Enabling Services
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
METHODOLOGY
Managing projects is an art - but it is not abstract! It is methodical and highly disciplined.
Project Management is governed by systematic, result-oriented, proven, universal methods, objectives and principles.
This world has two broad perspectives - under which all intentions, ideas, plans, actions and outcome may be housed - fundamentally. These are - (i) Run the Show; and (ii) Manage Change
RUN THE SHOW
Repeated actions with goals of achieving the same outcome over and over again - broadly, may be considered as 'Run the Show'. For example, breakfast served at the restaurant, travel in an elevator, surgery procedure at the hospital, pilot flying the aeroplane. The more accurate and similar the results are - better is the level of reliability and perceived quality.
MANAGE CHANGE
On the other hand, the actions which enable multiple inputs, contributions and resources to be systematically managed to take anything from an idea to its realization - may be broadly classified under Change Management - which in our conext, may be understood as Project Management. For example, building an aircraft, building a bridge, arranging a wedding party, setting up an operations theatre, etc.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY
The methodology followed by our organization can be understood as an integrated management of five crucial stages of the life-cycle of a project. These 5 stages may inter-changeably run in sequence or in parallel at various points of time during the life of the project.
Stage 1: CONCEPT or PROPOSAL
Stage 2: PROJECT PLANNING
Stage 3: PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
Stage 4: GOVERNANCE, REVIEW and AUTHORIZATION
Stage 5: PROJECT COMPLETION and HANDOVER
Standardized processes and tools help in accomplishing a whole list of tasks that need to be completed under each of the stages.
PROJECT STAGES
Many accredited and certified methods have been developed over the years and are in practice across the globe today. These methods are catering to project management of all types - many of which provide tangible and others ensure delivery of intangible outcomes - depending on the subject matter and the context of such requirements. But, by and large the 5-stages represent any methodology; the names and formats may differ - but the essentially follow a similar flow.
PROJECT LIFE CYCLE
Typical action steps under the five stages of a project life cycle flows through - starting with 'an intention' or 'an expression of interest' - and end with 'completion and handover'.
From start-to-end the broad stages are defined as -
(i) INITIATION or PROPOSAL (ii) PLANNING (iii) IMPLEMENTATION (iv) CONTROL & REVIEW and (v) HANDOVER or COMPLETION
PROJECT INTERACTIONS
An important aspect of Project Management is to have a good understanding of interaction that happens between the various Phases of the Project and the exchange of Information between the Entities, Components and Phases.
The plain and simple flowchart diagram above is a handy reference material to build a basic understanding of the Elements, Entities, Phases of a typical Project and the interaction between them.
Nomenclature (that is, terms and labels used) in this Chart is only representative of the key theme or concept. While most of these will probably be the same in any other Project Management Methodology, many of them could be named differently or constituted differently in other materials. Such clarification can be better understood when the details of these are studied in any model.
The white boxes in the diagram tentatively provide the Information or Document which are being exchanged or shared in the respective interactions or project activities. The characterictics of the arrows (that is, color scheme, or dotted, etc.) are to make the path of specific aspects visually easy to relate to. In this simple diagram these do not carry a larger significance. For example, you will find the interaction between Supplier and the Implementation Phase of the Project showing that the 'Supplier Proposal' is an input and the 'Supplier Agreement' is the output of the Implementation Phase - which has been indicated by a dotted white line. However, users may use different approaches to give more value and meaning to the way the elements of the chart such as lines, arrows, images, etc. are used - to make the exercise of Project Management effective, motivating and meaningful.
