Introduction
Project management is mainly associated with planning and managing change within an organization and the concept is increasingly becoming important for organizations that seek to remain relevant in the rapidly transforming world. Initially, project management involved collection of metrics and project data for evaluation followed by formulation of adjustments so as to increase project productivity and efficiency. Project managers were also titled with the responsibility of managing human capital. Present day technological advancements has seen the process become information technology enabled hence increasing the need for project management in terms of project manager’s tasks as well as the required knowledge required for them to perform these tasks (Schwalbe, 2009). Project initialization is similar to the start up of a new company whereby the project leader develops the project infrastructure necessary to design and execute the project. The project manager unlike the project management team conducts one or several kick off meetings to bring the involved parties together and begin project team building to ensure efficient running of operations during the project. In any typical project, the scope of work should be refined and a preliminary schedule and conceptual budget developed. A plan for executing the project should be build based on the project’s profile. This is followed by a plan to develop and track the schedule, procurement plan and communication to ensure satisfactory results during the start-up and continuation of the project.
Discussion
The nine knowledge areas of project management represent the competencies that project managers need to develop in order to be successful. These skills are to be illustrated during the five phases of project management. The nine knowledge areas include procurement, scope, time, cost, quality, human resource, communications, risk, and integration management (Hit, 2009).
Scope management refers to a set of processes used to guarantee that the project consists of all requirements and no new requirements are adjoined in a manner that harms the project. The project scope is defines its parameters and should not be confused with the project execution plan which defines how work will be accomplished. There is no designed template for scope of work but the quality is measured project manager and stakeholder’s ability to develop and maintain a common understanding of the desired outcome. Time management consists of processes to ensure that the project is completed on calendar. Completion of projects on time is usually regarded as one of the successes. The completed of a project on time is based on a realistic plan and an effective management of the same. Using the project scope as a point of reference, the project team develops a milestone schedule to develop project deliverables on time. The project manager has to be knowledgeable on how to accelerate a schedule to make up for lost time during unanticipated events that delay vital activities (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2008). Cost management on the other hand consists of processes that ensure the project is completed on the drafted budget. Another indicator of project success is its completion within the budget. A project manager has the responsibility of developing and controlling a project budget that will see to the completion of the project while considering various cost pressures such as end date or an organizations competitive advantage. Where information is missing to aid develop an accurate project budget, a project manager can ensure the project team develops a conceptual estimate using past experience or expert knowledge. The project manager also tracks cost against budget and conducts analysis when costs significantly deviate from the developed estimate, he then takes suitable corrective measures to ensure the project performance matches the adjusted project plan.
Quality management involves processes that ensure the project meets its requirements. It is the project manager’s responsibility to develop a project execution approach that provides a clear understanding of what is expected to be delivered and quality specifications. These requirements are included in the execution plan and are subject to change. Human resource management includes processes that are used to build up, supervise and place together the project team. It is vital to have a project team with the right skills hence the need for the project manager to have process and functional human resource to plan and execute a successful project. Communication management is the knowledge area that determines what information is required, how the information is communicated and how the project outcome will be reported. A successful project requires coordination hence the need for good communication. For effective communication to take place there is need for a communication plan (Project Management Institute, Inc., 2008). Risk management entails the identification, management and control of the projected risks of the project. Every project entails risk and it’s the managers responsibility to identify the different kinds and levels of risk so as to develop and implement plans to mitigate those risks. Risk refers to the likelihood of an event happening during the course of a project that negatively affects the achievement of set goals. Procurement management is the knowledge area concerning a group of processes used to acquire the services and materials needed to complete the project. The process may include commodities, suppliers, vendors and partners. Getting a procurement contract involves the consideration of price, capacity to complete the project on time and the appropriate purpose of the product in addition to many other considerations. Finally, integration management is the knowledge area that coordinates the other areas to work mutually throughout the project.
Scope, time, quality and cost management are regarded as primary knowledge areas as the directly impact on the project managers ability to realize the objectives set for the project. It is the project manager’s role to work with all stakeholders and individuals involved in the project to ensure the targeted goals are achieved and its overall success. Enabling knowledge areas included human resource, risk, communication, and procurement management since the enable the realization of project objectives through various processes (Schwalbe, 2009). Integration management can be regarded as an all encompassing knowledge area whereby the manager uses all the other eight knowledge areas to successfully complete a project. The other eight knowledge areas affect integration in the same way integration is affected by the other eight knowledge areas. Integration management focuses on the larger task that must be accomplished.
Conclusion
Any given project is divided into components and a project manager is obligated to be knowledgeable in each area. The project knowledge areas can be regarded as a series of processes whereby others are executed in order and other reoccur through various phase of the entire project (Hit, 2009).
References
Hit, Jaimelynn. (March 10, 2009). Yahoo voices: what are the 9 project Management Knowledge Areas. Retrieved from http://voices.yahoo.com/what-9-project-management-knowledge-areas-2666028.html on 11/08/2013.
Project Management Institute, Inc. (2008). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) (4th ed.). Project Management Institute, Inc. : Newton Square, PA, pg 115-16. Retrieved from http://pm4id.org/1/4/ on 11/08/2013.
Schwalbe, K. (2009). Introduction to project management. Boston, Mass: Course Technology.
