Managing By Projects
By SAMUEL LARTEY, Project Manager.
Modern businesses are challenged to implement new business strategies in the face of competition and to meet the sophisticated and diversified customer demands. One approach that business strategies can be translated into realities in modern business management is through managing by projects.
Managing by project is recognized as a special process which differs in approach from general management. Project management in the past has focused on the completion of defined work within given time constraints and cost limits. In contemporary times however the focus has shifted more to quality of the final output delivered to the customer and the satisfaction derived by the sponsor.
Managing by project is a specialized management technique to plan and control projects which will realize business strategies. It provides an appropriate way to bring about sudden, revolutionary or purposive change. It provides also a suitable approach to handling one off tasks. It is a realistic way for evaluating a new scheme before being turned and managed operationally.
Managing by project challenges the business by requiring extraordinary use of resources, especially, human and finance over a finite period of time. It often requires more time at the beginning setting objectives, terms of reference, planning and creating effective work breakdown structures. It requires someone with the right knowledge, competencies and skill-mix to effectively manage any project either small or big.
To successfully implement these strategies project managers establishes the full understanding of what is required to be achieved. They describe what is to be the outcome or what is to be delivered as the result of the business strategy. Project managers define the dates, timelines, and budgets for the project completion. They establish the understanding that the lack of clear objectives will doom the project from the beginning.
Managing by project requires that project managers plan and communicate all aspects of the project. Motivate the individuals, groups and teams on the project with integrity, sensitivity and imagination. Gain productivity and trust from shared decision making. Managing by project also involves the fact that managers will see clearly through tangled issues, identify clearly the loops and networks and must get the right people for the right tasks at the right time and must establish clear communication networks. Each person group or team must know who to contact for what assistance rather than all communicating with all creating information overload, repetition of roles, duplications of processes and redundancies. Managing by projects requires all teams on the project get things done right first time every time.
Most effectively the project manager must monitor costs, efficiency and quality without being excessively bureaucratic. Manage the project teams by example and most effectively by taking back seat, effectively managing exceptions. Establish very clear and comprehensive terms of reference. Specifying clearly the objectives, scope, time frames and all the resources required. The terms of reference must also specify any risk constraints, or assumptions.
To effectively manage projects it is important to make any early allowances for cost escalation and build in a level of contingency and safety margins. Again it is important to plan budgets, assign responsibilities, allocate time scales to each unit of work and monitor and control project tasks. Plan and monitor details to ensure that the project output does what it is supposed to-fit for its purpose.
Managing by project means delivering outputs or obtaining client acceptance of project results. It ensures that the outcome of the project is accepted by the customer or sponsor of the project. To conclude on the project management process, it is a must to measure the project success and see what lessons can be learnt, review the quality, time and cost. Most importantly also, review staff skills gained, mistakes committed and what could be tackled differently.
In conclusion it would be said that a successful project is that project which meets the pre-determined targets set by the client, performs the job it was intended to do, or solves the problem within the pre-determined time, costs and quality constraints.
