Project Management Process - The Objectives, The Time boundaries, The benefits.

The Project Management Process: An Overview

Project management is a business process of the project-oriented company that is fulfilled in projects. The methods of process management can be used to describe the project management process. At a macro level, the project management process is to be given boundaries and differentiated from other processes. At the micro level, the objectives, tasks, responsibilities, and results of the project management process and its subprocesses are to be described.
Documentation of the project management process promotes communication about the objectives, tasks, responsibilities, and results of project management. Definition of the results of the project management subprocesses makes it possible to measure and evaluate the performance of project management and the quality of project management. Description of the project management process also provides the basis for a targeted further development of individual and organizational project management competencies in the project-oriented company.

The objective of the business process of project management is the professional management of projects. A prerequisite for the realization of project objectives is the professional fulfillment of the subprocesses of project start, project coordination, project controlling, (possibly) resolving of a project discontinuity, and project close-down.

The objects of consideration in project management are the project objectives, the project scope, the project schedule, the project resources, the project costs and project income, and the project risks, as well as the project organization, the project culture, and the project context. The dimensions of the project context are the pre- and post- project phases, relevant project environments, other projects, the company strategies, and the business case for the investment that is initiated by a project.

Objectives of the project management process
 Providing the structural prerequisites for the realization of the project objectives
 Efficient performance of the project start, project controlling, project close-down, and continuous project coordination
 Possibly: Efficient resolution of a project discontinuity
 Management of the social-, time- and content-related project boundaries
 Management of the relationships of the project to the project context
 Building up and reducing of project complexity
 Management of the project dynamics
 Nonobjective: Realization of the content work of the project (Note: This is an objective of the project and not of project management)

Time boundaries of the project management process
 Start: Project assigned
 End: Project approved

From a systemic point of view, it is the objective of the project start to establish the project as a social system. The objective of project control is to promote the evolution of the project, and the objective of project close-down is to dissolve the project as a social system. The objective of resolving a project discontinuity is to develop a new project identity in order to resolve the discontinuity. The objective of continuous project coordination is to ensure the progress of the project.
The project coordination process is performed continuously. The performances of the other project management subprocesses are limited in time.

The benefit of a common view of the project management subprocesses lies, on the one hand, in ensuring the uniformity of the project management approach used and, on the other hand, in considering the relationships between the subprocesses. The application of a uniform project management approach ensures that uniform terminology and methods are used in all subprocesses. Professional project management considers the relationships among the subprocesses in order to optimize the project management results. The following relationships exist among the project management subprocesses:
 At the project start, the structures for project control and project close-down are planned.
 The criteria for evaluating project success at project close-down are determined at the project start by defining the project objectives.
 At the project start, the working methods to be applied during project control and project close-down are established (e.g., project meetings, project workshops, developing minutes, and reflections).
 Through application of the scenario technique and development of alternative plans at the project start, potential measures for the resolution of a project discontinuity are provided.
 Management of any structurally determined change of identity of the project is planned at project start.
 In project control, the project plans developed at the project start will be controlled and possibly adapted.
 When managing a project discontinuity, the alternative plans developed at the project start and/or the current project plans from the latest project control can be used.
 At project close-down, the plans developed at the project start and adapted during project control form the basis for evaluating project success and for ensuring organizational learning.
 Project marketing is performed in all subprocesses of project management based on an overall project marketing strategy.

Project Management Process - The Objectives, The Time boundaries, The benefits.