Project Management: Navigating the Maze.
Project management can be complex for anyone starting which isn’t entirely true. Taking the Google career certificate course on project management created a succinct roadmap through the maze of project management.
The first course I took in this path was foundations in project management, which dissected the entire project management concept and gave me a safe landing on this path.
A project is any endeavour whose deliverables are unique. We can simply define project management as the act of managing an endeavour with a unique deliverable and program management is simply managing more than one project.
Starting as a project manager, the basic processes you will often take include;
- Planning and organizing
- Managing tasks
- Budgeting and controlling cost
These processes can be used in various settings and carrying out those responsibilities makes you the project manager. In carrying out your daily activities as a project manager, you will be saddled with the responsibility of prioritizing, delegating and communicating with your team/organization.
Managing a project
Project managers most times work with cross-functional teams which can also be referred to as T-shaped professionals. A cross-functional team simply mean a group of people with diverse expertise working towards a common goal. Working with this kind of team as a project manager will require the following actions to ensure the successful completion of the project.
- Clarify the goals of the project.
- Get team members with the right skills.
- Frequently measure progress.
- Recognize the efforts of team members.
Most successful project managers make vital decisions daily which has to be communicated to stakeholders involved, this makes solid decision making and communicating skills a must-have for project managers. While working on a project, goals and plans are bound to change because no decision is cast in stone. This means the project manager is expected to be flexible and accept those changes.
Conclusion
A project is said to be successful if all stakeholders involved are satisfied with the result and the goals are met. This result can only be made possible by a project manager who has the relevant skills in project management.
