Project Management
Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a specific (and usually) one-time objective, for example, construct a building or implement a major new computer system. Project management includes developing a project plan, which includes defining and confirming the project goals and objectives, identifying tasks and how goals will be achieved, quantifying the resources needed, and determining budgets and timelines for completion. It also includes managing the implementation of the project plan, along with operating regular 'controls' to ensure that there is accurate and objective information on 'performance' relative to the plan, and the mechanisms to implement recovery actions where necessary. Projects usually follow major phases or stages (with various titles for these), including feasibility, definition, project planning, implementation, evaluation and support/maintenance. (Program planning is usually of a broader scope than project planning, but not always - note: the terms program and programme have significant variations in their meaning in different geographical areas, e.g. Europe and USA.)
Sections of This Topic Include:
Overviews
of Project Management
Project
Definition and Planning
Requirements
Definition and Management
Project
Risk Management
Earned
Value
Software
Project Management
Useful
Skills -- Team Building and Group Leadership
General
PM Resources
Overviews of Project Management
Definitions of Project Management
Solid
Overview of Project Management
Software Technology Support Centre - Overview of Project
Management
Project Definition and Planning
Planning a Project
Work Breakdown Structure Standard - hugely useful process
Requirements Definition and Management
Incose: International Council on Systems Engineering - defining
customer needs and requirements in (project) systems
Overview on requirements management by UK's Office of Government
& Commerce
Open Architecture Requirements Management
Project Risk Management
Overview of project risk management
Improving
Project Risk Management
Earned Value
US DoD - EVM Website -
substantial resource on EVM
An
Overview of Earned Value Management
Dr
David Christensen - EVM Bibliography
Software Project Management
NASA Software Assurance Best Practice Centre:16 Critical Software Practices - Software Project Managers Network
Dave Farthing's Software Project Management Links Page:
Brad Appleton's Software Project Management Links
Team Building and Group Leadership
There are certain skills to have when conducting project management. It's
best to have a team of planners when doing project planning. Therefore, it's
important to have skills in forming, leading and facilitating groups. The
following information will help you develop these skills.
Team
Building
Leadership
(Introduction)
Meeting
Management
Facilitating
in Face-to-Face Groups
Group-Based
Problem Solving and Decision Making
Conflict
Management (this topic provides basics in managing conflict in groups)
General PM Resources
Project Manager Decisiveness
Project Management Institute(PMI)
UK Association of Project Management
(APM)
Free Project
Management Articles published weekly
Webinars
on Chartering a Project and Developing and Using a Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS)
For the Category of Planning and Project Management:
Related Library Topics
Recommended Books
There are many kinds of planning, e.g., strategic planning, business planning, project planning, financial planning, staffing planning, market planning, etc. These kinds of planning often have a common set of terms and activities among them. One of the best approaches to learning about this common planning process, as opposed to studying all of the kinds of planning, is to understand project management. At the end of this section are links to other types of planning that are explained in the Free Management Library.
Also See
Business Planning -- Recommended Books
Strategic Planning -- Recommended Books
