By project management ([], PM) one understands all organizational procedures and techniques, which are connected with the successful completion of a project.

Definitions

The standard DIN 69901 defines techniques according to project management as the "whole of executive functions, - organization, - and - average for the completion of a project"

The world-wide largest PM-federation Project management of institutes (PMI) defines the project management term as follows: "Project management is the application OF knowledge, skills, tools and of techniques ton project activities ton meet project requirements."

The society for computer science defines project management in such a way: "The project lead, coordinate, steer and control."

Introduction

There are different structures and methods of the project management (see also section 4.3f, PM-systems and project phases), for which partial own procedural models exist. The choice of the proceeding for the execution of a project realigns itself usually:

• Defaults of the organization or the client
• Size and complexity of the project
• Industry/kind project ( vs. IT-project)

With the implementation of the project only one can, in addition, several thousand persons to be concerned. According to the rich tools of the project management also exclusively for this purpose enterprises and substantial support by project management often commodity, created of simple ton DO lists up to complex organizations. Therefore one of the major tasks of the project management before the start of the project is the definition, which PM-Methoden in exactly this project are to be used and weighted. An application of all methods in a small project would lead to over administration, thus the cost/use relationship in question would place.

Requirements of the project manager

For the successful implementation of the project the project manager needs knowledge out

• Project management,
• all in accordance with. Management knowledge and
• product specific knowledge,
• as well as social and kommunikative abilities.

With the points general management knowledge and product specific knowledge (also industry knowledge, e.g. software engineering for IT-projects) are not to be dealt here further.

Apart from the purely technical ability (project methodology) the social abilities of a project manager for project success are crucial. Project management is always also risk or chance management: In each project unplanned situations arise. It constitutes a good project manager that he recognizes such situations early, with as few a friction losses as possible again into the grasp gets (risks) or the possibilities placing uses (chances). Project managers should therefore have experiences which on interhuman level the areas of communication and conflict management, Teambuilding and motivation to cover.

Many terms and procedures in the project management are meanwhile established and standardized. In the context of most courses of studies in engineer, economics and computer science range basic knowledge of the project management is obtained. World-wide there are two large federations, which used up themselves the topic project management:

• the American Project management of institutes (PMI) and
• the IPMA internationally Project management Association

Their agencies in the countries offer certifying on different levels. For the IPMA for Germany German society for project management, for Austria P.M.A. project Austria certifying offer management. For PMI certifying can be checked the Zertifizierungstellen under PMI.

Stakeholdererwartungen

The project manager has the task to fulfill expectations of the Stakeholder to the project as far as possible. It moves thereby between the sizes

• Dates
• Costs
• Contents and scope of the project.

These three sizes are seen possibly contradictory by the Stakeholdern often differently and. In order to ensure project success, the project manager must make thus first the interests of the Stakeholder transparency and provide then together with them a project planning. Finally with the client a priority of these sizes is specified, on which then the steering of the project develops.

If the organization form of an enterprise of resources conflicts (e.g. matrix organization) suggests a fourth "personnel", sometimes described. Even if personnel is otherwise a part of the costs (personnel expenditure), can it be crucial to have certain persons in the project. This should be explicitly described and all Stakeholden transparency.

The uneasy triangle shows also that a change at one of the automatically leads one or both other sizes to changes to.

Used beginnings

By subproject line the controlling of a clearly definable part of a project is usually understood. A goal is the delegation of parts of the project management to other persons. Usually subtasks of the steering of the project and project execution at subproject leaders are delegated.

From the multi-project management to distinguish is the term program management. Under a program one understands a bundle (contentwise) of belonging together projects in this case. Program management is however temporally limited contrary to multi-project management (similarly as a project). Multi-project management can be used as form of the enterprise-far resources control however for an unlimited period.

Similarly the program management, whereby the program management usually steers single projects of a range of topics and the large-scale project management coordinates the subprojects at (large) a topic.

In the Portfoliomanagement the projects of an enterprise (usually pure from Controlling view) are administered. The Portfoliomanagement becomes fair by consolidation of characteristic numbers of all projects of an enterprise the need for information of the management.

If several projects are steered at the same time and coordinates, one speaks of multi-project management. Multi-project management, which is in demand in the equipment construction frequently for instance with large building firms or, places special challenges against the involved ones, because here critical resources must be coordinated over several, allegedly or actually from each other independent and around resources competing, projects away.

Just like multi-project management, however with centralized resources organization-spreading one plans here.

Contain Portfoliomanagement, large-scale project management, multi-project management

Success factors

Due to the high failure ratios (see also chaos study) in projects there is a continuous discussion of the success factors of projects. There are different beginnings, tries so-called success factors to find:

1. Expert questionings
2. Investigation of the characteristics of successful projects

By the variability of all projects (variability is the nature of projects), the results of these investigations are hardly reproducible. In the discussion two points crystallized:

• professional project management
• experienced project managers

See also project indicators.

Articles in category "Project management"

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