What is Project Management?

A project is a limited work engagement with a defined end date or goal. Project management typically involves guiding the participants and monitoring resources in a disciplined, organized manner toward the planned finish. That involves carefully managing the project's constraints - typically considered to be time, money, and the scope of the project itself. A project should have defined goals and objectives - keeping costs within budget is one simple example - and may fall within a larger overall goal.

An example of a larger goal is bringing a new consumer product or service to market within a specific time and budget. A number of combined projects - research and development work, design and modeling of the actual device, software creation, marketing campaigns, sales training, and so forth - often are grouped as a Program (see below).

Initial project planning is often challenging because some parameters may be unknown - economic shifts that affect budgets, for example, or changes in resource availability, or an unpredictable rise or fall in demand in consumer markets. Project planners or project managers try to allow for those potential obstacles through careful planning and organization, often using sophisticated tools, and project and program management experts, to help.

One of the many challenges in successful project management is communication - keeping all affected parties informed of progress. Project participants are those who are working directly on the project in some capacity - many peripherally rather than full time - but there are typically many others with a vested interest in the project's outcome, including management. Those parties are often referred to as stakeholders. Keeping stakeholders informed of the project's progress is one of the many responsibilities of a project manager. Projects may involve various company resources across divisions, committees, teams, units or other artificial divisions.

Project management is a discipline that businesses have used for centuries. Some companies use a standing project management office, or PMO, to manage projects. Books, web sites, organizations, classes, certifications, software and consultancies are all available to help.