Project Management
Success in business relies on many factors. One of the most important is a solid plan that is flexible enough to adapt to changing business needs yet comprehensive in assuring cost control and timely delivery. As PMP certified project managers, Avidaid's staff are able to create such a plan and Sheppard your project through it.
More and more, companies are moving toward project management to solve large and small problems. We can work with you through the entire project management life cycle and beyond, from inception to delivery. Avidaid provides:
- PMP certified project managers
- Identification of stakeholders
- Feasibility studies
- Risk assessments
- Proposal presentations
- Scope statements
- Requirements definition
- Mission statements
- Project charters
- Work breakdown structures (WBS)
- Communication plans
- Schedules
- Identification of roles and responsibilities
- Project monitoring
- Status reviews
- Change control
The Project Management Methodology
A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end that produces a unique product or service. Unlike cyclic tasks such as accounting or customer support, projects are designed to create something and disband. Two examples of projects could be building a new bridge or installing an update to a computer system.
The leader of a project is the project manager. He or she is responsible for identifying the stakeholders who will effect or be effected by the project, gathering the requirements that define the scope of the project, and hence, what will be produced, creating a schedule and budget, defining quality, identifying risks, setting up communication and monitoring the project to make certain it is completed on time and on budget.
Project management is far more than adhering to a schedule. A Microsoft Project chart is not a project plan. Project plans must account for all phases and circumstances such as breaking the work down into its manageable parts, acquiring a team, establishing communication, defining quality and how it will be measured, anticipating risks and forming plans to deal with them, managing contracts and contractors and building a team environment in which each member is empowered to perform at her or his maximum.
One of the most important jobs of a project manager is controlling the scope of the project. Over time, unauthorized features can creep into a project, things such as extra graphics or calculators that someone thought would be nice but which are not accounted for in the budget or schedule. These items are out of scope and cost in lost productivity and drains on funds. On the other hand, if a feature that is in the scope project is not included the project it will not pass Quality Assurance and the project will not be complete. The project manager must constantly monitor scope creep and create a method for adding features through a change order process that will alter the schedule and budget when items must be added by senior management.
The project management methodology only works when the entire methodology is followed. Some companies attempt to short circuit the methodology thinking they will save time and money. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is like leaving out key ingredients from a meal and expecting it to taste good. Project managers must follow all of the methodology and senior management must support the project manager in doing this.
