Project

Project Management

Project Management is the practice of initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing the work of a team to achieve specific goals and meet specific success criteria at the specified time. The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals within the given constraints.

History

The discipline of project management developed from several fields of application including civil construction, engineering, and heavy defense activity. Two forefathers of project management are Henry Gantt, called the father of planning and control techniques, and Henry Fayol for his creation of the five management functions.

Approaches

A number of approaches are used in project management, which can be broadly categorized into traditional, agile, lean, and six sigma.

Traditional

Traditional project management involves a sequence of steps that need to be completed, often in a particular order. This typically includes initiation, planning, execution, control, and closure.

Agile

Agile project management involves a set of principles for software development under which requirements and solutions evolve through the collaborative effort of self-organizing cross-functional teams.

Lean

Lean project management uses the principles from lean manufacturing to focus on delivering value with less waste and reduced time.

Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a disciplined, statistical-based, data-driven approach and continuous improvement methodology for eliminating defects in a product, process, or service.

See Also

• Program Management
• Portfolio Management
• Project Portfolio Management
• Risk Management
• Change Management