A business is said to be successful when more projects start pouring in. It means you have gained the trust of your target audience, and consumers are counting on. But all this happiness can evade in the air if you cannot complete the projects within deadline with quality assurance. That’s where the concept of project management begins.
Types Of Projects You May Get
Projects are the source of business revenue. But it needs a certain amount of capital at the beginning. There may be no profit margin in your company, and it is running on bad credit. That is when the type of project plays a vital factor. Based on your project type, many private lenders nod to guaranteed loans for bad credit.
So, before delving deeper into the core of project management, let’s here briefly state the three major types of projects that your business needs to handle.
1. Strategic Projects – A project that requires high-standard strategizing and budgeting is known as Strategic Projects. Here’s an example – Suppose your company wants to offer the lowest-priced option for any particular good. To achieve this, your team needs to announce an internal project, where top-tier analysis, forecasting, and budgeting will be included.
2. Operational Projects – Unlike strategic projects, operational projects don’t need high-calibre strategizing. They focus on meeting some business objectives for which you need to put on more effort than brainstorming. For example, installing CRM in all the systems or upgrading any software to its latest version is an operational project.
3. Recurring Projects – Such a type of project has long-term goals. Periodical technology improvement is one good example of Recurring Projects. You must know about Samsung Galaxy phones — it is a Recurring Project, where a new model of the series is launched by the company almost every year.
It is essential for you first to realise the type of project you are dealing with to ensure its success. Once you know the traits of your project, it will become easier to plan the project’s development over time.
5 Phases of Project Development
Project management is the application of the right set of skills, knowledge, techniques and tools to meet the requirements of a particular project. There are five distinct phases of project management, which includes –
➢ Conception and Initiation
It is the first phase of project management, and its goal is to define the project at a broader level. This phase typically focuses on business case — it means you have to identify whether the concerned project is feasible for your business and whether it should be taken into account.
Once the project gets a green light, a Project Initiation Document (PID) needs to be created. It is the project charter, where you have to define the requirements and purpose of the project along with business needs, business case, and stakeholders.
➢ Definition & Planning
In the second phase, a roadmap is created that the entire team follows to execute and complete the project successfully. But before the roadmap, the goals of the project are set using two popular methods – S.M.A.R.T. and C.L.E.A.R.
S.M.A.R.T. – In this method, the goals are clearly vetted.
âś“ Specific
âś“ Measurable
âś“ Attainable
âś“ Realistic
âś“ Timely
C.L.E.A.R. – In this method, the goals encompass today’s fast-paced business environment.
âś“ Collaborative
âś“ Limited
âś“ Emotional
âś“ Appreciable
âś“ Refinable
Once the goals are set, the Project Manager will create a roadmap to ensure the project stays on track. The stages will be –
– Scope Statement
– Work Breakdown Schedule (WBS)
– Milestones
– Gantt Chart
– Communication Plan
– Risk Management Plan
➢ Performance & Control
➢ Launch or Execution
The execution phase is dedicated to the development of the project. Before this phase, the project manager handled the financing part in collaboration with the financial team. If the business is facing a scarcity of funds, it can go for short-term loans with no guarantors. After the funds have been arranged, a few tasks must be completed during this phase. The tasks include–
– Team management
– Resource assignment
– Execution of project plans
– Procurement management, if necessary
– Set up of tracking systems
– Assignment of tasks
– Status meetings
– Project schedule update
It is that phase of project management where the performance and progression of the project are measured to ensure everything is right on track. Normally, PM’s make use of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure project performance.
The fundamentals, which are measured during this phase, are –
– Project Objectives: The objective is to measure whether a project is within budget and on schedule. It is also checked whether or not the project can meet the stakeholder’s requirements.
– Quality Deliverables: Whether the specific task deliverables can be met is determined in this phase.
– Effort and Cost Tracking: There are two things measured in this stage – whether the project is within budget and whether it can meet the deadline.
– Project Performance: Scope changes and unforeseen hurdles are measured in this stage to identify the problems and how easily they can be resolved.
➢ Project Closure
It is the last stage in the project management plan, where valuable resources are recognised and appraised. Sometimes, PM organises small events to appreciate the effort of those members who actively participated and contributed to project completion.
However, PM’s task doesn’t end with this. They still have to identify the unaccomplished tasks and how to complete them on an immediate basis. Lastly, a project report is created by the team under the supervision of the Project Manager.
Smarter You Act, Faster You Can Get On
Project management is not just about effort and brainstorming. A smarter approach is also required to ensure successful completion. The more calculative steps you take, the faster you can meet the deadline. Also, it will help you to stay within the budget. So, why wait! Get started with your project management plan soon.
