PDF of this tutorialProject management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet or exceed customer needs and expectations from a project. Meeting or exceeding customer needs and expectations invariably involves balancing competing demands, scope, time, cost, and quality.
In the installation and construction of a telecommunications network, the project manager oversees the entire project from start to finish and is responsible for maintaining a smooth operation in each step of the deployment of the network. The project-management component of the job emphasizes efficiency by the creation of a comprehensive work schedule that eliminates duplications and maintains continuity, which in turn leads to cost savings.
Dealing with a single supplier that offers a single point of contact for all aspects of the project is beneficial in many ways. A company that offers a full package of services helps improve cycle times, ensures consistent quality throughout the project, and provides significant cost savings. The project manager is accountable for the success of every phase of the project and ensures that even the largest projects are completed on time, on budget, and according to the highest quality standards.
Figure 2 outlines the project-management knowledge areas, including the processes that a project manager must follow in order to manage a project effectively:
- project integration management—describes the processes required to ensure that the various elements of the project are properly coordinated.
- project scope management—outlines the processes required to ensure that the project includes all of the work required to complete the project successfully.
- project time management—includes the processes required to ensure timely completion of the project.
- project cost management—describes the processes required to ensure that the project is completed within the approved budget.
- project quality control—outlines the processes required to ensure that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken.
- project human resources management—includes the processes required to make the most effective use of the people involved with the project.
- project communication management—describes the processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, storage, and ultimate disposition of project information.
- project risk management—outlines the processes concerned with identifying, analyzing, and responding to project risk.
- project procurement management—describes the processes required to acquire goods and services from outside the performing organization.
Figure 2. Overview of Project Management Knowledge Areas and Processes
