Management by projects

A project can be defined as an assembly of efforts, temporary and delimited by some costs, some time limit and some final objectives, dedicated to create a service or unique product. The work carried out in a project is, usually, divided into phases to facilitate the monitoring and control. These phases determine the cycle of life of the projects. In each one of these phases some activities are carry out, some milestones were reached and some deliverable are generated. Also it is defined will be the responsible for carry out. The nature of the projects and the team of work they will determine the use of a methodology of work, whether standard (for example, Metric or Microsoft Solutions Framework), an adaptation of this or the creation of an own one, on the part of the own business. Independently, nevertheless, of the cycles of life of the projects and the methodology of work, is necessary to apply some processes of management to guarantee its correct execution, what is known like the Direction of Projects. The Project Management is defined, formally, like the application of an assembly of know-how, technical and tools to guarantee the correct execution of the works planned and the reach of the objectives predicted. To comply the its task, the project manager should consider different aspects, since two sides: the technical and relationship aspects. On the one hand, the formal or techbnical aspects include:
the areas of management: scope, time, costs, communication, risks, quality, team, contracting and the technical integration
the procedures to carry out: activities definition, budgeting, communication plan, project plan, change control management,..
techniques: Gantt chart, PERT chart, Critical Path Method, ...
and tools: project systems management, document repositories, collaboratives tools ...).
On the other hand, the aspects “related to relationship” are all those related to the know-how, abilities and competences, as for example, the leadership and direction of a team, the communication, the resolution of conflicts, time management, ...
Finally, project management is framed in a structure organization that can facilitate or to complicate the management of the projects, above all if they are multidepartamentals. The adoption of some common practices of Project Management, in an organization, contributes different benefits, so much to level of the teams of work, as of the departments and of the company:
To the team, having a frame of reference for the activities and processes of work of the projects, the use of tools and common guides for the management of the projects and to facilitate the incorporation of new members al team of work
To the department, having a common guide and standardized for the management of all the projects, same criteria of application and monitoring and facilitating the incorporation and substitution of project managers
To the organization, establishing a set of common practices for the work of all the departments and areas, with the same criterias of selection and priorization of the projects in the organization, having an unified vision and integrated of all the projects of the company and its information related (costs, time, resources, ...), to obtain an external and internal credibility and the obtaining of a savings of costs and a decrease of the project desviations.
In the majority of the organizations, this adoption of practices and common guides, as well as the coordination and monitoring of all the projects that are carry out in her, is assumed by a project management office.
Only since the unified and independent vision of all the departments of the organization the project efficient execution and monitoring could be guaranteed.
Si, it can be concluded, that the Project Management is a lot but that an assembly of techniques and practical that are carry out in departments as R & D, Information Systems, Engineering or Production.
It becomes an important tool of business management.