MANAGEMENT
Assignment 1: Project Management – an investigation
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, Project Management – a definition
The Project Life Cycle – The five stages (P1)
Initiation
The first stage. This stage’s main objective is to figure out if the intended project can go
ahead for development or not by analysing its feasibility and then having to justify why it is
worth spending time to develop it. After this is complete and it is confirmed that it can go on,
the project is then established and is assigned a project manager for initiation.
Planning
The planning stage includes multiple sub-stages. Including:
Project plan – This specifies the tasks that need to be taken, the phases and any dependencies.
A Gantt chart is used for the project plan.
Resource plan – This stage specifies who is required for each task and how much time it will
need. Financial resources are considered for the budget.
Risk management plan – This stage specifies the risks that may impact the project. Mentions
the probability of them occurring and the impact they will have if taken place and this plan
will highlight any risks and how to mitigate their occurrence.
Communication plan – This specifies who should be communicated with and when they need
to be communicated with. Makes it clear how often different stakeholders are to be
communicated with and what to include during communication.
Acceptance plan – This specifies what needs to be achieved for a task to regard it as
completed.
Execution
At this stage everyone begins working on their part of the project plan and the tasks that they
need to carry out. The project manager tracks the status/milestones of each deliverable item.
If a stage off course the manager ensures that they manage this accordingly. The
communication plan is followed accordingly during this stage.
Monitoring and Controlling
Different categories of a project are monitored whilst the overall project is executed. The
following categories are:
Cost – The costs of the project are monitored so that control is maintained otherwise the costs
of the project become out of control.
Time - Monitored to ensure that all employees are on target and that there is sufficient time
for each task, if not, adjustments made.
Risks - Essential to mitigate any risks so that the project can move forward.
Change/Scope - Changes are sometimes made to the scope. These need to be monitored to
ensure that if changes are made, they are necessary.
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