The following
outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to project management:
Project management
Project management is the process of supervising the work of a Project team, team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project initiation documentation, project documentation, crea ...
– discipline of planning, organizing, securing, managing, leading, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals. A
project
A project is a type of assignment, typically involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a specific objective.
An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of events: a "set of interrelated tasks to be ...
is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end (usually time-constrained, and often constrained by funding or deliverables), undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value. The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast with ongoing business operations.
What type of thing is project management?
Project management can be described as all of the following:
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Management
Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...
– in business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal.
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Management process – is a process of planning and controlling the performance or execution of any type of activity.
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Process
A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic.
Things called a process include:
Business and management
* Business process, activities that produce a specific s ...
– ongoing collection of activities, with inputs, outputs and the energy required to transform inputs to outputs.
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Project
A project is a type of assignment, typically involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a specific objective.
An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of events: a "set of interrelated tasks to be ...
– A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.
Branches of project management
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Project portfolio management
Project portfolio management (PPM) is the centralized management of the processes, methods, and technologies used by project managers and project management offices (PMOs) to analyze and collectively manage current or proposed projects based on n ...
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Program management
Program management deals with overseeing a group or several projects that align with a company’s organizational strategy, goals, and mission. These Project, projects, are intended to improve an Organizational performance, organization's perfo ...
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Project risk management
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Project workforce management
Project management by domain
*Construction project management concepts
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Construction
Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...
– in the fields of architecture and civil engineering, is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of
multitasking. Normally the job is managed by the project manager and supervised by the construction manager, design engineer, construction engineer or project architect.
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Construction management
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Architectural engineering
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Virtual design and construction – (VDC) is the use of integrated multi-disciplinary performance models of design-construction projects, including the Product (i.e., facilities), Work Processes and Organization of the design - construction - operation team in order to support explicit and public business objectives.
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Software project management concepts
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Software engineering
Software engineering is a branch of both computer science and engineering focused on designing, developing, testing, and maintaining Application software, software applications. It involves applying engineering design process, engineering principl ...
– is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software.
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Software development
Software development is the process of designing and Implementation, implementing a software solution to Computer user satisfaction, satisfy a User (computing), user. The process is more encompassing than Computer programming, programming, wri ...
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Agile software development
Agile software development is an umbrella term for approaches to software development, developing software that reflect the values and principles agreed upon by ''The Agile Alliance'', a group of 17 software practitioners, in 2001. As documented ...
– is a set of principles about how software should be developed based on a rapidly iterative agile way of working in contrast to many previous software development methodologies.
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Capability Maturity Model – (CMM) in software engineering is a model of the maturity of the capability of certain business processes. A maturity model can be described as a structured collection of elements that describe certain aspects of maturity in an organization, and aids in the definition and understanding of an organization's processes.
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Dynamic Systems Development Method
Dynamic systems development method (DSDM) is an Agile management, agile project delivery framework, initially used as a software development methodology, software development method. First released in 1994, DSDM originally sought to provide some ...
– (DSDM) is a software development methodology originally based upon the Rapid Application Development methodology. DSDM is an iterative and incremental approach that emphasizes continuous user involvement.
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Unified Process – The Unified process is a popular
iterative and incremental software development process
In software engineering, a software development process or software development life cycle (SDLC) is a process of planning and managing software development. It typically involves dividing software development work into smaller, parallel, or s ...
framework. The best-known and extensively documented refinement of the Unified Process is the
Rational Unified Process
The rational unified process (RUP) is an iterative software development process framework created by the Rational Software Corporation, a division of IBM since 2003. RUP is not a single concrete prescriptive process, but rather an adaptable proc ...
(RUP).
Types of projects
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Mega project – is an extremely large-scale investment project.
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Expansion projects – Expansion of current operations or undertakings.
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Strategic projects
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R&D projects
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Customer projects
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Continuity projects
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Improvement projects
Project management approaches
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Agile management
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Cadence project management methodology; other than a standard - the methodology is flexible and adaptable to the size, risk, and complexity of projects; recommends when and how to use which tools; is adaptable to company, institution, or sector.
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Critical chain project management (CCPM) – method of planning and managing projects that puts more emphasis on the resources required to execute
project tasks.
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Event chain methodology
Event chain methodology is a network theory, network analysis technique that is focused on identifying and managing events and relationships between them (event chains) that affect project schedules. It is an uncertainty modeling schedule techniqu ...
– is an uncertainty modeling and schedule network analysis technique that is focused on identifying and managing events and event chains that affect project schedules.
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Extreme project management (XPM) – refers to a method of managing very complex and very uncertain projects.
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Lean project management - Lean concepts in a project management context.
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PMI (Project Management Institute) – project management standards and certification.
* IPMA (International Project Management Association) – project management standards, guidelines and certification.
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PRINCE2
PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is a structured project management method and practitioner certification programme. PRINCE2 emphasises dividing projects into manageable and controllable stages.
It is adopted in many countries wor ...
– project management methodology and certification. The planning, monitoring and control of all aspects of the project and the motivation of all those involved in it to achieve the project objectives on time and to the specified cost, quality and performance.
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Process-based management
Related fields
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Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering (IE) is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, an ...
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Cost engineering
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Facilitation (business)
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Project management software
Project management software are computer programs that help plan, organize, and manage resources.
Depending on the sophistication of the software, it can manage Software development effort estimation, estimation and planning, Schedule (workplace) ...
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Project management simulation
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Resource allocation
In economics, resource allocation is the assignment of available resources to various uses. In the context of an entire economy, resources can be allocated by various means, such as markets, or planning.
In project management, resource allocatio ...
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Scientific management
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Systems engineering
Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their Enterprise life cycle, life cycles. At its core, systems engineering uti ...
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Total cost management
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Workflow management
Fields concerned primarily with projects
History of project management
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Timeline of project management
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AACE International
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A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
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Booz Allen Hamilton
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Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...
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Critical Path Method
The critical path method (CPM), or critical path analysis (CPA), is an algorithm for schedule (project management), scheduling a set of project activities. A critical path is determined by identifying the longest stretch of dependent activiti ...
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Frederick Winslow Taylor
Frederick Winslow Taylor (March 20, 1856 – March 21, 1915) was an American mechanical engineer. He was widely known for his methods to improve industrial efficiency. He was one of the first management consulting, management consultants. In 190 ...
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Gantt chart
A Gantt chart is a bar chart that illustrates a schedule (project management), project schedule. It was designed and popularized by Henry Gantt around the years 1910–1915. Modern Gantt charts also show the Dependency (project management), depe ...
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Henri Fayol
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Henry Gantt – was an American mechanical engineer and management consultant, who developed the Gantt chart in the 1910s.
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Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...
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Karol Adamiecki
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Program Evaluation and Review Technique
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Project Management Institute
The Project Management Institute (PMI, legally Project Management Institute, Inc.) is a U.S.-based not-for-profit professional organization for project management.
Overview
PMI serves more than five million professionals including over 680,0 ...
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Remington Rand
Remington Rand, Inc. was an early American business machine manufacturer, originally a typewriter manufacturer and in a later incarnation the manufacturer of the UNIVAC line of mainframe computers. Formed in 1927 following a merger, Remington ...
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Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...
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Trajan's Column
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Vitruvius
Vitruvius ( ; ; –70 BC – after ) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work titled . As the only treatise on architecture to survive from antiquity, it has been regarded since the Renaissan ...
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Work breakdown structure
A work-breakdown structure (WBS) in project management and systems engineering is a breakdown of a project into smaller components. It is a key project management element that organizes the team's work into manageable sections. The Project Mana ...
Project management processes
Project management process – is the management process of planning and controlling the performance or execution of a project. Typical phases include:
# Initiation
# Planning and design
# Execution and construction
# Monitoring and controlling systems
# Completion
General project management concepts
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Dependency in a project network is a link amongst a project's terminal elements.
* Duration of a project's terminal element is the number of calendar periods it takes from the time the execution of element starts to the moment it is completed.
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Float in a project network is the amount of time that a task in a project network can be delayed without causing a delay to subsequent tasks and or the project completion date.
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Hammock activity – is a schedule (project management) or project planning term for a grouping of subtasks that "hangs" between two end dates it is tied to. (Or the two end-events it is fixed to.)
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Product breakdown structure – (PBS) in project management is an exhaustive, hierarchical tree structure of components that make up an item, arranged in whole-part relationship.
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Product description – in project management is a structured format of presenting information about a project product
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Project Management Triangle – is a model of the constraints of project management.
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Resources
''Resource'' refers to all the materials available in our environment which are Technology, technologically accessible, Economics, economically feasible and Culture, culturally Sustainability, sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and want ...
in project management terminology are required to carry out the project tasks. They can be people, equipment, facilities, funding, or anything else capable of definition (usually other than labour) required for the completion of a project activity.
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Scope of a project in project management is the sum total of all of its products and their requirements or features.
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Tasks in project management are activity that needs to be accomplished within a defined period of time.
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Time limit
A time limit or deadline is a narrow field of time, or a particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished. Once that time has passed, the item may be considered overdue (e.g., for work projects or school assignments). In ...
is a narrow field of time, or a particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished.
* Work in project management is the amount of effort applied to produce a deliverable or to accomplish a task (a terminal element).
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Vertical slice – is a type of milestone, benchmark, or deadline, with emphasis on demonstrating progress across all components of a project.
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Work package – is a subset of a project that can be assigned to a specific party for execution. Because of the similarity, work packages are often misidentified as projects.
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Workstream – is a set of associated activities, focused around a particular scope that follow a path from initiation to completion.
Project management procedures
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Aggregate planning – is an operational activity which does an aggregate plan for the production process, in advance of 2 to 18 months, to give an idea to management as to what quantity of materials and other resources are to be procured and when, so that the total cost of operations of the organization is kept to the minimum over that period.
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Allocation – is the assignment of available resources in an economic way.
* Budgeting
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Budget
A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...
– generally refers to a list of all planned expenses and revenues.
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Budgeted cost of work performed – (BCWP) measures the budgeted cost of work that has actually been performed, rather than the cost of work scheduled.
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Budgeted cost of work scheduled – (BCWS) the approved budget that has been allocated to complete a scheduled task (or Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) component) during a specific time period.
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Constructability – is a project management technique to review the construction processes from start to finish during pre-construction phase. It will identify obstacles before a project is actually built to reduce or prevent error, delays, and cost overrun.
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Cost engineering – is the area of engineering practice where engineering judgment and experience are used in the application of scientific principles and techniques to problems of cost estimating, cost control, business planning and management science,
profitability analysis,
project management
Project management is the process of supervising the work of a Project team, team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project initiation documentation, project documentation, crea ...
, and planning and scheduling."
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Critical path method
The critical path method (CPM), or critical path analysis (CPA), is an algorithm for schedule (project management), scheduling a set of project activities. A critical path is determined by identifying the longest stretch of dependent activiti ...
– (CPM) is a mathematically based modeling technique for scheduling a set of project activities, used in project management.
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Earned value management – (EVM) is a project management technique for measuring project progress in an objective manner, with a combination of measuring scope, schedule, and cost in a single integrated system.
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Earned schedule – (ES) is an extension to earned value management (EVM), which renames two traditional measures, to indicate clearly they are in units of currency or quantity, not time.
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Estimation in project management is the processes of making accurate estimates using the appropriate techniques.
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Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT) – is a network analysis technique that allows probabilistic treatment of both network logic and activity duration estimated.
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HERMES is a Project Management Method developed by the Swiss Government, based on the German V-Modell. The first domain of application was software projects.
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Kickoff meeting
A kickoff meeting is the first meeting with the project team and with or without the client of the project. This meeting would follow definition of the base elements for the project and other project planning activities. This meeting introduces ...
– is the first meeting with the project team and the client of the project.
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Linear scheduling method – (LSM) is a graphical scheduling method focusing on continuous resource utilization in repetitive activities. It is believed that it originally adopted the idea of Line-Of-Balance method.
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Program Management
Program management deals with overseeing a group or several projects that align with a company’s organizational strategy, goals, and mission. These Project, projects, are intended to improve an Organizational performance, organization's perfo ...
– is the process of managing multiple ongoing inter-dependent projects. An example would be that of designing, manufacturing and providing support infrastructure for an automobile manufacturer.
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Project accounting – Is the practice of creating financial reports specifically designed to track the financial progress of projects, which can then be used by managers to aid project management.
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Project Cost Management A method of managing a project in real-time from the estimating stage to project control; through the use of technology cost, schedule and productivity is monitored.
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Project planning – is part of project management, which relates to the use of schedules such as Gantt charts to plan and subsequently report progress within the project environment.
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Task is part of a set of actions which accomplish a job, problem or assignment.
Project management tools
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BOSCARD – a strategic planning tool used in project management to give the Terms of reference for new projects.
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Event chain diagram – diagram that show the relationships between events and tasks and how the events affect each other.
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Gantt chart
A Gantt chart is a bar chart that illustrates a schedule (project management), project schedule. It was designed and popularized by Henry Gantt around the years 1910–1915. Modern Gantt charts also show the Dependency (project management), depe ...
– is a type of bar chart that illustrates a
project schedule. It illustrate the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of a project. Terminal elements and summary elements comprise the work breakdown structure of the project.
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Integrated Master Plan – (IMP) is an event-based, top level plan, consisting of a hierarchy of Program Events.
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Milestones are tools used in project management to mark specific points along a project timeline.
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Project charter is a statement of the scope, objectives, and participants in a project.
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Project Management Simulators – are computer-based tools used in
project management
Project management is the process of supervising the work of a Project team, team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project initiation documentation, project documentation, crea ...
training programs. Usually, project management simulation is a group exercise. The computer-based simulation is an interactive learning activity.
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Project management software
Project management software are computer programs that help plan, organize, and manage resources.
Depending on the sophistication of the software, it can manage Software development effort estimation, estimation and planning, Schedule (workplace) ...
– is a type of software, including scheduling, cost control and
budget management, resource allocation, collaboration software, communication, quality management and documentation or administration systems, which are used to deal with the complexity of large projects.
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Project network
A project network diagram, also known an activity network diagram (AND) is a information graphics, graph that displays the order in which a project’s activities are to be completed. Derived from the work breakdown structure, the Work breakdown ...
– is a graph (flow chart) depicting the sequence in which a project's terminal elements are to be completed by showing terminal elements and their dependencies.
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Project plan
A project plan, is a series of structured tasks, objectives, and schedule to a complete a desired outcome, according to a project managers designs and purpose. According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), is:
"...a formal, appr ...
– is a formal, approved document used to guide both ''project execution'' and ''project control''. The primary uses of the project plan are to document planning assumptions and decisions, facilitate communication among ''stakeholders'', and document approved scope, cost, and schedule ''baselines''. A project plan may be summary or detailed.
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Risk register – is a tool commonly used in project planning and organizational risk assessments.
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Schedule
A schedule (, ) or a timetable, as a basic time-management tool, consists of a list of times at which possible tasks, events, or actions are intended to take place, or of a sequence of events in the chronological order in which such thing ...
s in project management consists of a list of a project's terminal elements with intended start and finish dates.
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Work Breakdown Structure
A work-breakdown structure (WBS) in project management and systems engineering is a breakdown of a project into smaller components. It is a key project management element that organizes the team's work into manageable sections. The Project Mana ...
(WBS) is a tool that defines a project and groups the project's discrete work elements in a way that helps organize and define the total work scope of the project. A Work breakdown structure element may be a product, data, a service, or any combination. WBS also provides the necessary framework for detailed cost estimating and control along with providing guidance for schedule development and control.
Project-related problems
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Cost overrun
A cost overrun, also known as a cost increase or budget overrun, involves unexpected incurred costs. When these costs are in excess of budgeted amounts due to a value engineering underestimation of the actual cost during budgeting, they are known ...
– is defined as excess of actual cost over budget.
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Scope creep – refers to changes in a project's scope at any point after the project commenses. This phenomenon can occur when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled. It is generally considered a negative occurrence that is to be avoided.
Project management standards
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ISO 10006 – guideline for quality management in projects, is an international standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization.
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PMBoK; Project Management Body of Knowledge, is the international standard for project management developed by the Project Management Institute PMI.
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APMBoK; Association for Project Management Body of Knowledge, developed by the APM (affiliated with the
IPMA).
Project participants
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Executive sponsor – : the senior member of the project board and often the chair.
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Project Management Professional – is a certificated professional in project management.
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Certified Project Management Professional
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Project manager
A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the Project planning, planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined star ...
– : professional in the field of project management. Project managers can have the responsibility of the planning, execution, and closing of any project, typically relating to construction industry, architecture, computer networking, telecommunications or software development.
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Project stakeholders – are those entities within or without an organization which sponsor a project or, have an interest or a gain upon a successful completion of a project.
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Project team – is the management team leading the project, and provide services to the project. Projects often bring together a variety number of problems. Stakeholders have important issues with others.
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Project management office –: The Project management office in a business or professional enterprise is the department or group that defines and maintains the standards of process, generally related to project management, within the organization. The PMO strives to standardize and introduce economies of repetition in the execution of projects. The PMO is the source of documentation, guidance and metrics on the practice of project management and execution.
Project management education
Degrees
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Master of Science in Project Management
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Doctor of Project Management
Professional Certifications
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Project Management Professional
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Certified Associate in Project Management
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Certified Project Management Professional
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TOCICO Certified in Critical Chain Project Management
Schools
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RMIT School of Property, Construction and Project Management
Project management organizations
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Association for Project Management
The Association for Project Management is a British professional organisation for project and programme management. It received a Royal Charter in 2017, and is a registered charity. It has over 45,000 individual and more than 470 corporate ...
* Indian Institute of Project Management
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Theory of Constraints International Certification Organization
* Libyan Project Management Association
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Project Management Institute
The Project Management Institute (PMI, legally Project Management Institute, Inc.) is a U.S.-based not-for-profit professional organization for project management.
Overview
PMI serves more than five million professionals including over 680,0 ...
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Project Management Research & Development Center
*Australian Institute of Project Management
Project management publications
* ''
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge''
See also
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Glossary of project management
A glossary of terms relating to Project Management, project management and consulting.
A
* Agile software development is a set of fundamental principles about how software should be developed based on an agile way of working in contrast to p ...
*
List of project management software
References
External links
Guidelines for Managing Projectsfrom the UK Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)
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Project management
Project management is the process of supervising the work of a Project team, team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project initiation documentation, project documentation, crea ...
Project management
Project management is the process of supervising the work of a Project team, team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project initiation documentation, project documentation, crea ...