Project Management

What is project management?

Project management is the practice of applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to complete a project according to specific requirements. Understanding project management comes down to identifying the problem, creating a plan to solve the problem, and then executing that plan until the problem has been solved. That may sound simple, but there is a lot that goes into it at every stage of the process.

To explain the concept of project management further, think about all the projects you encounter every day—both in business and your personal life.

In simple terms, project management means the process of leading a team to hit goals or complete deliverables within a set timeframe. Project management involves project documentation, planning, tracking, and communication—all with the goal of delivering work successfully within the constraints of time, scope, and budget.

At work, you might build or contribute to a deliverable, like a report, a website, a tool or product, or even a building.
At home, you might make a meal, plan a vacation, or even work on upgrades to your home.

These are just a few examples of true projects that have a defined start and end date, goal, scope, and resources. And they all require some level of management.

In business, which is where we’ll focus in this chapter, a project is typically a unique operation conducted to meet specific goals.