Definitions and Job Description of Project Management

There are many definitions of project management. This post try to pisk out some most common that widely accepted and understood. Also listed here the job description and main activities that project management job must cover.

Definitions of Project Management

* PMBOK (Project Management — Body of Knowledge as defined by the Project Management Institute — PMI): “Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.“

* PRINCE2 project management methodology: “The planning, monitoring and control of all aspects of the project and the motivation of all those involved in it to achieve the project objectives on time and to the specified cost, quality and performance.“

* DIN 69901 (Deutsches Institut für Normung – German Organization for Standardization): “Project management is the complete set of tasks, techniques, tools applied during project execution”

Job description

Project management is quite often the province and responsibility of an individual project manager. This individual seldom participates directly in the activities that produce the end result, but rather strives to maintain the progress and productive mutual interaction of various parties in such a way that overall risk of failure is reduced.

A project manager is often a client representative and has to determine and implement the exact needs of the client, based on knowledge of the firm they are representing. The ability to adapt to the various internal procedures of the contracting party, and to form close links with the nominated representatives, is essential in ensuring that the key issues of cost, time, quality, and above all, client satisfaction, can be realized.

In whatever field, a successful project manager must be able to envision the entire project from start to finish and to have the ability to ensure that this vision is realized. Project managers can use best practice for performance management process to fulfill their tasks.

Any type of product or service — Pharmaceuticals, buildings, vehicles, electronics, computer software, financial services, etc. — may have its implementation overseen by a project manager and its operations by a product manager.

Project management activities

Project management is composed of several different types of activities such as:

1. Analysis and design of objectives and events
2. Planning the work according to the objectives
3. Assessing and controlling risk (or Risk Management)
4. Estimating resources
5. Allocation of resources
6. Organizing the work
7. Acquiring human and material resources
8. Assigning tasks
9. Directing activities
10. Controlling project execution
11. Tracking and reporting progress (Management information system)
12. Analyzing the results based on the facts achieved
13. Defining the products of the project
14. Forecasting future trends in the project
15. Quality Management
16. Issues management
17. Issue solving
18. Defect prevention
19. Identifying, managing & controlling changes
20. Project closure (and project debrief)
21. Communicating to stakeholders
22. Increasing / decreasing a company’s workers