Project Management

Project Management — What Is It?

Project management is a disciplined approach to the planning, organizing and managing of resources to achieve specific project goals and objectives. The traditional measure of success is achievement of these goals and objectives within schedule, budget and quality parameters. Today, the yardsticks of success are even greater as companies compete in an ever-changing business environment that requires flexibility and speed.

More and more project management teams are being tasked with delivering high-quality results, often with fewer people, less time and less money. Challenges like aggressive deadlines, scope creep, communication breakdowns and marketplace changes place escalating demands on project managers and the members of their teams.

That's why all project personnel need to have knowledge and skill in the foundational principles and tools contained in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) - the internationally recognized standard of project management.

At the same time, they need to use these principles and tools within the context of the bigger picture.  They need to understand their project's potential impact on the organization's strategies and goals.  They need to conduct ongoing risk analysis and contigency planning.  Carl Pritchard, PMP and principal of Pritchard Management Associates, sums it up this way: project managers today “...need to be entrepreneurs. Consultants. Even agents of change.”

The bottom line:  Project managers and their teams need a solid understanding of the “basics” so that they can effectively use these principles and tools to plan, organize and manage their projects.  At the same time, true project success will require them to think and act more strategically in order to align with broader business goals and objectives.

And that requires the right education.

Learn More About Project Management

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