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Qstion .2
What is project management?

Project management is the discipline of using established principles, procedures and policies to
guide a project from conception through completion.

Project management applies these best practices to ensure that a project is completed in a way that
meets all articulated outcomes, from spending limits to end-goal objectives.

The effort often begins with a project charter, a short formal document that provides project
managers with written authority to begin work and outlines the goals, objectives, resource
requirements, stakeholders and potential challenges. The project plan scopes out these elements in
detail and informs the management of all aspects of the project, including roadblocks or surprises
that might arise.

Project management commonly involves overseeing people from multiple parts of a company,
sometimes from multiple organizations, who must work together for part or all of the project's
duration to reach the common goal. Project managers, thus, need to communicate effectively across
many disciplines and inspire people to work in concert to deliver a successful project.

This article is part of

Elements of project management

PMBOK divides project management into five processes or phases:

1. Initiating
2. Planning
3. Executing
4. Monitoring and controlling
5. Closing

the five stages of a project, from its initiation to post-mortem.

Additionally, project management professionals identify multiple discreet areas they must manage
as part of their roles and responsibilities. The following areas commonly make the list:

1. Integration
2. Scope
3. Time
4. Cost
5. Quality

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 6. Procurement
7. Human resources
8. Communications
9. Risk
10. Stakeholder

Benefits of project management

Project management brings a repeatable process to organizing, executing and governing projects.
Each project's objective is clearly articulated, workers' roles and responsibilities are identified,
timelines for finishing tasks are set, and the reporting mechanism to measure and convey progress
toward achieving incremental goals and the overall objective is established.

Through these fundamental elements, project management produces multiple benefits:

1. Higher likelihood of success. In PM, the project's objective is clear, as are the steps required to
achieve the objective.
2. Efficiency. The advanced planning required in PM minimizes guess work and false starts. In
addition, project management brings repeatable processes to bear, so there's no need to reinvent the
wheel each time a new project starts.
3. Lower costs and higher productivity. These benefits stem in large part from the higher rates of
success and increased efficiency in running projects using PM principles.
4. Great visibility into progress and problems. Project teams and project managers as well as
executive sponsors know what work should be done when and, thanks to reporting, whether those
milestones are being met.
5. Improved communication. Project team members, managers and executive sponsors, and other key
participants all have the same information about what work should be done, when it should be done
and for what reasons.
6. Greater alignment among all stakeholders. The detailed project plans, the increased visibility and
improved communication mean everyone is more likely to know where they fit into a project
workflow.
7. Better levels of collaboration. In project management, work is timed to ensure that teams that must
work together are all available when they need to be.
8. More accountability. Worker roles and responsibilities are accurately defined, and expected
milestones are clearly articulated in advance.
9. Better risk monitoring and mitigation. Project managers are expected to identify risks in advance
of a project and implement mitigations, so they're more apt to monitor for those risks and know how
to respond if problems arise.
10. Continuous improvement. Project managers take lessons learned and apply them to their
subsequent endeavors.

Project management examples

Organizations use project management to run projects in nearly every functional area. For example,
the project management discipline can be used to ensure the following are done effectively,
efficiently and successfully:

 the implementation of an enterprise software system, such as a customer relationship management

(CRM) platform;
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  the development and release of a new product or service;
 the opening of a new office or store;
 the creation and launch of a marketing campaign; and
 the construction of a new building or structure.

Project management methodologies

There are various methodologies that project managers can employ to deliver a successful project:

 Agile. A methodology used for speed and flexibility, which features short delivery cycles.
 Critical chain project management. An approach that focuses on the use of resources, rather than
on timelines.
 Critical path method. A step-by-step PM technique.
 Lean project management. The application of lean manufacturing principles to project
management
 Prince2. Originated in the U.K. and still widely used by the U.K. government to manage projects,
this approach has also been adopted by private industry internationally.
 Waterfall. A management style that is sequential in nature.

There are other methodologies tailored to certain types of projects. For example, rapid application
development is most often used in software development to encourage the quick development of
applications while still maintaining high quality. There are also methodologies that emphasize
specific values. For example, the Prism methodology focuses on sustainability and integrates that
idea into project phases to reduce negative environmental and social effects. Other approaches
include joint application development, the fountain model, the spiral model, build and fix, and -
and-stabilize.

Here are some of the best available PPM software and tools in 2023.

Planning is the primary and most important function of management and occupies a very high
position in the management process. It is the starting point of the whole management process and
involves the determination of future course of action. Why an action is required, how to take an
action, and when to take action are main subjects of planning for the management. Planning is a
determined course of action for achieving a specific objective.  It is deciding in advance what to do
and how to do. It is needed at every level of management. In the absence of planning all the
business activities of the organization become meaningless. The importance of planning has
increased all the more in view of the increasing size of organizations and their complexities and
because of uncertain and constantly changing business environment. In the absence of planning, it
may not be impossible but certainly difficult to guess the uncertain events of future.

Planning is one of the basic management functions. In fact it occupies the top position in the
management process. It is the starting point of the management process as other management
function can take place only through this function. Before doing a thing, it is necessary that the
management formulates an idea of how to work on a particular task. Thus, planning is closely
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connected with creativity and innovation. It involves setting objectives and developing appropriate
courses of action to achieve these objectives. Objectives are achieved by fixing time based goals

For achieving its goals management of an organization usually works with several management
plans such as business plan, production plan, maintenance plan, or marketing plan .Planning is an
organization process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its
resources to pursue this strategy. In order to determine the direction of the organization, it is
necessary to understand its current position and the possible avenues through which it can pursue a
particular course of action.

Process of planning

Planning is the process of thinking, mapping out and organizing the activities required to achieve a
desired goal. Planning involves the creation and maintenance of a plan. As such, planning is a
fundamental property of intelligent behaviour. This thought process is essential not only for the
creation and refinement of a plan but also for its integration with other plans. It combines
forecasting of developments with the preparation of scenarios of how to react to them. An
important, albeit often ignored aspect of planning, is the relationship it holds with forecasting.
Forecasting can be described as predicting what the future will look like, whereas planning predicts
what the future should look like.

In organizations, planning is also a management process, concerned with defining goals for the
organization’s future direction and determining on the missions and resources to achieve those
targets.

Fig 1 Basic steps in the management planning process

The following are the basic steps (Fig 1) in the management planning process which involve
creating a road map that outlines each task the organization must accomplish to meet its overall
objectives.

 Pre planning stage – This stage consists of information gathering and getting the knowledge of
earlier performance of the organization in the area for which management plan need to be prepared.
With these informations the issues and opportunities are identified and analyzed.
 Establish goals – The next step of the management planning process is to identify goals of the
organization in the specific area of operation for which plan is being prepared. This portion of the
planning process includes a detailed overview of all the organizational objectives to arrive at the
plan goals.  The goals are to be described in quantitative or qualitative terms. An example of a goal
is to raise production by 10 percent over a 12 month period.
 Identify resources – For achieving each goal, the financial, human and other resources needed are to
be projected in the management plan.  The plan is to indicate how these resources are to be made
available for the fulfillment of the plan.
 Establish goal related tasks – Tasks and actions needed for achievements of each goal are to be
clearly identified in the plan for the achievement are to be clearly fixed in the plan.
 Prioritizing of the related tasks – Prioritizing of the goal related tasks is about identifying priority of
the tasks based on their importance. The tasks deemed most important will theoretically be
approached and completed first. The prioritizing process may also reflect steps necessary in
completing a task or achieving a goal. The organization need to complete these steps in
chronological order for achieving the goals.
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  Create assignments and timelines – As the organization prioritizes the tasks, it must establish
timelines for completing the tasks and assign individuals/groups to complete them. This portion of
the management planning process is to consider the abilities of individuals/groups members and the
time necessary to realistically complete assignments.
 Review and the refinement of the draft plan – After the draft plan has been made it is reviewed and
refined after considering the view points of those who are connected with the plan for its
implementation.
 Approval and implementation of plan – Once the management plan is made, it need to be approved
by the management for its implementation. After its approval the plan serves as a guide for
management decisions and as a reference document for everyone during its implementation.
 Establish evaluation methods – A management planning process should include a strategy for
evaluating the progress toward goal completion throughout an established time period. One way to
do this is through a periodic progress report from the individuals/groups handling the assignment.
 Progress review – Once the progress report is available then the progress review is done by
analyzing the fulfillment of plan against the targets. Progress review is an essential part of the
management planning process.
 Identify alternative courses of action – Even the best-laid plans can sometimes be thrown off track
by unanticipated events. A management plan should include a contingency plan if certain aspects of
the master plan prove to be unattainable. Alternative courses of action can be incorporated into each
segment of the planning process, or for the plan in its entirety.

Quation. 3.
Community participation
‘The myth that the affected population is too shocked and helpless to take responsibility for
their own survival is superceded by the reality that on the contrary, many find new strength
during an emergency’ (Goyet, 1999).
It is the strong conviction of the authors that communities affected by disasters should be
given the maximum opportunity to participate in emergency relief programmes. Participa-
tion, here, does not simply mean being involved in the construction of facilities, it means

contributing ideas, making decisions and taking responsibility.

Community participation is perceived to be an essential component in
Othre
implementing development projects since people's needs are addressed best
through participation. It is a central element of projects since local people
are in full control and ownership of the projects. The development projects
should be responsive to the people's needs. However, in reality achieving
meaningful participation in projects that can ensure community empowerment is a
far cry. The projects are implemented with community participation so that it
can create opportynities for local people to participate in planning, decision
making, project implementation, allocation and distribution of resources. This
study is an assessment of community participation level in development projects
in a low income community.
The role of community participation in development
projects
planning and project management]
Several factors have contributed to
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 an increasing recognition of the need to address social aspects of development.
First is the accumulating evidence about the effects that beneficiary
participation in project design and management have on the efficiency of
implementation, cost recovery and project sustainability. Second is the limited
capacity of national and local government agencies to manage effectively the
increasing number of development projects and programs. Third is the belief that
development planners have a moral obligation to "listen to the people," both to
understand their needs and to assess how their lives are actually being affected
by donor sponsored projects and policies. A final factor is the concern over
gender issues. This paper contains the content of an international workshop on
community participation which was held to help the Economic Development
Institute (EDI) define how to incorporate community participation into training
activities. and proposes strategy.A concept such as participation evokes a powerful notion
of local community empowerment in development projects, leads to capacity building and enables
the community to be more effective and efficient in managing such projects. Traditionally,
participation was viewed as active, passive or interactive (Mikkelsen, 2005). Active participation is
open, and community members take part actively in all stages of the project. Decision making as
well as other vital activities, such as management as well as monitoring and evaluation of the
projects, are done by the people. On the other hand, during passive participation, the community
maintains a distance and never intervenes in the activities; they are told what is going to happen or
what has happened already.

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