Project Management Essentials – What do you Need to Start a “Project”?

We all talk a lot about Project Management; but, before we proceed, let us just understand what is a project? Does any activity carried out by an individual or a group of people for a prolonged duration classify as a project? 

Wikipedia explains a Project as –

In contemporary business and science, a project is an individual or collaborative enterprise, possibly involving research or design that is carefully planned, usually by the project assigned team, to achieve a particular aim.

One can also define a project as a set of interrelated tasks to be executed over a fixed period and within certain cost and other limitations.

PMI has outlined the following description of a Project –

A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources.

And a project is unique in that it is not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal. So a project team often includes people who don’t usually work together – sometimes from different organizations and across multiple geographies.

The development of software for an improved business process, the construction of a building or bridge, the relief effort after a natural disaster, the expansion of sales into a new geographic market — all are projects.

And all must be expertly managed to deliver the on-time, on-budget results, learning and integration that organizations need.

The definitions above are very distinct and crisp. They have established that we must know the following at the least before we dive into a project.

Project Team – Who all will be working on the project?

Goal – What do we want to accomplish at the end ?

Scope – What are my key deliverables and boundaries?

Schedule – What are the Start and End dates?

Stakeholders – Customers, Management, PMO, PM, Project Team etc.

RACI – What are the roles and responsibilities of the team involved?

Project Communication Plan – Who, When, How, Why and How much?

The above outlined items are crucial to project success. Having them mapped out correctly, not only brightens the chances of project success but also acts as our guiding light.

Being a PM or a team lead you know what you are supposed to deliver, how and when; giving you the right impetus to bring your team on-board with absolute clarity of purpose.

Everyone knows what they are supposed to do, how to do and when!

All you need to do is put all the pieces together and bring them on a single platform.

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If you have been facing problems in initiating your projects, organizing your team and scheduling their tasks you now know – Where to start from!!