Whether one is new to Project Management or already in Project management

profession, we all know that Projects are affecting all of us in one or more
spheres of life - be it at our workplace, studyplace, of even surroundings of
where we are living. Surely the concept of project is not new, but yes, if we
understand practically what we mean by project, understanding project
management will be more clear and effective. So Let's start !

FIRST THING FIRST - Let's Practically Understand "Project":

Example of different types of Projects - Tajmahal & NASA Space mission

Since Ages and generations, projects have been conceptualized,

designed and implemented. So concept of project is not a new
invention. You can see - Taj Mahal, NASA's Space mission,
Developing an IT Software - all of these are examples of project.
Surprised? Are you finding these examples distinctly different? Do
you think how Tajmahal can be compared with NASA and that with
IT Software? Ok Ok. Let me explain it to you. You are right, at the
outset you may feel all these are distinctly different, but can you
take a pause and think of commonalities amongst them? If you
carefully observe, you will find at least two common aspects in
those. One - They all have some predefined objective to accomplish.
That's it - That is the start of Project. And second when that
objective is accomplished, it is the end of the project. Good !! But
what if the objective in midway is found flawed / no more required.
Will we still keep investing our efforts and resources (resource
includes money :) ) in it? Of course not. That means project is also
 closed when it is terminated. See, how easy it is if we make the
things clear.

WE UNDERSTOOD PROJECT , LET'S NOW UNDERSTAND

"MANAGEMENT"

Again like in project (even more than that) there are lot of confusion and
definitions of management. Until we are very clear on definition of
Management, we will not be able to understand the profession of Project
Management and its intent in true sense. So again, folks, pause for a second
and think over what is your view of Management. Is it the top Leadership team
of any organization OR is it about solving problems or is it higher level
changes in organization and government?? I liked the definition published in
HBR (HBR Article on Management is still not Leadership by John)) by John P
Kotter in his article "Management is (still) not leadership". I found this as one
of the best definition for our context. John in his article argues that we are
using terms Management & Leadership interchangeably. However, both are
vastly different. Management is set of processes which helps organization
to PREDICTABLY do WELL what it already know HOW TO DO.
This means Management is a set of Processes, so which are these processes?
John goes on to describing these processes as well known processes which
encompasses Planning, Structuring (i.e. Organizing), budgeting, staffing,
performance measuring, problem solving etc. And he says, irrespective of any
size of the organization, Management is really difficult. Applying this
processes which we defined as part of Management, helps organization to
produce Products or Services with Consistent Quality, On Budget & In
time.

Wow ! What a Wonderful Definition of Management. With this context of

Project & Management Let's combine both Project & Management which will
act as the Foundation stone of our upcoming super strong knowledge base on
Project Management below.

Lets Sum it up Project & Management - Project Management:

 What is Project Management

PROJECT- Project is endeavour taken up purely to accomplish one or

more objectives, i.e. it is temporary in nature & it is closed when
the objectives are achieved or terminated when objectives are no
more required / not relevant.

MANAGEMENT - Management is set of processes (Which we described

above) which helps organization to produce products and services with
consistent quality, in time and on budget !

PROJECT MANAGEMENT - Combining above two, We can say Project

Management is concept of applying management i.e. set of processes which
includes planning, organizing, budgeting, staffing, performance management
and problem solving which helps us to achieve objectives of the project - with
consistent quality, On time & With in budget !

Project Management Bodies of Knowledge:

Project Management Body of knowledge

With advancement in Project Management, in last 5 decades, the experience

and precious knowledge of Project Management has taken up the form of
structured body of knowledge which captures, analyse and put it up Best
Practices in the field of Project Management. PMI Project Management
Institute (https://www.pmi.org/), PRINCE2 https://www.prince2.com/eur)and
many more. Keep in touch with this blog and continue watching more on this
space. We are going to discuss more on different Project Management
certifications as well as their application, unique features, which one you
should pursue considering different industry and professional aspirations you
have.

Great friends ! So isn't it easy, practical and very clear to realize now why
Project Management has developed over time. It is not that the processes of
Management were not there earlier, however, certainly in last decade
onwards these processes have been structured & improved a lot with
learnings, experiences and technological advancements. And hence you can
see, the projects which took years & decades to build earlier are now
accomplished in couple of months.

Hope this has helped you to give a clear understanding what is project
management. If you are new to Project Management go through this article at
least 3-4 times, and if you are already into Project Management, pl go through
this article 5 times (As it take time to unlearn what we know and learn the
concept as it is :) ). Sound understanding of Project Management concept
will be highly useful in your journey to become the Ace Project
Management Professional. Remember, this blog has a sole intention and
that is to make you a Professional and seasoned Project Management
Professional who understand as not only the principles but also its
application.

Friends, How do you like this content? Pl. let us know your feedback in
comment section below so that we can consider your valuable feedback in
coming posts. Because we are surely going to cover more conceptual and
advance topics on Project management going further. However, we will not
only stop there, our aim is also to include few CASE STUDIES from different
industries like EPC, IT & SOFTWARE etc., once we are done with our
principles and concept parts. We will also have Q&A sessions going further to
clarify any of your doubts. You can put your comments,of project
management. So keep in touch with this blog, and keep reading. All the best
for your journey to become a Pro Project Manager !!

Next article will contain further exciting and value adding content for
you ! Have fun and do not forget to comment your feedback below