A project is a set of defined activities undertaken to achieve specific and predefined goals, within an allotted period of time. These projects may fall under a variety of categories. For example, a student project, a doctoral thesis or a business model project.

There are four stages in Project Management Implementation. The first stage is known as the Background Stage. In the beginning of this stage the consultants gauge the reaction of the company and its employees to test projects. Based on the results of these tests, the project management consultants prepare a training course for the employees that will be specifically associated with the team. A plan is created for the implementation of the project and the tools required are also created. Simultaneously the consultants help remediate any current at risk projects.

The second phase involves the utilization of the information gathered in the first stage. A project management office (PMO) is established and a structured project plan and control processes are rolled out for all the new Ps as well as the previously running Ps. Under the PMO jobs are assigned, formal guidelines for the project management, and a website and a web based system to update project status are created. All these tools are necessary for the smooth running of the project office. Once the project management team is in place and trained, the entire organization is trained to deal with the new systems. After this is achieved the consultants’ role changes from the project management team to project management support.

The tools created and implemented in the second phase manage the entire company’s portfolio. Some of the examples of these tools are the dashboard which gives a summary of all the projects running, the timelines and the resources dedicated to a particular project; and performance metrics to monitor employee productivity. These tools are designed to provide timely and accurate information about the status of the all the projects being undertaken by the organization and to help the management make decisions to expedite project completion like allocating staff and funding, project prioritization, and the assigning workload. All these will take your employees and executives a while to get used to but will help you keep a track of and manage your projects.

As the PMO staff assumes the responsibilities of the day-to-day planning and running of the projects, the consulting staff becomes free to design and implement enterprise-level tools which enable them to develop and update new project plans. By this time the all the responsibility of running the company projects is completely transitioned from the consultants to the PMO staff. The PMO is now the focal point of the organization providing the management with information and analysis. At this point your organization is well trained in Project Management Templates Project Management. There are numerous stories to go by that illustrate the support for investing in a formal project planning and control process. Ideally, formal project planning and control processes will become recognized as a required core competency and an essential function within the organization.

By: Carmine Bailey

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