What are the Fundamentals of Project Management?

Laying the foundations for effective project management involves understanding some key concepts. These include: 

1. Defining what a project is. For example, what’s the difference between a project and a task? How can we define the parameters of a project? 
2. Defining what is meant by “project management”. This includes pinpointing the role and responsibilities of a project manager, the teams they may oversee, and who they might report to.  
3. Determining project benefits and risks. As a project manager, you’ll have a range of responsibilities, one of which will be determining what a project’s benefits are. Identifying possible risks early — and knowing how to navigate them — is also a key role. 
4. Pinpointing why projects might fail. Building on risk identification, we can also understand some of the main reasons projects fail. Project failure might come in the form of not meeting deadlines, going over budget, staff not understanding their duties, communication breakdowns, and more.  
5. Effectively prioritising. In any project, there are many moving parts — prioritise the wrong component, and your project could take a big hit. It’s important to know what to prioritise, when to adjust those priorities, and how to balance competing priorities. 
6. Understanding the project lifecycle. Every project has what’s called a “project lifecycle”, which depicts the different phases of a project from start to finish. The specifics will look slightly different depending on the project management methodology you adopt. As an example, five stages might be initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure. 
7. Being aware of project tools and resources. You’ll have many different resources, tools and software available to support your role and project. Knowing which ones will be most effective for which project (and how to use them) will go a long way in ensuring smooth project planning, management, and overall success. 
8. Exploring ongoing learning opportunities. In a constantly evolving space, it’s crucial to stay on top of project management advancements and methodologies. Too many promising project managers fall behind simply because they aren’t up-to-date with shifting project management frameworks. In our fundamentals course, we’ll clearly outline project management certifications and pathways you can take to ensure ongoing career success.