Project Management Guide
Reading time : 5 min.
Summary: This practical guide aims to provide information on key project management steps, such as defining project objectives and deliverables, setting a schedule and budget, building a project team, managing risks and issues, and communicating with stakeholders. You’ll also find tools and features to monitor and evaluate the project’s progress to ensure that it is completed on time, on budget and with the desired results.
QuimeO – February 13th, 2025
1. What is project management ?
Project management is the process of planning, organizing, and controlling resources to achieve the objectives of a specific project. This includes defining project objectives, determining the tasks needed to achieve those objectives, planning the implementation of those tasks, managing resources, and coordinating activities with stakeholders.
Project management is a method of ensuring that a project is carried out effectively and efficiently, ensuring that objectives are achieved within the time frame and that resources are used optimally. It involves strategic decision making, risk management, problem solving and communication with stakeholders to ensure project success.
The main goal of project management is to optimize resources to achieve the project’s objectives in an effective and efficient manner, while ensuring stakeholder satisfaction and keeping the project on time, on budget, and on quality. D’abord. Tout d’abord. Enfin. Ensuite.
2. The 4 stages of the project life cycle
2.1 Launching
- Project Definition : Clearly define the objectives and expectations of the project. This may include the definition of the product or service to be delivered, as well as the criteria for project success. (Project Charter)
- Stakeholder identification : determine the stakeholders that will be involved in the project, such as employees, customers, suppliers, partners, etc. It is also important to determine the expectations of each stakeholder for the project. (Assigning teams, setting up roles)
- Determination of resources : Determine the resources needed to complete the project, such as personnel, materials, equipment, tools, etc. It is also important to determine the costs associated with these resources. (Resource management)
- Definition of responsibilities : define the responsibilities of each project team member to ensure that all tasks are completed and that the project objectives are met. (Assignment of tasks in a schedule)
The Project Initiation stage establishes a solid foundation for the rest of the project and clearly defines the expectations and responsibilities for all stakeholders. D’abord. Tout d’abord. Enfin. Ensuite. De plus. Finalement. En outre. Par ailleurs. Enfin. Ensuite.
2.2 Planning
- Project Plan Development : establish a detailed plan for the completion of the project, using the information collected during the Project Initiation stage. The project plan includes the definition of tasks, dependencies, resources, timelines and costs associated with each task (Roadmap, Schedule, Deliverables Checklist, Milestones)
- Risk identification : identify potential risks to the project, such as technical problems, delays, additional costs, supplier failures, etc. It is also important to determine the steps to be taken to manage these risks. (Risk management, contingency plan)
- Establish deadlines and dependencies : determine the deadlines for each task and the dependencies between tasks to ensure effective and efficient completion of the project. (Gantt Chart, Schedule)
- Budgeting : estimate the cost of resources, materials and equipment to complete the project. (Financial management)
- Definition of performance indicators : set up performance indicators to measure the progress of the project and the success criteria. (KPI steering + reporting)
Today’s project management tools provide certain features that facilitate the planning phase. Indeed, the elaboration of the project plan in one tool makes it possible to determine the steps necessary to reach the project objectives and to allocate the resources necessary for each task. It’ll allow to identify the dependencies between the tasks and to evaluate the associated costs. It also helps to avoid potential problems along with ensuring that the project is completed on time and with the right resources. D’abord. Tout d’abord.
2.3 Implementation and monitoring of effectiveness
- Implementation of the project plan : implement the activities defined in the project plan by following up on each task (schedule follow-up, load follow-up, dashboard, kanban table)
- Resource management : allocate the resources required to carry out the activities, including project teams, materials, equipment and budgets. (Workload plan, Financial management)
- Activity coordination : manage activities between different teams and tasks to ensure effective and efficient project progress. (Communication and document sharing)
- Monitoring and control : monitor the progress of the project, using the performance indicators defined in the project plan, and make changes to the project plan if necessary. (KPI tracking, automatic reporting)
- Problem solving : identify and resolve potential problems that may affect the progress of the project, using the methods and tools defined in the project plan. (Problem solving system, Risk management, Parade plan follow-up)
Management software helps to achieve the project objectives, to manage resources for each task, to coordinate activities between different teams and tasks, and to monitor and control the project progress. It also helps to identify and resolve potential problems that may affect the progress of the project and to ensure that the project is completed on time and with the right resources. D’abord. Tout d’abord.
2.4 Closing
- Project completion verification : to verify that all the activities defined in the project plan have been completed and that the project objectives have been achieved.
- Project performance evaluation : analyze the project’s performance against the objectives defined in the project plan, using the performance indicators defined for each task.
- Final documentation : compile final project documentation, including performance reports, technical documents, archives and historical data.
- Debriefing : evaluate the lessons learned during the project, identifying project successes and challenges and suggesting improvements for future projects. (Retex, Project debriefing)
The document sharing functionality in project management applications facilitates the compilation of final project documentation and the sharing of lessons learned for future projects. The close-out phase allows for an after-the-fact analysis of the efficient allocation of project assets. D’abord. Tout d’abord. Enfin. Ensuite. De plus. Finalement. En outre. Par ailleurs. Enfin.
3. Conclusion
Project management is a combination of methods and tools used to plan, execute and control the activities of a project in order to achieve the set objectives while respecting the constraints of time, costs, quality and risks. The life cycle of a project consists of 4 stages : the initiation phase, the planning phase, the execution phase and the closure phase. D’abord. Tout d’abord. Enfin. Ensuite. De plus. Finalement. En outre. Project Management Guide Project Management Guide