Project Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Project Management - Research Paper Example Project management could be defined as a process where individuals apply their knowledge, skills and techniques in order to project activities to meet the project requirement. In other words, project management involves activities such as planning, scheduling and controlling of activities to achieve the desired objectives of the project. As defined by Cleland and Gareis (2006), project management is successful when it follows the process which includes initiating, executing, monitoring, controlling and closing of a project to meet the project requirement. The Project Management Institute defines project management as application of skills and knowledge along with tools and techniques to meet the project requirement (Barkley, 2006). Hamilton (2004) divided project management into 5 components, i.e., initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, control and lastly, closure of a project. Project life cycle indicates all the project phases that a project has to go through in order to be completed. In other words, it is a collection of project phases that are divided so that the project can be controlled and managed accordingly. According to Kerzner (2009) project life-cycle is divided into four phases that indicates the beginning and ending point of a project. Furthermore, according to Kerzner (2009), the first phase of a project life cycle is the initiation phase followed by project planning, project execution and project closure. Each of the phases mentioned by Kerzner (2009) is further divided into activities which need to be done to accomplish the goal of project management. In order to further elaborate the project life cycle, each of the phases is separately presented along with the activities involved within the particular phase. Phase 1: Project Initiation The aim of this phase is to identify the problems along with the opportunities that the business could focus upon. This phase also includes solutions to the problems that a business may face. In this phase, the project manager defines the project and the opportunities that the organization could achieve by undertaking the project (Lewis, 2006). The activities within this phase are as follows: a) Developing a business case b) Undertaking a feasibility study c) Establishing terms o f reference d) Appointment of project team e) Setting up office f) Performing review of this phase (Lewis, 2006). Phase 2: Project Planning The second step in the project life cycle is project planning. In this phase, the manager indicates all the activities and tasks that need to be performed. In this phase, each task is linked and the manager ties the tasks with deadlines to get the task completed within the timeframe. Within this phase, the project manager identifies the number of people required for the completion of tasks along with the identification of expenses that might incur during the completion of the project undertaken. The crucial activities that are involved in this phase are as follows: a) Creation of plan b) Creation of resource plan c) Creation of financial plan d) Creation of quality plan e) Creation of risk plan f) Creation of acceptance plan g) Creation of communication plan h) Creation of procurement plan i) Contracts with the suppliers j) Reviewing the success of this phase (Meredith & Mantel, 2012) Phase 3: