Project management

What is project management?

Project management is understood to mean the management of projects. The term is used to indicate how defined projects are organised, initiated, planned, executed and finalised. A project is led by a project leader, whereby smaller projects with team leaders are designated in the project. The general project leader is responsible for the project and it is this person who, together with the team leaders, must steer the project in the right direction.

Setting up a project

With almost every project, a number of crucial steps are taken during the set-up. A first important step is the definition of the project and the determination of the ‘scope’. The second step is the planning of the entire project. This involves determining any sub-projects, appointing team leaders and establishing a reporting hierarchy. The third step is the effective implementation of the project and the underlying subprojects by the various teams, according to the established schedule. A fourth step is the monitoring of the progress of the project by the team leaders and by the project leader. A last, but not unimportant step, is the completion of the project by means of a report to the sponsor of the project and possibly also to those involved. This last step is often forgotten, but it is extremely important to communicate the conclusion and success of the project to all involved. There are many project management methods, including OPEN, PRINCE2, PMBOK, and so on. The MoSCoW method is also used in the ICT and software environment.

A project manager within a company: capabilities

A project manager is appointed by the management of the company and is then responsible for the smooth progress and correct handling of the project. Project managers can be appointed for a variety of projects. There are change projects, large-scale construction projects, financial projects, software development projects, and so on. However, in all projects the project manager monitors the scope of the project, the expected objectives set by the management, the management of those involved and the successful realization follow budget and within the agreed term.

Skills of a good project manager

A project manager must have a number of important skills. He must have very strong analytical skills. A complex assignment should be presented simply to those involved, otherwise you risk that those involved will drop out. A project manager must quickly gain insight into which employees he needs to successfully complete the project. Another skill is the proactiveness in detecting certain problems during the project. Coaching, leadership and adjustment by the project manager in a clear way are essential for a successful realization. The last skill is very important: stress resistance. Project managers who cannot handle stress, or who panic very quickly, exude little or no confidence in those involved in the project.

Project management: what is the MoSCow method?

The MoSCoW method within project management is widely used in the IT sector, more specifically in the domain of software management. With the MoSCoW method, certain priorities are set for the different requirements. It determines the importance of each requirement. The letters of the word MoSCoW indicate the different levels of requirements.
M: must haves: the requirements within this category are indispensable in the final result. If these requirements are not included in the end result, the product or service cannot start.
S: should haves: these are requirements that are strongly desired. If these are not delivered, the product will remain usable.
C: could haves: these requirements will be included in the project if there is enough time to realize them.
W: won’t haves: these requirements will not occur in the scope of the project, but these requirements can be retrieved later in time, or become part of a follow-up project.

The letters ‘o’ in MoSCoW have no meaning whatsoever. These are only put between the other letters to make it easy to pronounce.

With the MoSCow method it is essential to properly classify the categories of requirements. A project, set up according to the MoSCoW method, will only be successful when all requirements of the ‘must haves’ category have been delivered. Another advantage of this project management method is that it is possible to work towards a first delivery moment more quickly.

Project management versus day-to-day business activities
How does project management differ from normal day-to-day business activities? A project can be considered

business management

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