A project involves a certain amount of risk apart from other things. When a big endeavor is launched, it is always subjected to certain uncertainty and risks. So, the point of project management is managing all these factors and being successful in it.
This is where simple management and project management are different, where simple management is an ongoing process in an organization and project management has a time frame allotted to it. It has to adhere to budgetary constraints as well.
What Is Project Management?
When a project is underway, there are a lot of things going on simultaneously, like conceptualizing, planning and many people and professionals are involved. Then, there is a time frame, within which, the project has to be completed. There are other important factors like budget as well, which have to be taken care of. So, you can well imagine the chaos that ensues when a new project is underway. As a result, business skills, technical skills, and the resources have to be utilized in an optimum way.
The success or failure of a project depends on how well the different aspects are handled and how the various components of the projects are made to come together as a cohesive unit, resulting in a tangible outcome.
That initiates the need of a course, rather project management training, which helps in managing various aspects that revolve around a project like-
- Producing something tangible or intangible
- There is a time frame
- Different teams involved
- Management of resources
- Managing sudden change
- Managing Risks
Project Management In IT Company
IT industry is an enormity in itself. It covers a wide range of areas which are related. It involves manufacturing of hardware, software and other related technology. Then there are other aspects, like creating a database, networking, developing new software and innovating or upgrading existing software. The demands of the IT industry keep changing with the change in the requirements in other industries.
The innovations in the IT sectors have a dramatic impact on the different industries. For instance, the advances made in the IT sector influences the communication sector, health sector science, and research, agriculture sector, etc. The more advances we achieve in different fields, the more demand is in the IT sector to come up with innovations. This sector has changed the way we go about our day to day life.
So when it comes to new endeavors taken in the IT sector, the project management aspect becomes crucial to the success of the venture.
IT Project Management is a one sub-division of Project Management where the project is conceptualized, planned, supervised, coordinated, organized and administered to ensure the success of the venture undertaken.
While starting a new IT project, using specialized management techniques suitable for the industry is imperative to its success, using these techniques will lead to a higher rate of success. A good project manager will use various tools which will ensure a high success rate.
IT Project Management Tools
- Product Breakdown Structures (PBS)– This tool breaks the project into products or outputs which are required to complete the project
- Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) – The project managers usually break down the project into small manageable pieces. It is based on deliverables, which means the service or the product that will be delivered to the customer upon the completion of the project. The deliverables are broken into pieces and a time frame and budget are allocated to each of them. The work packages have a time frame, where the lowest is of two weeks duration. Another rule is the 8/80 rule which means a single activity should not be less than 8 hours and more than 80 hours.
- Creating a Good Product Schedule – To ensure the success of a project, creating a project schedule is a must. Without a proper schedule, you will not be able to ascertain whether the project is running on time or is late, which later on will lead to a lot of unnecessary hassles and will hinder the completion of the project.
A few aspects of a good project schedule are:
- Team Planning
- Covering the Scope of the Project
- Break the Project into Phases
- Add Milestones to the Project
- Plan Time Estimates
- Allocate People to Different Teams
- Estimating The Cost Of The Project – It is imperative to estimate the project costs. There are a lot of techniques and software available for this purpose, which will help you to estimate the cost of the project accurately.
- Keeping Track Of The Progress Of The Project – A good project manager will check on the progress of the project regularly by issuing regular progress reports.
Project management training will ensure that you gather the skills mentioned above to implement and deliver the project, following all the ethics and technicalities of the project management aspect.