"Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up."

A.A. Milne

Project Initiation

This is the "blue-sky" phase of a project. Stakeholders gather and discuss broad goals and objectives for a given project. Storyboards and feature lists may be developed to identify these general requirements. The project manager helps to establish scope and rough order of magnitude cost (time and money), estimates. At the end of this phase, a project charter is created and approved by the stakeholders.

Project Planning

The project manager, working with the business analyst, develops the work breakdown structure (WBS). Through successive refinement, this work breakdown structure results in a set of tasks and deliverables. The elements of the WBS must have an objective measure of success - that is, a clear way of knowing that each element is complete. Resources are then identified and associated with tasks to develop a comprehensive project plan. This plan is a blueprint for the remainder of the project.

Project Execution

In cooperation with analysis and development teams the project manager assigns tasks and confirms successful completion of them. It is critical that progress is accurately assessed and reported to stakeholders. Risk and issue management, as well as modifications to requirements, must be closely managed. Enforcement of quality assurance guidelines and ensuring compliance with development standards are two key roles of the project manager during this phase.

Project Control

The project manager is responsible for cost management, resource management, risk management and quality assurance. The project manager is also responsible for keeping his (or her!) finger on the pulse of the project and will maintain control of costs and quality - in the interest of the stakeholders.

Project Closing

The project manager submits the deliverables for review and confirms acceptance and verification. Lessons learned and other project closeout documentation is generated and archived for future reference.

While PMI's PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge), details the processes and artifacts of the project management role, it does not define how to identify the completeness required by your business.   Raleigh Resource Group's trained staff makes this judgement in cooperation with the business to provide the best value overall.
Contact us today for a discussion of your project management needs.

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