All About Project Management

Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a successful project. A project is a one-time effort that produces a specific result, for example, a building or a major new computer system. This is in contrast to a program, which is 1) an ongoing process, such as a quality control program, or 2) an activity to manage a series of multiple projects together. In some countries, the term "program" refers to a software tool and the term "programme" can mean a TV or radio show.

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.

NOTE: There are many software tools that make project management much more effective and efficient. Software Tools to Do Project Management Process lists software resources. The reader might best be served to read about the overall project management process in the section, "Foundations of Project Management" below, and then review some of the software tools. Another approach is to review the tools as the reader progresses through each phase of the project management process.

Sections of This Topic Include the Following

NOTE: The following links are to major sections of this page, included later on below. Each sections includes additional links.

Foundations of Project Management

Basics of Project Planning
Overviews of Project Management
Roles in Project Management (including Project Manager)
Skills Required to Leading Teams and People in Project Management

Doing Project Management

Feasibility Studies -- Is the Project Worth Doing?
Project Planning -- How Do We Determine Project's Outcomes, Goals and Objectives?
Resource Allocation -- What Do We Need to Implement the Plan (People, Money and Scheduling)?
Risk Management Analysis -- What Could Go Wrong?
Ethical Analysis of Project -- Are We In Conformance, Morally and Legally?
Implementation of Project Plan -- How Do We Ensure Implementation While Managing Change?
Earned Value Management -- How Do We Measure Progress and Results?
Communicating Your Plans and Status -- What Do We Communicate to Whom and When?
Evaluating Projects and Results -- How Do We Evaluate Implementation and Project Results?
When Projects Are in Trouble -- How Do We Avoid Pitfalls and What Do We Do If They Occur?

General Resources and Topics

Glossaries of Project Management Terms
Resources With Many Resources About Project Management
Software Tools to Do Project Management Process
Organizations Focused on Project Management
Getting PMP Certification
Some Related Fields

Also see
Related Library Topics

Also See the Library's Blogs Related to this Topic

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to this topic. Scan down the blog's page to see various posts. Also see the section "Recent Blog Posts" in the sidebar of the blog or click on "next" near the bottom of a post in the blog.

Library's Business Planning Blog
Library's Leadership Blog
Library's Project Management Blog
Library's Strategic Planning Blog

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