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Project Management
Focus on Overall Business Results

Achieving overall business results should be the goal of project management--not simply to complete a project on time and within budget. Also significant is recognizing the importance of establishing clear performance objectives and methods of measurement, close monitoring, accountability, and completing a project on-time and within budget.

Project management is both a science and an art--commonly used to create change, or manage a portfolio of difficult or unique projects, usually with limited resources and under critical time constraints. Knowledgeable management consultants, acting in a project management capacity, can be agents of change, bringing creativity and a sense of urgency to either a portfolio of difficult projects or a unique, one time project. With an inside project manager, many corporations find that the existing internal experience is not sufficient, that the potential for internal friction is too great to assure success of the project, or that the project manager has no time to focus on the project because of regular duties (particularly in the age of corporate downsizing).

Today, with the limitless potential for virtual project management, an entirely new dimension has been added to traditional project management. In order to maximize the overall business outcome and complete this type of project on time and within budget, skills required not only include those of traditional project management (such as good interpersonal, motivational, and organizational skills), but, also, include the skillful use of available technology (i.e. the use of e-mail, video conferencing, fax, etc.). It is easy for the lack of these skills in a virtual project management environment to cause a breakdown in communications and for misunderstandings to occur; a good project manager will be able to minimize this.

Projects fail to achieve maximum business results, or performance goals are not met, are late, or are over budget usually because of the following:

• The focus is not on overall business results;
• The project manager lacks overall business experience;
• The people participating in the project have other duties or do not want to participate;
• There is a great deal of internal friction;
• The project is a one time project;
• The project is very complex;
• and/or the project manager is working on the project part time, in addition to his/her regular duties and is not focusing on the project resulting in poor project management, late completion and cost overruns.

Project management skills also include the use of PC packages (such as Microsoft Project and Timeline), CPM, PERT, other scheduling techniques, team building, cost estimating, etc. The key factors are the motivation and interpersonal skills the project manager must use, including a managerial perspective to pull the project together in order to complete the project on time and within budget. These problems are the reason that many firms hire outside professionals to run critical projects.

Projects tend to be broken down as follows:

• Project initiation--including establishing scope and clear performance objectives; method of measurement; organizing; determining the team and the methods of communication; planning the project; and budgeting costs.
• Project implementation--budgeting estimated costs; scheduling; determining the critical path; allocating resources; establishing methods of communication; monitoring the project; controlling the project; and controlling the costs.
• Project termination-- reviewing the project, auditing cost, and evaluating the results.

What can be expected.

The most important part of successful project management is the project manager. The project manager, frequently an outsider, should bring motivation, creativity and overall business experience to the project. The use of an outsider can, and should, result in an objective perspective. This person can establish specific and realistic project performance objectives with the project(s) brought in on time and within budget, and most importantly, achieving the overall anticipated business results.

© 2001 Renaissance Resource Group, Ltd. New Brunswick, NJ. 732-828-4900

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Renaissance is a management consulting firm that specializes in implementation and adding value in short time frames for companies engaged in manufacturing, distribution and service.

Renaissance consultants are the publishers of the "NJ Directory of Select Service Firms and Organizations®."

Senior management expertise is available for assessment and implementation in the following:

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