Further project management

Ross Woods, 2022

If you go further in project management, you'll find that it is increasingly complex.

The nine project management functions are:

• project integration
• scope
• time
• cost
• quality
• human resources
• communications
• risk
• procurement and contracting

So far so good. What about logistics and transport? They might need to be handled as separate items, although they could also be considered joint tasks of procurement and scheduling.

Your delegated authority

Check what authority is delegated to you. It normally means that you will be making decisions independently, although you will probably have to consult other people. You might have broad guidance from your supervisor. You might have to follow some set routines, but you may have some freedoms to adjust as circumstances change. As a project manager, you will probably be a team leader.

Integrating multiple programs

This section is about how to integrate all functions of project management over multiple projects.

One major problem is that priorities may conflict between sites, and you may need to  direct staff to re-align their projects. When priorities are in conflict you will need the support of your supervisor or senior management.

A program is defined as a set of interrelated events, each of which has an project manager. Multiple projects (that is, a portfolio of projects) means a number of projects that may or may not be related but they are all managed by the same person as a program. For the purposes of this section, both types will be referred to as a program and managers as program managers.

The documents that you produce specifically on integration might be:

• Records of rationalization/integration processes to determine achievable program objectives
• Program plans and control mechanisms
• Maintenance of processes for linking and coordinating program control mechanisms
• Records of environmental impact analysis
• Program (integrated) schedules and budgets
• Records of how you tracked and coordinated multiple project interdependencies
• Records of how you tracked and coordinated resource levelling
• Records of progress in relation to program baselines
• Your program finalisation plans, which should be aligned to organisational management periods, such as the financial year
• Lists of lessons learned

Skills inventory

At the higher levels, project management takes on many characteristics of professional management. This inventory of required skills is not all that comprehensive, but gives a better idea of the complexities involved. The list contains some redundancies.

The kind of skills, knowledge, and attributes you will need include:

1. ability to relate to people from a range of social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and physical and mental abilities
2. negotiate and manage contracts
3. planning and organizing
4. communication and negotiation
5. leadership and personnel management
6. monitoring and review skills
7. attributes:
   • positive leadership
   • analytical
   • thorough
   • able to maintain an overview
   • communicative
   • focused on outcomes
   • pay attention to detail
8. financial management:
   • can interpret a budget
   • can develop a budget
   • can implement a budget
9. Identify SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) facing the project
10. maintain industry knowledge
11. organizational priorities, structure and processes
12. manage staff:
    • lead a team
    • resolve conflict
    • give feedback on performance
13. planning and organizational skills
14. engendering support and enthusiasm for the campaign or project
15. ensure all relevant parties are aware of activities and responsibilities
16. research what needs to be done and how to do it, think creatively about issues/problems and devise solutions
17. track and monitor project progress
18. review and analyze
19. develop and implement a project plan
20. ensure timelines and outcomes are met
21. contain risks that may impinge on project outcomes
22. work with others
    • able to communicate with committees, external parties/clients, stakeholders and staff
    • negotiation
    • able to relate to people from a range of social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and physical and mental abilities
    • working with project team members
23. planning and organizing
24. leadership and personnel management
25. monitoring
26. program evaluation
27. communicate and lead a team, including negotiating and developing reports
28. communicate verbally, including making presentations, and participating in meetings, questioning and discussions
29. track and monitor your project
30. plan your own work and that of project team members
31. lead and represent the project team
32. do calculations for data manipulation involved in the project, including financial data
33. solve problems as they arise, and help  others to solve problems arising in the project
34. using relevant software to write correspondence and reports of project activities, finances, and data collation
35. using specific project management software tools
36. using review processes to inform future project management
37. procurement management: principles, processes and procedures and their application