There is an increasing reliance upon project management as one of the principal tools for the management of change of all kinds from traditional construction projects to the achievement of greater efficiency and competitive edge. Project Management has the ability to transcend the traditional functional divisions of business – operations, sales and marketing, information technology, finance etc. – and bring them together into a single co-ordinated, powerful business tool.

Project Management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to achieve project objectives. Project management is accomplished through the use of the processes such as: initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing. The work will typically involve managing the following:

     -Competing demands for: scope, time, cost, risk and quality

     -Stakeholders with differing needs and expectations

     -Identified requirements

Project Management is an integrative endeavour – an action, or failure to take action, in one area will usually affects other areas.  These interactions often require tradeoffs among project objectives – performance in one area may be enhanced only by sacrificing performance in another. Successful project management requires successfully managing these.

To explain the approach in practical terms, the processes and tools that Procad apply are organised by the nine key elements described below.

Project Scope Management describes the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully. It consists of initiation, scope planning, scope definition, scope verification, and scope change control.

o      Templates: Scope Statement, WBS (Work Breakdown Structure),   Work Packages

o      Application: Word, WBS Chart

Project Time Management describes the processes required to ensure the timely completion of the project. It consists of activity definition, activity sequencing, activity duration estimating, schedule development, and schedule control.

o        Templates:  Gantt Chart, Milestone Chart

o        Application: MS Project, Word

Project Cost Management describes the processes required to ensure that the project is completed within the approved budget. It consists of resource planning, cost estimating, cost budgeting and cost control.

o        Templates: Cost Estimate, Cash flow

o        Application: Excel

Project Quality Management describes the processes required to ensure that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken. It consists of quality planning, quality assurance and quality control.

o        Templates: Quality Statement

o        Application: Word

Project Human Resource Management describes the processes required to make the most effective use of the people involved with the project. It consists of organisational planning and team development.

o        Templates: Project Organisational Chart, Responsibility Matrix

o        Application: MS Org Chart, Excel

Project Communications Management describes the processes to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, storage, and ultimate disposition of project information. It consists of communications planning, information distribution, performance reporting, and administrative closure.

o         Templates: Report Matrix, Meeting Matrix

o         Application: Excel

Project Risk Management describes the processes concerned with identifying, analysing and responding to project risk. It consists of risk management planning, risk identification, risk analysis, risk response planning, and risk monitoring and control.

o         Templates: Risk Matrix

o          Application: Excel

Project Procurement Management describes the processes required to acquire goods and services from outside the performing organisation i.e. engaging contractors etc. It consists of procurement planning, solicitation (tendering), source selection, contract administration, and contract closeout.

o           Templates: Contract Matrix

o           Application: Excel

Project Integration Management describes the processes required to ensure that the various elements of the project are properly co-ordinated. It consists of project plan development, project plan execution, and integrated change control.

o         Templates: Change Control, Issues Management

o         Application: Excel, Word

Project management is, by it’s very nature, an effort in integration. Integration brings together different activities and efforts as well as co-ordinating and controlling them to achieve project success. It cannot be left to chance but should be a structured conscious approach to its application.

The role of project management is one of constantly balancing customer expectations and achievement of internal business objectives, while simultaneously delivering within the triple constraints of schedule, cost and requirements. Projects are unique undertakings and hence involve a degree of uncertainty. This cannot be managed in a bespoke informal fashion with a hope for the best! A structured approach prompts and strives towards project completeness, effectiveness, efficiencies and ultimately success.