What is project management?

What does project management mean?

We all manage projects in our personal lives: moving, planning a wedding, or preparing for a trip abroad, and some of us have to manage large-scale projects in our professional lives.

Further reading : What does a biologist do?

And sometimes, without even realizing it.

So what is the definition of project management? This is the question we answer in this article.

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Here are examples of very different professional projects that come to mind:

Preparation of a year-long humanitarian mission in Vietnam;
Construction of a house to shelter the homeless;
Implementation of new accounting management software within a bank;
Launch of a new type of organic cookie with dietary properties in a major food company;
Launch of a new arthritis medication in a pharmaceutical giant.

Project management is also often referred to as project management. This term is frequently used in multinational companies.

The common characteristics of each project are the constraints of time, cost, and resources.

When a country is awarded the Olympic Games, the deadline cannot be postponed, so some projects cannot be delayed. Others are more flexible in their timelines.

Summary1 What is the definition of project management then?2 Give meaning to your projects3 Project management software4 Project risk5 Key factors for project success

What is the definition of project management then?

It is the set of human and material means to achieve an objective within a defined time.

To successfully manage a project, it is necessary to break it down into several phases and place them in time.

In other words, setting a start and end date for each phase is called project planning, and for some projects with tight deadlines, certain phases overlap over time.

Learn more about project planning

For each phase of the project, human resources are allocated, meaning the people with the required skills to achieve the objectives of the project phase. Material and human costs must also be defined and monitored.

More information on project management phases

When managing a project, one must consider how the project is structured, the nature of the division of the project into nested sub-projects, and tasks.

Not to mention anticipating resource needs, the nature and control of these resources, and finally monitoring costs and timelines.

Give meaning to your projects

Before embarking on project management, it is wise to ask the real questions: what are the actual objectives of the project.

Because if you give meaning to the projects you participate in, you will work more effectively to succeed in that or those projects.

Project management

software To help us manage a project in the best possible way and achieve the project objectives, many project management software options are available on the market.

I will introduce several of them on this blog. The most well-known are Microsoft Project and Open Workbench. I have also installed a freeware called Gantt Project.

Project risks

Every project carries risks that it is wise to anticipate and assess. The human dimension of the project is very important and should not be overlooked.

Effective project management therefore also involves managing the risks associated with the project, that is, the factors that can delay or hinder the project:

lack of human resources suitable for the nature of the project,
absenteeism or sick leave of a person difficult to replace,
lack of funding,
etc…

Learn more about managing project-related risks

Key factors for the success of a

project Here are some key factors for the success of a project:

A competent project manager with good project management software
Human resources with skills suited to the nature of the project tasks
Appropriate assignment of a resource to tasks matching their skills
Adequate budget
Good motivation of the entire project team

Learn more about the skills matrix for better resource allocation.

Now that we have discussed the definition of project management, here on this blog, we will discuss each aspect in more detail and I will, of course, show you examples of successful projects through testimonials from project managers.