Project Management

Project management is the management of time-bound and comprehensive set of activities and processes aimed at introducing, creating or changing something specific.

Project management methods are described and validated procedures, organized effort solving the complexity of realization and management of defined set of activities. The purpose of project management is to ensure effective management of this set of activities to bring the expected results and benefits. The subject of project management is a project. Project management is thus an application of knowledge, skills, activities, tools and techniques to the project so that the project will meet the requirements imposed on it to reach its goals.

Through the project, various types of supplies (products) to customers or different activities within the organization can be realized. There are organizations that implement supply of its products to customers by way of a project, for example, the construction companies, companies focused on unit production or IT companies which realize delivery of the implementation of various information and communication technologies (ICTs). There are also organizations for which the delivery of their products through project is complementary which does not mean that they would not be appropriate to project management. Project management is in fact concerned to most organizations, whether they realize it or not. It is only about its use and intensity. Every organization makes organizational changes or changes to its information system and they are, by its nature, integrated sets of activities designed to bring the change – therefore the projects.

Project management in an organization inherently belongs in the matrix organizational structure, which is associated with the balance of authority and responsibility of a project manager to another project or line managers, but also with the authority and responsibility of all staff taking part in the project, thus the entire project team.

To issue of project management at international level are dedicated various professional organizations or organizations issuing standards. Most important in this field are: PMI, IPMA, AXELOS Limited. There are also many industry and partial methodologies for project management. Generally, the best known and most widenly used methodologies and standards for project management are:

• PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) – issued by PMI
• PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) - issued by AXELOS Limited

These methodologies and sort of de-facto standards include everything needed to manage projects of different character and various sizes. Deciding which method to choose, for project management, depends primarily on three factors:

• The organizational (type, culture, maturity, size, type of control, …) in which the project takes place
• The specification of the project (the very purpose and goals, finance, schedule, priorities, capacity, risks, link to the portfolio of projects, …)
• The project manager who manages the project (and thus on the experience with a specific methodology)

In relation to project management shall also be applied ISO standards, which allow to certify a project management system in an organization.

• ISO 10006 (ISO Standard for quality management system)
• ISO 21500 (preparing ISO stanadard Guidance on project management)

In terms of management of the project itself, is a key role of the project manager. To this managerial role there is developed the now de-facto professional standard ICB (IPMA Competence Baseline) and professional certification systems. The best known and most widened certification of project managers are:

• Project manager certification according to IPMA (IPMA - International Project Management Association)
• Project manager certification according to PMI (PMI - Project Management Institute)
• Project manager certification according to PRINCE2 (AXELOS Limited)

Project management can be performed using various tools / software that have different functions according to the needs of the project or projects to be managed. Project management tools are from the simplest ones, which allow tracking the projects, creating a Gantt chart, to complex systems for large organizations and EPM businesses (Enterprise Project Management), which are part of planning systems and resource management (ERP) and which include the functions of project system coordination, risk management, financial planning, capacity planning and optimization and more.