Ledesma Cindy Grace

HRD 37

THE 10 KNOWLEDGE AREA OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

1. Project Integration Management

 Which includes such fundamental plans as developing a project charter that is created
during the initiation phase. This is the document that sets up the project and assigns the
project manager.
 Another aspect of this area is the project management plan, which is developed as a
roadmap for the project to reach a successful end. Once created, the project plan is
approved by stakeholders and/or sponsors, and then it’s monitored and tracked through a
change log as the project progresses.
 Also includes the directing and managing of the project work, which is the production of its
deliverables. This process is monitored, analysed and reported on to identify and control
any changes or problems that might occur.

2. Project Scope Management

 Scope relates to the work of the project. So that includes plan scope management, which
is part of the project management plan. It also is when a detailed requirement for the final
product or service is collected.
 This is anything from a sentence to a bulleted list that is comprehensive to reduce major
project risks. And a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), which is a graphic breakdown of
project work, is another part of this area.
 Validate scope during the project, which means making sure that the deliverables are
being approved regularly by the sponsor or stakeholder. This occurs during the monitoring
and controlling process groups and is about accepting the deliverables, not the specs laid
out during planning.
3. Project Time Management
 The project is divided into tasks, which are scheduled with start dates and deadlines, as
well as budgets for each task. And things are constantly changing over the phases of any
project, which means revising these things often.
 This involves plan schedule management, which involves creating a schedule for the project
and determining who is responsible for what. That means defining activities, which is not
the same as making a WBS, but similar. So, you create a task list that touches on every
aspect of the project.
 These tasks are then put in an order that makes sense, and any dependencies between
them is noted. These dependencies are then determined to be either finish-to-start (FS),
finish-to-finish (FF), start-to-start (SS) or start-to-finish (SF). This is mostly for larger
projects.
4. Project Cost Management
  This area involves the project budget, which means having good estimating tools to make
sure that the funds cover the extent of the project and are being monitored regularly to
keep stakeholders or sponsors informed.
 Plan cost management will determine the method to establish the budget, which includes
how and if it will change and what procedures will be used to control it. Each task will have
to be estimated for cost, which means including all resources such as labor, materials,
equipment and anything else needed to complete the task.
5. Project Quality Management
 Come in on time and within budget, but if the quality is not up to the standard set, then the
project is a failure. Plan quality management is part of the overall project management plan,
though it can be a standalone document if it contains the quality specs for the product or
service.
 The process needs to include quality assurance, which is just a way to make sure that
quality standards are being met. Therefore, to control quality, the deliverables must be
inspected to make sure that those standards outlined in the quality management plan are
being met.
6. Project Human Resource Management
 Project team is your most important resource, so it’s crucial to assemble the best team and
to make sure they’re happy. But also you need to track their performance to ensure that the
project is progressing as planned. A human resource management plan will identify their
roles and their requirements for those positions, as well as how they fit in the overall project
structure.
 After you’ve determined the job descriptions, it’s time to fill those positions and acquire a
project team. This can be done in-house by drawing from other departments in the
organization, by getting new hires or by a combination of both. The team needs
development, possibly training and other things that will make them viable for the project.
 Managing the project team is an ongoing responsibility of the project manager. The team is
monitored to make sure they’re working productively and that there are no internal conflicts,
so everyone is satisfied.
7. Project Communications Management
 Communications might be paramount as it informs every aspect of the project.
Communications inform the team and stakeholders, therefore the need to plan
communications management is a critical step in any project.
 It is at this point that the dissemination of communications is determined, including how it’s
done and with what frequency. Target who needs what and when. Also, note how
communications will occur when issues arise in the project, such as changes.
8. Project Risk Management
 Will identify how the risks will be itemized, categorized and prioritized. This
involves identifying risks that might occur during the execution of the project
by making a risk register.
 Perform qualitative risk analysis after the biggest risks have been identified and
classified by likelihood and impact. Then prioritize them. Then perform
quantitative analysis according to their impact on the project, such as its
budget, schedule, etc.
  Now you’ll need to plan risk responses. If those risks in fact become issues,
then a response needs to have been written in advance, with an owner who can
make sure the risk is properly identified and handled. Controlling risk involves
regularly reviewing the risk register and crossing off those risks that are no
longer going to impact the project.

9. Project Procurement Management

 This deals with outside procurement, which is part of most projects, such as hiring
subcontractors. This will obviously have an impact on the budget and schedule. Planning
procurement management starts by identifying the outside needs of the project and how
those contractors will be involved.
 Now conduct those procurements by hiring the contractors, which includes a statement of
work, terms of reference, request for proposals and choosing a vendor. You’ll want to
control the procurement process by managing and monitoring, and then closing the
contracts once the work has been done to everyone’s satisfaction.
10. Project Stakeholders Management
 as the project has been created for their needs. Therefore, they must be
actively managed like any other part of the project. To start one must identify
the stakeholders. It’s not always easy, but it’s a crucial part of starting any
project, so find out who they are and what concerns they have.
 Now plan stakeholder management, which means listing each stakeholder and
prioritizing what their concerns are and how they might impact the project.
This will lead to managing stakeholders’ expectations to make sure their needs
are met and that you’re in communication with them.
 Throughout the project, control stakeholder engagement. Do this by
determining if the stakeholders’ needs are being addressed. If not, figure out
what changes need to be made to either satisfy those needs or adjust the
expectations.

10 Project Management Skills

1. Leadership
 As a project manager you’re responsible not only for seeing the project through to a successful
completion, but you’re leading a team to achieve that goal. This requires you to motivate and
mediate when necessary. Remember that project leadership comes in different styles, one of
which will suit your personality. It’s more than managing tasks; it’s managing people.
2. Communication
 You can’t be an effective leader if you’re not able to articulate what it is you need your
team to do. But you’re not only going to be communicating with your team, you’ll need to
have clear communications with everyone associated with the project, from vendors and
contractors to stakeholders and customers. Whether that’s through reporting tools or
fostering collaboration with chat, file sharing, and other means to tag discussions at the
 task level, you’re going to need both systems in place to facilitate communications. These
tools also help connect people one-to-one and in group settings, such as meetings and
presentations.
3. Scheduling
 Hard skill sets required of project managers, and few are as essential as
knowing how to create a project schedule. The only way to achieve the goals
of the project within the timeframe that has been decided on is to breakdown
that goal into tasks on a timeline. That’s scheduling, and it’s the heart of what
a project manager does: setting up a realistic schedule and then managing
the resources to keep on track so the project can be successfully concluded
on time. There are many tools that can help with this process, chief among
them an online Gantt chart, which provides a visual of the schedule with tasks,
durations of those tasks, dependencies, and milestones.

4. Risk Management
 Doing anything is a risk. Planning a project, big or small, is inherent with risk. It’s part of
your job to see those issues before they become problems. Therefore, before executing
the project, you have to put in the work to identify, assess, and control risk. The more you
can manage risk, the more likely your project is going to succeed. Of course, you can’t
anticipate everything that might happen over the life cycle of your project. There will be
unanticipated issues that arise, so you need to have a process in place to handle those
when they come up.
5. Cost Management
 You can’t do anything without the money to pay for it. You have created a budget. Your
first job is to make sure that budget is realistic and can meet the financial needs of the
project, and, secondly, controlling those costs through the execution of the project. This
is easier said than done. Unless you are lucky and work for an organization with unlimited
funds, you’re going to have certain financial constraints, and more likely, be given a very
tight budget. It takes a great deal of skill to figure out how to squeeze every cent out of
those limited funds.
6. Negotiating
 Isn’t merely haggling for the best price from a vendor or contractor, though
that’s certainly part of it. Leading a project means you’re in constant
negotiations. For example, you’ll likely get demands from stakeholders that
can impact the scope of a project. You’ll have to give them pushback, but
diplomatically, so all parties concerned feel they’re getting what they want.
Then there’s the inevitable conflicts that will arise among team members or
other people involved in the project. If you’ve got strong negotiating skills you
can resolve these disputes before they blow up and threaten the project.
7. Critical Thinking
 It’s simply being as objective as you can in analysing and evaluating an issue or situation,
so that you can form an unbiased judgement. It pulls you out of acting on emotions or
from received knowledge, and isn’t that what a project manager must do? You’re faced
with problems every day when you’re working on a project, and you want your decisions to
be impartial. The only thing guiding your decision should be what’s best for the project.
 8. Task Management
 If scheduling is bedrock to project management, than tasks are mortar that holds
everything together. There are going to be tons of these pesky little jobs for you to create,
assign, and manage – some of which will be dependent on others, meaning that
mismanagement of this process can severely impact the success of your project. You can
look at this as making a super to-do list, which is not entirely wrong, but as you add
complexity you’ll also want to add the tools to help you manage these tasks more
efficiently. You’ll want features in your task management tool that foster collaboration with
your team, help you prioritize and give you instant status updates when tasks have been
completed or are running behind.
9. Quality Management
 Is one that is often overlooked by project leaders, and it’s one that needs to get more
attention. Quality management is overseeing the activities and tasks that are required to
deliver a product or service at the stated level indicated in the project paperwork. Sound
familiar? It’s basically a part of your job that you might never have given a name to or
worse, you’ve been neglecting in favor of meeting deadlines. Staying on schedule is
important, but that schedule is pointless if it produces something that is subpar.
10. A Sense Of Humor
 That’s because a sense of humor is really about having a different perspective. It allows
you to see a problem differently. Humor relieves stress for you and your team, and only
when tensions are lifted can smarter actions and ideas show themselves. A sense of
humor also helps with morale. You’re going to work as hard as your team, but that doesn’t
mean the environment you’re working in should be stifling. You can set or at least
influence the culture of the workplace, and a lighter mood rises all ships.

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