Discover effective project management processes to help you and your company hit high-margin targets faster, error-free, and at the lowest cost possible.
Let our complete but concise guide on effective project management help you and your company hit your high-margin targets faster, error-free, and at the lowest cost possible. This guide teaches you the benefits of project management methods, the step-by-step work streams to create an effective strategy to reduce all forms of waste, and various best practices to maximize a project management certification.
Product management is the process of planning, organizing, and leading the development of a product or service. It’s the art of creating products from conception to market by working with resources, industry knowledge, and specialized teams to deliver products that customers need and want. It's a discipline that combines business strategy and product development to help companies build their brands and grow their revenue through innovation.
Why do we need project management? Companies need it for many reasons, the foremost of which is that it’s the best way to synthesize ideas and information into a cohesive vision, then break that vision down into a clear set of goals that can be executed. It's the reliable process of knowing when to pivot, when not to pivot, and what resources need to be allocated where.
Product management is, therefore, a system that's found in organizations of all shapes, sizes, and industries. It's responsible for overseeing the entire product lifecycle: from ideation to launch and beyond. It’s a process that involves:
Product management is an integral part of any business. It’s ideal that companies have at least one person who fills this role on staff. In addition to ensuring that all aspects of a product are aligned with customer needs, product management also helps teams stay on track with deadlines, budgets, and timelines.
Product managers are responsible for everything from defining what a product should be and who will use it to deciding how much money should be spent on development. They also work closely with engineers, designers, marketers (and more) to make sure that products are built correctly and on time.
Many people will ask: why is a project management report important? What’s the biggest payoff in using a project management strategy? The answer of course is because of the benefits. At its core, the benefits of robust project management for company owners, managers, and employees revolve around increasing the value added to a project at the lowest cost and risk.
Project management can be a great way to show off your leadership skills and to help you get ahead in your career, especially if you acquire legitimate project management certifications. Here are some of the benefits of project management that can help you build your career regardless of what department you’re in:
It’s common knowledge that project management is already an established system to gain high-returns for any business venture. But you’re probably asking, “How do I actually do project management? What are the 7 steps of project planning? And what are examples of project management?”
Let’s tackle all these relevant questions below. But first, here are the five stages or process groups of project management you need to incorporate into the strategy. This is often termed as a project life cycle, regardless of how you customize your workflow according to your unique business structure:
1. Initiation: This is when you get your team together, decide what your goals are, and start creating a plan for how to reach those goals. After the beginning of a project gets approved and funded, this initiation stage includes establishing the project's goals and setting up a plan for how it will be executed.
2. Planning: Here you'll break down the work into smaller pieces so it's easier to manage and put together a timeline for completing that work. This stage also involves creating detailed plans for each task that needs to be completed in order for everything else to fall into place.
3. Execution/Production: This is when you actually do the work. You'll use what you've planned to make sure everything goes smoothly and on schedule. This includes an in-depth analysis of what needs to happen to meet those goals, including budgeting, scheduling, and assigning resources, which you’ll learn after getting a certificate in project management.
This is the stage to carry out the plan created during the planning stage by following each task's timeline. This is also to make sure they all stay on track with one another. For example: getting product X finished just as product Y comes off production.
4. Monitoring & Control: This is when you check in and make sure everything's going well in your project management audit—and if not, adjust your plan accordingly so things go back on track again.
5. Closing: Here you'll make sure all your plans have been completed successfully before moving on to the next project (or phase of the current one).
Project managers use various methods and project management skills to manage projects from start to finish. Each method has its own strengths and weaknesses. Here are four common ones:
A project manager is responsible for overseeing all aspects of a project, from inception to completion. They are responsible for ensuring that the project is completed according to scope, on time and on budget, and within quality standards.
Project managers— especially those with a Google Project Management Certificate— are often hired by companies who need help managing projects because they don't have the right resources in-house or because they want someone with experience leading large-scale projects. In other words, product managers are the people who make sure that products get made—and they do this by creating an environment that fosters creativity, accountability, and collaboration.
What do project managers do all day? Product managers have three main responsibilities:
These are the major industries where the use cases of project management methods (such as Prince2 Project Management, and Waterfall Project Management) can have dramatic results:
The most obvious example of project management is when you hear about someone who's hired to lead the development of a new product or service for their company. The person in this position likely has several direct reports, and they're responsible for managing their team and making sure all of their projects are completed on time and within budget.
But there are other examples of project management that aren't so obvious: project managers might be responsible for planning events like conferences or trade shows; overseeing large-scale renovations at companies; or with implementing new technologies into existing systems.
The 7 Cs of project management is a concept that helps you determine what kind of projects your organization should take on. These seven Cs are customers, competitors, capabilities, cost, channels, communication, and coordination.
Every organization— both large ISO 9001-compliant firms and small— must assess itself against these variables. They must determine how closely each potential project fits in its ability to support or detract from the organization's strategy and operational objectives.
For a detailed explanation of these 7 Cs, read this comprehensive guide from Project Management.
Project management is a key component of any business, but it can be difficult to determine the best approach for your organization. It's gaining even better innovation as more companies wake up to the fact that traditional methods are no longer working as well as they used to. However, while project management benefits outweigh the costs, it also has its fair share of disadvantages.
Here are the PROs and CONs that managers, employees, and business owners must understand about project management:
You're probably thinking: “How hard can it be to execute a project management strategy?” After all, it's likely that you’re familiar already with how to optimize your company’s workflows and systems.
Project management is a core part of every business, from small businesses to large corporations, but only when done right. A well-managed project can be the difference between success and failure. Project management is a difficult thing to get right, but it doesn't have to be. You don't need years of experience or an MBA degree—you just need to know what you're doing and how to do it in a proven, industry-tested way.
But how do you ensure that your projects are being managed effectively? Here are some indispensable tips and best practices for the successful execution of project management:
Now that you've read through our indispensable tips and best practices, we hope you’re as excited about the possibilities of product management as we are. We believe that by following these guidelines, quality managers and business owners will excel in their ventures, gain accolades and be able to use the method effectively in increasing business’ growth and profitability.
Learn the complete concept and other training modules about project management HERE.
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