Chapter 1: Introduction to Project Management

There are triple constraints of project management such as scope, time and cost where a project manager must meet these three elements or goals to achieve a successful project management. The scope element may refer to the limited or required task to be perform in the project; meanwhile time element may focus on duration or estimate time in completing the project and cost element emphasize on budget or expenditure of the project. The important things here are these elements or goals relate each others, in order to change one element, other element need to change together.

Project management knowledge areas explain about the key competencies that project managers must develop. These knowledge areas are divided into three parts: Four core knowledge that lead to specific project objectives such as scope, time, cost, quality. Project quality management ensures that the project will satisfy the needs of the project. Four facilitating knowledge are the processes through which the project objectives are achieved such as human resource, communication, risk, and procurement. Project human resource management means making effective use of people in project. Project communications management means involves generating, collecting, disseminating, and storing project information. Project risk management includes identifying, analyzing, and responding to risks related to the project. Project procurement management involves acquiring or procuring goods and services for a project from outside the performing organization. One knowledge area for project integration management as an over searching function that affects and is affected by all of the other knowledge areas.

Project portfolio management is where organizations group manages projects and programs as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise’s success. Portfolio management addresses strategic goals which emphasize long-term goals for an organization. Meanwhile, project management addresses tactical goals that are generally more specific and short-term goals.

There are suggested skills for project managers such as the project management body of knowledge, application area knowledge, standard, and regulations, project environment knowledge, general management knowledge and skills, and soft skills or human relations skills. The most important skills and competencies for project managers such as people skills, leadership, listening, integrity, ethical behavior, consistent, strong at building trust, verbal communication, strong at building teams, conflict resolution, conflict management, critical thinking, problem solving, and understands, balances priorities. All of these skills needed in various situations for instance in large projects or high uncertainty projects, or very novel projects.