Over the past 25+ years I’ve been leading projects at a Corporate level. I’ve spent time combing through all the information I’ve collected and condensed it down to the main elements to start in project management. There is also a toolkit with templates to help you on your journey to becoming a project manager.
My disclaimer is that I obviously do not know everything and this does not cover ALL aspects of Project Management. However, it is a good place to start if you want to understand the main elements of a project.
Also check out this blog post on the 10 Things Project Managers Do Every Day
Project Management Essentials: Strategies for Successful Project Implementation
With this self paced learning opportunity, you will learn essential project management elements to strategize, implement, and complete projects successfully, meeting stakeholder expectations and goals.
At the end of the lesson, you will have an understanding of the following key elements to apply to your very own projects.
- Project terms you need to know
- Basic application of essential elements
- Roles and responsibilities within a project
- How to manage stakeholder needs, priorities and concerns
- Practical application of project templates
- Logical ways to organize project activities
Let me break it down for you below.
Project terms you need to know
Project management lingo can be like learning a new language. Lucky for you I’ve dwindled it down to 20 terms you should become familiar with, in order to sound like a project management professional.
You are going to want to use the right words when discussing your project. This includes timeline details, data sources, key documents, and the titles of individuals involved in meetings and responsibilities.
5 Essential Aspects of Project Management
In most projects, there are 5 essential aspects of managing the project. You will learn about each of them in this mini Project lesson.
- Project Lifecycle
- Triple Constraints Triangle
- Stakeholder Management
- Communication
- Risk Management
Roles and Responsibilities within a Project Team Structure
There are 6 primary roles within a project. All of them have very distinct responsibilities and are extremely important to the success of your initiative. These are split out in the lesson so you understand who is responsible for what.
- Project Manager
- Project Team Member – Employee
- Client – Customer
- Steering Committee Member
- Subject Matter Expert
- Project Sponsor
Understanding your stakeholders
Stakeholders are individuals, groups, or organizations that have an interest in the project or are impacted by its outcome. There are tools you can use to assist you in identifying stakeholders and their influence over the project.
You will want to ensure your stakeholder expectations are aligned to your vision for the project. Otherwise there could be conflicts and barriers you are unaware of that could cause your project to fail or fall behind.
By managing expectations and building a good relationship with the stakeholders, the Project Manager fosters a positive project environment and enhances stakeholder support throughout the project lifecycle. This part if crucial to ensuring the stakeholders remain engaged and well informed of what is happening with the project.
Identifying Project Risks and Taking Action to Avoid Them
In the lesson we will walk through a Risk Management Assessment so you will learn how to identify and mitigate risks that could throw your project off track.
There are five most commonly used risk categories. We will dive into them throughout the lesson and you will get templates and tools to help you develop them for your own project.
- Scope
- Schedule
- Cost
- Quality
- Stakeholder
Assigning Project Tasks to Project Resources
Assigning the project tasks is my favorite part of managing projects. It’s sort of like a huge To Do list or at least that’s the way I look at it. It’s building your project plan and determining who is going to do the work and by when it will be delivered. All the meat goes into this section.
Several key steps and templates are crucial to ensure effective delegation and monitoring of tasks throughout the project lifecycle.
Task Identification:
- Identify all tasks required to complete the project scope. Break down the project deliverables into manageable activities.
- Template: Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Template
Assignment of Responsibility:
- Assign tasks to team members based on their skills, expertise, and availability
- Clearly communicate roles and responsibilities to ensure accountability
- Template: Responsible, Accountable, Consult, Inform (RACI)
Setting Deadlines and Milestones:
- Establish deadlines and milestones for each task to ensure timely completion of project activities.
- Define clear expectations for task durations and completion dates.
- Template: Gantt Chart or Task Schedule Template
Monitoring and Tracking:
- Monitor task progress regularly to ensure tasks are on schedule and within budget.
- Track task completion, identify any issues or delays, and take corrective actions as needed.
- Template: Task Tracking Spreadsheet or Task Management Software
Last but not least, how do you control the project?
Hopefully this motivates you to pursue more in depth view of this Project Management Lesson. It can be found on the store page or through this link.
