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Project Management Fundamentals What is a Traditional Project Management?

The Traditional Project Management

Project Management
It is a practice that can be found everywhere. Project management does not belong to any specific domain or a field. It is a universal practice with a few basic concepts and objectives. Every project requires to be managed regardless of the size of the activities or effort. There are many variations of project management that have been customized for different domain. Although the basic principles are the same among any of these variations, here are unique features present to address unique problems and conditions specific to each domain. There are two main types of project management: 1. Traditional Project Management 2. Modern Project Management The Traditional Project Management uses orthodox methods and techniques in the management process. These methods and techniques have been evolved for decades and are applicable for most of the domains. But for some domains, such as software development, traditional project management is not a 100% fit. Therefore, there have been a few modern project management practices introduced to address the shortcomings of the traditional method. Agile and Scrum are two such modern project management methods.

Traditional Project Management

PMBOK (Project Management Book of Knowledge) defines the traditional project management as 'a set of techniques and tools that can be applied to an activity that seeks an end product, outcomes, or a service'. As already mentioned above; the methods and techniques involves defining the goal of the project including the objectives that are to be met to accomplish the goal, then planning the way of achieving the goal, followed by execution of the project plan. The project manager must have a system in place that constantly monitors the project progress so that the project can be well controlled. Finally the project must be closed upon completion. The closing phase evaluates what occurred during the project and provides historical information for use in planning and executing later projects. This historical information is kept in a document called a project notebook. This notebook is best created in electronic form so that it is easy to retrieve and summarize project information for use in projects currently being planned. Phases of Traditional Project Management (TPM) There are five phases to the TPM life cycle, each of which contains five steps: 1. Scope of the Project State the problem/opportunity. Establish the project goal. Define the project objectives. Identify the success criteria. List assumptions, risks and obstacles.

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Project Management Fundamentals What is a Traditional Project Management? 2. Develop the Project Plan Identify project activities. Estimate activity duration. Determine resource requirements. Construct/analyze the project network. Prepare the project proposal. 3. Launch the Plan Recruit and organize the project team. Establish team operating rules. Level project resources. Schedule work packages. Document work packages. 4. Monitor/control Project Progress Establish progress reporting system. Install change control tools/process. Define problem-escalation process. Monitor project progress versus plan. Revise project plans. 5. Close out the Project Obtain client acceptance. Install project deliverables. Complete project documentation. Complete post-implementation audit. Issue final project report. These five phases are performed in sequence, with one feedback loop from the Monitor/control Progress phase to the Develop Progress Plan phase. This model is adapted from the PMI PMBOK.
Conclusion Traditional project management is a project management approach that will work for most domains and environments. This approach uses orthodox tools and techniques for management and solving problems.

These tools and techniques have been proven for decades, so the outcome of such tools and techniques can be accurately predicted. When it comes to special environments and conditions, one should move away from traditional project management approach and should look into modern methods that have been specifically developed for such environments and conditions.

Prepared by:

Mohammad Azfar Javaid

(Student of EMBA-IT)