The three Cs of project management
Friday, 28 August 2009
Md. Momirul Islam
Everyone needs project management. The application of project management is vital in any activity, be it business, industry, government or personal. Everyone and every organisation needs project management. The core competencies that employers require of new employees often include leadership, term skills and project management. If we want to manage a dynamic project then we need triple C: Communication , Cooperation and Coordination.
We know that communication is the mode of transfer of information from one person to another person. Institutes throughout the world depend on communication, whether the information is transferred from management to employee or vice-versa. Effective communication is essential for the survival and progress of a business concern. A successful communication exercises a good effect on the mind of readers, employees, supervisors, customers, suppliers, investors and business associates. If project staffs don't know what are their tasks are or how to accomplish them, then the entire project will grind to a halt or get haphazard. If you don't know what the project staffs are doing then you will not be able to monitor project progress. And if you are uncertain of what the customer expects of you, then the project will not even get off the ground.
As a project manager, it is your task to keep a number of people well-informed. It is essential that your project staff know what is expected of them; what they have to do; when they have to do it and what budget and time constraints & quality specification they are working towards.
It is also your duty to keep the project board informed of project progress. It is important that the project manager updates the project board regularly on the progress if the project. If any changes or risk can be assessed, project progress can be measured against the original projection and a project that is not fulfilling its purpose or matching the its value in investment, can be called to a halt. In order to keep the relevant people informed you should have regular and complete access to all information about the project, customer needs, objectives, plans, constraints, change risks and progress.
With a disciplined adherence to a system or regular and focused communication, you will avoid the misunderstanding and delays that so frequently lead to project failure and ensure that all your projects staff and stakeholders are secure in their knowledge of what has to be done and who is doing it.
Another important C is Cooperation. Cooperation leads to productivity, "team morale" and a generally good working atmosphere. Cooperation is the process of working or acting together which can be accomplished by both intentional and non-intentional agents. It is the alternative to working separately in competition. Cooperation is vital for project success. However, no empirical work has yet been done to quantify explicitly the extent to which cooperation, compared to other factors, determines project success.
Finally, coordination. Project management deals with the activities needed for a smooth execution of the project within the specified time frame. Overall management includes general activities such as maintaining contact or communication between partners, ensuring adequate flow of data, information and developed tools, enhancing cooperation when needed, coordinating the preparation of field activities, supervising their execution. Coordinator ensures communication and dataflow between partners in the project management. It will be the responsibility of the coordinator to organise project meetings and dataflow between partners.
The writer can be reached at e-mail: nixonmonir@yahoo.com
Everyone needs project management. The application of project management is vital in any activity, be it business, industry, government or personal. Everyone and every organisation needs project management. The core competencies that employers require of new employees often include leadership, term skills and project management. If we want to manage a dynamic project then we need triple C: Communication , Cooperation and Coordination.
We know that communication is the mode of transfer of information from one person to another person. Institutes throughout the world depend on communication, whether the information is transferred from management to employee or vice-versa. Effective communication is essential for the survival and progress of a business concern. A successful communication exercises a good effect on the mind of readers, employees, supervisors, customers, suppliers, investors and business associates. If project staffs don't know what are their tasks are or how to accomplish them, then the entire project will grind to a halt or get haphazard. If you don't know what the project staffs are doing then you will not be able to monitor project progress. And if you are uncertain of what the customer expects of you, then the project will not even get off the ground.
As a project manager, it is your task to keep a number of people well-informed. It is essential that your project staff know what is expected of them; what they have to do; when they have to do it and what budget and time constraints & quality specification they are working towards.
It is also your duty to keep the project board informed of project progress. It is important that the project manager updates the project board regularly on the progress if the project. If any changes or risk can be assessed, project progress can be measured against the original projection and a project that is not fulfilling its purpose or matching the its value in investment, can be called to a halt. In order to keep the relevant people informed you should have regular and complete access to all information about the project, customer needs, objectives, plans, constraints, change risks and progress.
With a disciplined adherence to a system or regular and focused communication, you will avoid the misunderstanding and delays that so frequently lead to project failure and ensure that all your projects staff and stakeholders are secure in their knowledge of what has to be done and who is doing it.
Another important C is Cooperation. Cooperation leads to productivity, "team morale" and a generally good working atmosphere. Cooperation is the process of working or acting together which can be accomplished by both intentional and non-intentional agents. It is the alternative to working separately in competition. Cooperation is vital for project success. However, no empirical work has yet been done to quantify explicitly the extent to which cooperation, compared to other factors, determines project success.
Finally, coordination. Project management deals with the activities needed for a smooth execution of the project within the specified time frame. Overall management includes general activities such as maintaining contact or communication between partners, ensuring adequate flow of data, information and developed tools, enhancing cooperation when needed, coordinating the preparation of field activities, supervising their execution. Coordinator ensures communication and dataflow between partners in the project management. It will be the responsibility of the coordinator to organise project meetings and dataflow between partners.
The writer can be reached at e-mail: nixonmonir@yahoo.com