PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project Management

Project Management

Project Management

In today's challenging business environment, there is an increasing concern for organizations to use their resources to the best of their abilities. Project management is one of these ways to assist organizations in making their processes more efficient, their products more appealing to customers and to help their organization to be overall more successful. Project management is no longer just used by just U.S. Department of Defense contractors and construction companies as it was over forty years ago. “Today, the concept behind project management is being applied in such diverse industries and organizations as defense, construction, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, banking, hospitals, accounting, advertising, law, state and local governments, and the United Nations (Kerzner, 2006).”

Discussion

In order to understand project management, one must first understand what a project is. “A project can be considered to be any series of activities and tasks that: Have a specific objective to be completed within certain specifications; Have defined start and end dates; Have funding limits (if applicable); Consume human and nonhuman resources (i.e., money, people, equipment); Are multifunctional (i.e., cut across several functional lines) (Kerzner, 2006).” In simpler terms, a project is a measurable endeavor that has defined start and completion dates that is undertaken to create a beneficial change or to add value to a product or service. Every project also consumes resources like capital, employees, materials, and time to help bring the project closer to its goals or objectives. Many organizations undertake different projects that can create efficiency, eliminate costs, better use company resources, help add value to the organization, or for many other various reasons.

Although projects are generally defined as “short term,” some projects can be much longer depending on the situation of the project. There are six basic phases of the project lifecycle. The first phase of the ...