PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project Management



Project Management

Introduction

A project is a nonroutine, one-time effort undertaken to create a specific measurable outcome, namely a product or service. Project management has been described as both a discipline and a process concerned with the successful completion of a defined project from inception to completion. The process involves planning, coordinating, and executing all project tasks and associated resources with specific attention to time, cost, scope, and quality.

A research study is a project. Large or small, funded or unfunded, research projects involve significant planning from initial proposal design to data collection to publication of results. Increasingly, large external research grants and contracts are requiring project-management expertise as a condition of funding. Qualitative researchers would benefit from adopting project-management techniques as an integral part of their research (Ekstedt, 2007, 52).

Phases of Project Management

Typically, the process of project management involves five phases. The labels used to describe these five phases vary somewhat in the literature; however, the generally agreed principles of project management according to the PMI are initiating processes, planning processes, executing processes, monitoring and controlling processes, and closing processes. During Phase I, initiating processes, the project objectives are defined. Details concerning the overall scope of the project are documented in order to keep the project manageable. At this phase, qualitative researchers may determine the size of the project (regional or national focus) as well as general timelines (e.g., expected deliverables at the completion of a 3-year research grant).

Phase II, the planning process, involves detailing all of the activities to be accomplished in order to successfully complete the project. Work breakdown structures are created to illustrate the hierarchy of all work units, subprojects, tasks, subtasks, and the interdependencies among these components. Time estimates and cost factors are carefully considered as well. During this phase, qualitative researchers plan all tasks, responsibilities, and time estimates associated with the project. Once finalized, this plan is considered the baseline plan. During Phase III, the executing process, the activities detailed in the baseline plan are implemented. In Phase IV, the monitoring and controlling process, progress is compared with the baseline plan (Kreiner, 2005, 335).

Any problems that arise are dealt with by adding, deleting, or adjusting activities to work toward successful completion of the project. For example, the time estimated to transcribe and analyze the interviews may have been underestimated, so adjustments would be made to keep the project on track (e.g., reduce the number of interviews, or hire additional assistants to transcribe and analyze data). The baseline plan is not changed, but revisions and progress are documented. This phase provides flexibility in an emergent research design as the research path evolves. The final phase, the closing phase is an often overlooked but vitally important aspect of project management. This phase allows for reflection and evaluation of what went right and what needed improvement. The changes made during Phase IV are reviewed in preparation for subsequent projects.

Techniques and Tools

Tools and techniques used to facilitate the project-management process for both small and large organizations ...