How to manage a project

**A team reporting their project findings**

The management of a project involves the following elements;

Planning and scope definition

No matter how small the project, time must be spent on clear definition of the areas of the project.The scope includes

Outcomes
Stakeholders
The work required and
Resources

Governance

Governance of the project is the management structure of a project.The structure identifies the specific players,their roles and responsibilities and the way in which they interact.

Stakeholder management

Stakeholders are the people or organizations who have an interest in the project process, outputs or outcomes and will be involved in ensuring the projects success.

Risk management

Risk management involves identifying , analysing and planning a response to potential threats to the project. You need to know

What risks could occur

The likelyhood of this happening.

what can be done to prevent it from happening.

what could be done to recover if risks did materialise.

Isssues management

Issues and concerns will arise throughout the life of a project,such as difficulties in raising funds.Approach to dealing with the issue needs to be established considering;

The size of the issue
The importance of the issue and
Who raised the issue

Resource management–it involves;

Managing what people need to do.
How and when they do their task through scheduling.
Managing information between stakeholders.
Working to an agreed budget and
Meeting deadlines

Quality management-Quality can be managed by;

Engaging staff and volunteers with appropriate skills.
Sticking to the project brief.
Resolving issues as fast as possible and to the satisfaction of stakeholders.
Monitoring progress against an agreed schedule.
Delivering a project that meets requirements and
Completing the project within budget and on time.
Status reporting
Status reports should be given on a regular basis and include details about;
Milestones
Budget
Issues
Risks
Evaluation
Is the measurement against well defined criteria.Evaluation of a project demonstrates how successful you have been.Evaluation determines;
Whether the project is on time,track and within budget.
The level of adherence to the documented plan and standards.
The level of achievement of outcomes.
Closure
The formality of the project closure will be determined by the project itself.It may involve;
A review of the project outputs and outcomes against the plan.
Completion or reassignment of outstanding tasks.
Finalising records and documentation
Deciding what to do with the staff and volunteers who have worked on the project and
Loose ends (anything else that may be left to do.