THE PROCESS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The process of project management is an integrative one. The interactions may be straightforward and well understood , or they may be subtle and uncertain . These interactions often require trade-offs among project objectives. Therefore, successful project management requires actively managing these interactions, so that the appropriate and applicable objectives may be attained within budget, schedule and constraints.

A process from a project management perspective is the traditional dictionary definition, which is a "series of actions bringing about a result" ( American Heritage Dictionary , 1992). In the case of a project, there are five basic management processes:

1. Initiating: Recognizing that a project should be begun and committing to do so

2. Planning: Identifying objectives and devising a workable scheme to accomplish them

3. Executing: Coordinating people and other resources to carry out the plan

4. Controlling: Ensuring that the objectives are met by measuring progress and taking corrective action when necessary

5. Closing: Formalizing acceptance of the project and bringing it to an orderly end

Operational management ” the management of ongoing operations ” also involves planning, executing, and controlling. However, the temporary nature of projects requires the addition of initiating and closing. To be sure, these processes occur at all levels of the enterprise, in many different forms, and under many different names . However, even though there are many variations, it is imperative to understand that operational management is an ongoing activity with neither a clear beginning nor an expected end.

Finally, it must be understood that these processes (initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing) are not discrete, one-time events. They are overlapping activities that occur at varying levels of intensity throughout each phase of the project. In addition, the processes are linked by the results they produce: the result or outcome of one becomes an input to another. Among the central processes, the links are iterated ” planning provides executing with a documented project plan early on and then provides documented updates to the plan as the project progresses. It is imperative that the basic process interactions occur within each phase such that closing one phase provides an input to initiating the next . For example: closing a design phase requires customer acceptance of the design document. Simultaneously, the design document defines the product description for the ensuing implementation phase. For more information on this concept see Duncan (1994), Kerzner (1995), and Frame (1994).