Project Management is the implementation of procedures, patterns, skills, intelligence, and techniques to attain particular goals that meet the project’s accepted requirements.

Project management is quite different from ordinary management because, unlike management, which is a continuous series, project management has an ultimate goal with a limited schedule. The deliverables are limited to a specific timeframe and fund appropriation. Due to this, a team of skilled professionals is brought together to make up the project management team, headed by a team leader.

In simpler terms, project management is all about a group of persons getting tasks done.

Roles in Project Management

A project will only perform well when the roles of its team members are spelled out.

1. Project Manager: This person is in charge of overseeing the project’s affairs. They head the project.

2. Project Team members: These are experienced people who work together with the project manager to attain the project’s objectives.

3. Project Stakeholders: These are a group of persons who have a significant claim or involvement in the project and who the project manager must regularly communicate changes or improvements in the project.

4. Project Sponsors: These are the project’s beneficiaries—those who the project was created for.

Stages in Project Management

There are 5 stages in project management which are highlighted below:

1. Project Initiation: This is the beginning stage in which the project manager shows that the project is indeed valuable by employing some documentation like:

• Project Brief
• Business Case
• Feasibility Study
• Project Agenda

2. Project Preparation: The necessary steps to kickstart the project commences at this stage. The budget and schedule for the project are drafted, and a plan is drawn. This plan could be a visual one and represents the project’s lifecycle. Some good plans to have that will help with this stage are:

• Project Budget
• Project Schedule
• Project Breakdown
• Risk Management
• Stakeholder Management

3. Project Execution: Here, the ball gets rolling. The milestones that have been identified in the project get met here to reach the project’s goals. At some point, the project manager may have to redistribute resources and funds to areas that are lacking, adjust the timeframe, and motivate the team when necessary.

4. Project Monitoring: This happens almost at the same time as project execution. It involves being regularly up to date with the project’s events and noting its performance. This presents an avenue for project managers to monitor the progress of the project.

5. Project Closure: This is the fifth and final stage of project management. In this stage, the project’s deliverables are shown to the project stakeholders for approval. If the project has their consent, documents are signed, and the team members on the project are signed off.