We recently completed a complex project for Alison, a designer. It required 5 of us to complete a full restoration on 2 pillows for her father in Florida. He has had these since college. Together, we did it: an artist, a hand sewer, a hand embroiderer, a precision machine sewer, a project manager and, of course, Alison.
I found this online shortly after we finished this. It resonated with me as a fitting definition of Project Management (PM).
The main objectives and principles behind good project management are as follows:
- Agree exactly what a project is meant to do and what it is meant to deliver.
- Agree on the scope, timescales, cost and quality of a project.
- Maintain a schedule and project plan.
- Deliver the agreed outcomes of the project to the right scope, timescales, cost and quality.
- Provide communications, reports and progress updates throughout the lifecycle of the project.
- Manage risks, issues and dependencies.
- Make sure that the customer gets the outcome that it wants from the project.
- Manage policies, processes, tools, frameworks, techniques, people and relationships to a successful project outcome.
- Minimize any impact on normal business operations.
(Source https://toughnickel.com/misc/project-management-main-objectives)
What did it mean for Alison, or for you? It means that when we start on any project for you, the above principles are incorporated like this:
- Time is spent to fully understand what you want. The overall scope is agreed upon by both parties.
- A timeline is created based on your needs.
- You receive regular updates illustrating progress and scope. You’re informed if changes are needed. Everyone knows their role and what they need to do to reach a successful outcome.
- More than one person is always involved in working on your project. Sure, perhaps one person, can do it, but a higher level of quality is obtained with a team approach and the inherent checks and balances appreciated within the broader definition of co-dependency: dependence on the needs of another.
We depend on each other, so that you can depend on us.
