people do the right tasks at the
right time. Without a set project management method, many teams tend to work reactively—handling
issues as they arise rather than proactively planning for known risks and setting project goals and
parameters from the beginning.
Project managers help teams break down a project into more manageable pieces. By breaking the
project into a clear process of assigned tasks, milestones, and deadlines, project managers can direct
their teams more efficiently and react to issues with greater agility.
5. Quality control
Quality control is an essential component of project management. Your project could meet all
parameters for time and budget, but if the quality standards aren’t met, the project will be deemed a
failure.
Unfortunately, this is an all-too-easy trap to fall into. Teams are under a lot of pressure to finish a
project on time and on budget. And this can lead to rushed work and shoddy execution.
That’s where project managers come in. They not only manage deadlines and objectives, but they also
keep an eye on how well project tasks are executed. Project managers help outline deliverables and
define their quality standards so that everyone knows exactly what they’re aiming for.
6. Reduced costs
In 2021, according to PMI, 9.4% of every dollar invested was wasted due to poor project performance—
that’s $94 million for every $1 billion invested.
This underscores the need for project management. Project management reduces project costs by
improving efficiency, mitigating risks, and optimizing resources. Even with the added cost of investing in
a project manager, organizations stand to gain much more.

Project management life cycle overview

The project management life cycle describes high-level processes for delivering a successful project.
Wasted money and resources can be prevented with effective project management, as more than
half of unsuccessful projects fail due to communication breakdown. In the phases of the project
management life cycle, you come up with the idea for a project, define its goals, plan for its execution,
and guide it to completion.
4 phases of the project management life cycle
The project management life cycle is usually broken down into four phases: initiation, planning,
execution, and closure. These phases make up the path that takes your project from the beginning to
the end.
Note: Some methodologies also include a fifth phase—controlling or monitoring—but for our purposes,
this phase is covered under the execution and closure phases.
1. Initiation
First, you need to identify a business need, problem, or opportunity and brainstorm ways that your team
can meet this need, solve this problem, or seize this opportunity. During this step, you figure out an
objective for your project, determine whether the project is feasible, and identify the major deliverables
for the project.
Project management steps for the initiation phase
Steps for the project initiation phase may include the following:
  Undertaking a feasibility study: Identify the primary problem your project will solve and whether
your project will deliver a solution to that problem
 Identifying scope: Define the depth and breadth of the project
 Identifying deliverables: Define the product or service to provide
 Identifying project stakeholders: Figure out whom the project affects and what their needs may
be
 Developing a business case: Use the above criteria to compare the potential costs and benefits
for the project to determine if it moves forward
 Developing a statement of work: Document the project’s objectives, scope, and deliverables
that you have identified previously as a working agreement between the project owner and
those working on the project
2. Planning
Once the project is approved to move forward based on your business case, statement of work, or
project initiation document, you move into the planning phase.
During this phase of the project management life cycle, you break down the larger project into smaller
tasks, build your team, and prepare a schedule for the completion of assignments. Create smaller goals
within the larger project, making sure each is achievable within the time frame. Smaller goals should
have a high potential for success.
Project management steps for the planning phase
Steps for the project planning phase may include the following:
 Creating a project plan: Identify the project timeline, including the phases of the project, the
tasks to be performed, and possible constraints
 Creating workflow diagrams: Visualize your processes using swim lanes to make sure team
members clearly understand their role in a project
 Estimating budget and creating a financial plan: Use cost estimates to determine how much to
spend on the project to get the maximum return on investment
 Gathering resources: Build your functional team from internal and external talent pools while
making sure everyone has the necessary tools (software, hardware, etc.) to complete their tasks
 Anticipating risks and potential quality roadblocks: Identify issues that may cause your project to
stall while planning to mitigate those risks and maintain the project’s quality and timeline
 Holding a project kickoff meeting: Bring your team on board and outline the project so they can
quickly get to work
3. Execution
You’ve received business approval, developed a plan, and built your team. Now it’s time to get to work.
The execution phase turns your plan into action. The project manager’s job in this phase of the project
management life cycle is to keep work on track, organize team members, manage timelines, and make
sure the work is done according to the original plan.
Project management steps for the execution phase
Steps for the project execution phase may include the following:
 Creating tasks and organizing workflows: Assign granular aspects of the projects to the
appropriate team members, making sure team members are not overworked
 Briefing team members on tasks: Explain tasks to team members, providing necessary guidance
on how they should be completed, and organizing process-related training if necessary
 Communicating with team members, clients, and upper management: Provide updates
to project stakeholders at all levels
 Monitoring quality of work: Ensure that team members are meeting their time and quality goals
for tasks
  Managing budget: Monitor spending and keeping the project on track in terms of assets and
resources
If you have a properly documented process already in place, executing the project will be much easier.
Depending on the project management methodology you follow, there are many visual tools that you
can apply to see which deliverables have been completed ensure that your project remains on track. Use
our project tracking templates to help organize your project management. Click the Kanban board
and Gantt chart templates below to learn more.
4. Closure
Once your team has completed work on a project, you enter the closure phase. In the closure phase,
you provide final deliverables, release project resources, and determine the success of the project. Just
because the major project work is over, that doesn’t mean the project manager’s job is done—there are
still important things to do, including evaluating what did and did not work with the project.
Project management steps for the closure phase
Steps for the project closure phase may include the following:
 Analyzing project performance: Determine whether the project's goals were met (tasks
completed, on time and on budget) and the initial problem solved using a prepared checklist.
 Analyzing team performance: Evaluate how team members performed, including whether they
met their goals along with timeliness and quality of work
 Documenting project closure: Make sure that all aspects of the project are completed with no
loose ends remaining and providing reports to key stakeholders
 Conducting post-implementation reviews: Conduct a final analysis of the project, taking into
account lessons learned for similar projects in the future
 Accounting for used and unused budget: Allocate remaining resources for future projects
By remaining on task even though the project’s work is completed, you will be prepared to take
everything you’ve learned and implement it for your next project.

What are the principles of project management?

The principles of project management are the fundamental rules that should be followed for the
successful management of projects. Here are the nine principles of project management:
 Formal project management structure
 Invested and engaged project sponsor
 Clear and objective goals and outcomes
 Documented roles and responsibilities
 Strong change management
 Risk management
 Mature value delivery capabilities
 Performance management baseline
 Communication plan
1. Formal structure
Projects need to have a formalized structure, including processes, procedures, and tools. If you’ve ever
tried to complete a project without a formalized structure (“off the books”), you know how hard it can
be to control it and provide the attention it deserves. A project should have a project charter, project
plan, and a designated project team to successfully prioritize and manage the project.
2. Project sponsor
An effective project sponsor is critical to the success of a project. Sponsors champion your project and
act as a spokesperson to other executives. Having an engaged sponsor makes it easier to communicate
progress, escalate issues to overcome roadblocks, and guide stakeholders through decision-making
processes.
3. Goals and outcomes
Without precise requirements and approval criteria, it will be difficult to measure a project’s success.
You may think that your final product does everything requested, only to have the customer or user
complain that you left out a critical component. The most common factor behind failed projects is a lack
of clear goals. Project requirements and approval criteria should be determined and documented at the
beginning of the project. These must be reviewed and approved by all key stakeholders, including the
sponsor and customer.
4. Roles and responsibilities
Two forms should be used to document and define the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved
with a project. For project team members, RACI or RASCI is used to determine duties and expectations.
RASCI stands for:
 R: Responsible
 A: Accountable
 S: Sign-off authority (not always used)
 C: Consulted
 I: Involved
In a RACI chart, team members are listed along the top, with tasks along the sides. Each member is
assigned a letter (R, A, C, and I) according to their role for each job. A stakeholder register documents
stakeholders outside the primary team, as well as important information such as the following:
 Communication preferences (type and frequency)
 Contact information
 Level of influence on the project
 Engagement level with the project
 Their role within the company
 Other relevant details or notes
5. Management of project changes
A project needs a well-defined scope to ensure the outcome meets customer expectations. Without
strong change management, a project could suffer from scope creep and gradually grow beyond the
initial project guidelines. To give an example, team members or stakeholders may want to add
additional features to a product. However, if you don’t carefully control changes, you could end up with
a great product that costs twice what you expected and is delivered six months late.
6. Risk management
Since we cannot execute projects in a bubble, they all face some risks. Risk can affect your resources,
technology, or processes. It’s important to manage risk to minimize or eliminate its impact on your
projects. This involves identifying, evaluating, and monitoring risks and deciding upon action plans to
implement if they occur.

What is a Philosophy of Project Management?

In general, project management involves organizing and planning the progress of various projects to
meet business goals. There are many ways in which this can be done successfully but you should
develop a project management philosophy that works best with your team. A project management
philosophy is a personal and professional framework that helps you in your daily interactions with the
people on your team. Broadly speaking it’s about HOW you manage, communicate, and make decisions.
A GOOD philosophy will allow you to create clarity for you and your team. A GREAT philosophy will help
you put the right person in the right role at the right time for maximum results.
A project management philosophy is especially important for project managers who are leading large
teams. The project manager should be able to communicate the goals of each project clearly and
effectively to every member on their team, as well as provide them with all necessary resources (people,
time, equipment) to meet those goals!
How to Develop a Project Management Philosophy?
The key to getting things done is staying organized. It’s not enough just having good ideas, you also need
a plan of attack! And every project has its own unique set of challenges – that’s why creating an effective
Project Management Philosophy can be extremely helpful for managing all these diversified tasks in
your work or home life. Here are some steps that will help you construct one:
 Define the project objectives
 Establish a plan for execution
 Manage resources and risks
 Consistently communicate with your team
 Monitor progress, changes, and issues
 Keep your eye on the prize
 Maintain positive attitude
 Develop a flexible coaching style
 Reach project milestones
1. Define the project objectives
When writing a project plan, one must first define the project goals in detail. Without this step being
done correctly, chances are the project will not be a success. This is true for project planning in general,
but also when developing your personal project management philosophy! To develop one that works
best with the team you’re on, you must first define what needs to be achieved during each project or
task at hand.
Once project goals are defined, then everyone will know exactly how they fit into the project.
2. Establish a plan for execution
Next, project managers must outline how they and their team will reach each project goal. This is where
project management tools come in handy. The project manager should be able to break down each task
at hand into manageable chunks that can be finished within a reasonable timeframe (without rushing or
delaying).
After project plans are in place, sharing them with the team will help everyone understand how their
work ties back to project success.
3. Manage resources and risks
It is important for project managers to ensure that their team has all necessary resources available.
These could include people, time and equipment so they can complete projects on schedule with quality
results. A good philosophy of project management will help you distribute these appropriately so that
deadlines can be met on time and with ease!
For example: if a small delay occurs in the project timeline but your team has all the necessary project
resources, then there is no need to panic. However, if project team members are lacking the same
project resources and one of them drops out due to extenuating circumstances (illness or family
emergency), it could result in project failure!
4. Consistently communicate with your team
Project managers must make sure that they are always available to their team members for questions,
advice, support, etc. They should also be present during project meetings with the whole team so that
everyone’s voices can be heard equally.
Having project status meetings is also very important for project managers. These are necessary to
discuss project progress, project problems, etc. Project managers must be always available for their
team members during these meetings as well.
Making sure that everyone understands the project goals and how they plan to achieve them is a key
component of developing your project management philosophy. This communication not only helps you
get all necessary tasks done on time but also allows project managers to collect feedback from their
team members.
Therefore, developing a project management philosophy that works best with your team is not an easy
task, but it’s worth it in the end! A good project management philosophy should reduce or eliminate any
confusion about how people are expected to contribute to project tasks. And most importantly, it
should help project managers get the project done faster AND better!
Once these steps are taken project managers can monitor the progress of each task closely and provide
support when needed.
5. Monitor progress, changes, and issues
Even with a project plan that is both detailed and thorough, there can still be unexpected changes
or problems on the horizon. It’s important to stay flexible in project management so the project
manager should always be alert for these issues.
Once an issue arises (or if something doesn’t go according to plan), project managers must re-evaluate
their original project plan to successfully overcome the problem.
It’s important for project managers not to take these changes personally, and they should continue
encouraging their team members when things get tough! They must focus on staying positive while
being empathetic at all times. This will help them stay calm during challenging project situations (which
is essential for the success of a project).
6. Keep your eye on the prize
Project managers should also ensure that they remain focused during each project. This will help project
teams stay on target and complete tasks as efficiently as possible without getting discouraged or
distracted along the way.
A great project management philosophy is to always have a PLAN B in place so that if something
unexpected happens, you can shift gears with minimal effort/disruption. You don’t want project team
members feeling uncertain about their project goals as it will lead to project failure.
7. Maintain a positive attitude
It’s easy to get discouraged by the inevitable roadblocks that appear during any project, but project
managers must learn how to stay positive, so they don’t negatively affect their team members’ morale.
Furthermore, it’s important NOT to lose sight of the project goals as each project presents different
problems.
A project manager’s attitude is contagious, so it will affect everyone on the project team, especially
when things are tough. Project managers should remain understanding and open-minded to new ideas,
instead of getting defensive or frustrated during project meetings with their team members. They must
also be willing to compromise in order to stay focused on project success.
8. Develop a flexible coaching style
Project managers should also spend time crafting specific strategies for working with each team
member. This is where project management philosophies begin to take shape!
Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to project management, so project
managers need to be able to match the right coaching strategy with each team member. This will help
them get more done in a shorter amount of time while maintaining high project quality.
In addition to being aware of their own strengths and weaknesses, project managers should also spend
some time observing how other people on their team work. This will help project managers to come up
with the best coaching strategy for each person on the project at hand!
Once these steps are taken, project managers can monitor the progress of each task closely and provide
support when needed.
9. Reach project milestones
Lastly, project managers should never lose sight of their project goals! When setting deadlines for
certain tasks in a project plan, it’s important to also set smaller checkpoints along the way so that
everyone knows exactly where they are at any given time.
Each project goal is important, but project managers should also be aware of the milestones they are
hitting along the way in order to celebrate them when appropriate. This will help further motivate your
team members and project success will soon follow.

What causes project delays?

It is critical for the project manager to understand how project delays creep up while managing projects.
Only then they could prevent them from happening or deal with them when they inadvertently occur.
Here are some of the most common causes for delays:
 Changes in project scope
 Resources become unavailable
 The project timeline is not planned properly
 Project objectives and deliverables are not realistic within the project constraint
 External vendors don’t deliver on time
 The communication between project stakeholders is not effective
 Unpredictable external changes like disasters
Impact of delays in project
If so many companies and project managers experience project delays, it can’t be that big a deal, right?
Wrong. Project delays cause a whole host of issues, some of which might not be obvious right away.
Delays add to project costs. Every day you’re late is another day paying for personnel and other resources
that weren’t factored into the budget. Time is money, after all. But there are other costs to consider.
Your company’s reputation with the customer and other stakeholders could be damaged, not to mention
your reputation with your bosses. If your project is late, you may cause delays in other projects by tying up
resources that are needed elsewhere. If the delay is extreme enough, the entire project collapses and leads
to project failure.

6 ways to avoid project delays

Clearly, project delays are best avoided, but is that even possible? To a wide extent, yes. While you can’t
prevent every delay, you can certainly take steps to keep your project on track and mitigate the damage
from delays that do occur.
1. Set realistic goals for your projects
Setting realistic goals is possibly the biggest factor in determining whether you’ll complete your project on
time. Sometimes it’s tempting to set extremely ambitious goals, either to make a good impression or
because the client expects it.
Remember that it’s far better to underpromise and overdeliver than to overpromise and underdeliver. Good
goals are realistic, clear, and measurable.
Realistic– Can we accomplish this goal with the allotted time and resources available to us?
Clear– Do we know exactly what is being asked of us? Does everyone understand?
Measurable– Are there quantifiable indicators with which we can judge each goal?
2. Hold a team meeting
At the beginning of your project, gather your project team to communicate the vision for the project. Make
sure everyone understands their roles as well as the purpose of the project as a whole. Highlight the
key project milestones you’ve set in your project plan and explain the benchmarks for success.
Spend some time discussing the goals of the project and, if necessary, clarifying how they’ll be measured.
3. Gather the right resources
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of gathering the right resources. When it comes to financial
resources, you’ve almost certainly been given a limited budget; evaluate whether the amount budgeted can
truly cover the project costs and then make adjustments or secure additional funding at the outset.
Your most important resources are the people working with you on the project. Assess the composition of
your team to see if you have enough people to get the project done on schedule and whether all those
people have the necessary project management skills.
If not, you’ll need to update your project plan to factor in how much time and money it will cost to add
team members, provide training, or outsource to cover the gaps.
Don’t neglect the material resources required for your project. Things like office space, computers, printers,
and software are vital, and you can’t take for granted that they’ll be available.
4. Schedule carefully
A project schedule is more than a timetable. It’s a comprehensive document that details the project
timeline and the organizational resources required to complete each task.
To create a project schedule, divide the project into
 individual tasks and activities,
 various phases of the project,
 determine project dependencies,
 sequence the activities, and
 estimate the required resources and duration of each task
with the help of a project scheduling tool. The schedule should be readily available to every
member of the project team.
5. Track and measure progress
Data collection is crucial to project success. It’s important to set good goals, but it does little good if you
don’t collect data in order to track and measure your project progress towards those goals so that it will
increase transparency in projects.
You must have systems for tracking task completion, quality, and budget. Take account regularly to see if
your team is on target.
6. Forecast
Forecasting in project management consists of taking stock of the current status of the project at a given
point and extrapolating from the available data to predict results at the end of the project. At the beginning
of the project, there’s not enough data to forecast with any accuracy, so forecasting should only be done
once the project is at least 25% complete.
Forecasting takes project risks into account and can be cast in terms of time, cost, quality, or a
combination of those factors. If your forecast shows you’re off target, you can often take the
opportunity to course-correct before the project is delayed.
If you discover it’s too late to prevent a delay, there are steps you can take to mitigate the severity of
the delay.