To successfully compete in the modern market and be successful in their endeavors, many companies use the project method. It allows you to get a finished high-quality product in a limited time. In order to make this process effective, it is necessary to know its essence, specifics and implementation features.
Definition of a concept
The word "project" comes from the English. project, from lat. projectus is “thrown forward, protruding” and has several meanings depending on the area in which it is applied. In management, this is a time-limited enterprise whose goal is to create a new, unique product, service or result. The implementation of this set of measures provides for obtaining benefits for the main stakeholders of the project (customers, investors, suppliers). This form of work is widely used by construction, engineering companies, companies engaged in enterprise software or marketing, in which certain groups of people and successful individuals resort to this method.
Characteristics
It is a project, not a set of tasks to be performed, if the ongoing activity has a number of signs, namely:
- limited time (the conceived event has a start date and a date for receiving the final result, or a specific product or service is expected to end up);
- uniqueness is one of the main distinguishing features of its implementation, while it can be new only for the organizer or participants of the project, and not for all employees;
- the limit of funds and other resources necessary for the implementation of this process (time, money, labor, technical support).
In the life of an ordinary person, a project can be moving to another city, buying a new home, looking for a job, starting a business, etc., in business it is creating a new product, expanding the market, starting a new advertising campaign, creating new production facilities. It is this method that allows you to take new steps in the activities of organizations or individuals, therefore, the stakeholders of the project use it in the development of any innovations.
Key process participants
This category includes people (organizations) who have direct benefits from the implementation of the planned enterprise. These include:
- Initiators - persons who argue the need for a project. They can be employees of any level inside and outside the company.
- Sponsors are mainly top-level employees of the company who oversee his progress on the part of the customer. They monitor the implementation of this set of measures and provide sources of project financing, material and other types of support, as well as obtaining the planned benefits for the organization. Sponsors appoint a manager who will lead the process, provide him with all the necessary funds and report to the senior management (general director, board of directors, etc.) in the course of actions.
- The project manager is the manager responsible for the implementation of this enterprise. His tasks: monitoring the achievement of the final result on time, saving the level of the limit of the provided resources and the high quality of the final product or service. He daily engages in the project, manages the actions of the team, monitors the implementation of the set requirements, takes into account and agrees the wishes of all interested parties, and, if necessary, receives help from the administrator or a team of specialists temporarily created to solve the tasks.
As a result, these project participants become owners of the final product (result), therefore they dictate their requirements for the project, finance it by investing their own funds or borrowed from outside, and also enter into contracts with contractors necessary to carry out the planned activity.
Implementers of the design
The members of the team implementing the plan are individuals or legal entities that participate in the enterprise, or those parties whose interests may be affected when the goal is achieved.
By the degree of involvement in this type of activity there are three main groups of like-minded people:
- The main team is employees (organizations) who are directly involved in the implementation of the plan.
- Expanded team - specialists who indirectly provide professional assistance.
- Stakeholders of the project (internal and external) are organizations or employees that influence the representatives of the first and second groups, without entering into direct interaction with the direct participants. They make their adjustments to the process or directly feel the impact of the implementation of the plan on their activities.
Possible participants of the enterprise
Sometimes, for the success of this complex of measures, external persons or organizations are involved. Namely:
- Investors are people who make investments in a project, for example, in the form of loans. Sometimes the investor is the customer, otherwise they are banks, funds, and other large companies.
- Contractors - parties assuming obligations to perform work in accordance with an agreement (contract). This can be both part of the tasks and the entire project. Allocate the main contractor and subcontractor, which enters into a contractual relationship with him and provides part of the agreed services.
- Suppliers - stakeholders of the project, providing the customer with the necessary materials, technical equipment, etc.
- Authorities - the administrative apparatus of the settlement, which monitors the implementation of social, environmental, social and state requirements.
- Consumers - persons who buy finished products or use the final result, which determines the desires for the goods or services and ensures the demand for them.
The possibility of these parties participating in the project depends on its type, type, scale and degree of complexity. The work of the manager must necessarily cover all interested parties and provide for the coordination of their requirements.
Who oversees the process?
As a rule, the authors of the projects are specialists (architects, designers, builders), and the manager ensures the implementation of the planned enterprise. This is a managerial staff member, department head. His responsibilities include monitoring the implementation of the plan on time, using available resources and the quality of the final product.
The first aspect is a priority, as it allows you to avoid cost overruns and problems during work. Therefore, in managing the project, the emphasis is always on the schedule of the enterprise.
Project Manager Functions
The effectiveness of enterprise management directly depends on the correct distribution of power between ordinary performers, key team members and the manager. The powers and responsibilities for the latter are determined either by the customer or by the charter of the project (if one is carried out internally).
The main responsibilities of the leader include:
- Organization of the structure of the plan and the formation of the enterprise management team.
- Search for the necessary tools and resources for its implementation.
- Analysis of the impact of project stakeholders on the process.
- Training of personnel necessary for the implementation of tasks, their motivation.
- Formation of the terms of reference and responsibilities for all participants, determining the level of responsibility of the team of project managers.
- Development of an enterprise plan and schedule, budget calculation and budgeting, analysis of possible risks and finding ways to eliminate them.
- Monitoring the implementation of all types of work according to plan.
- Signing of contracts for the performance of assigned tasks, monitoring their implementation and timely closure.
- Establishment of communication between a team of managers and other project participants.
- Obtaining reporting materials and their analysis.
- Communication with the customer in order to provide all the information of interest to him, as well as to obtain information about the wishes or requirements for the final result.
- Monitoring the work of all project participants and its timely closure.
The range of functional responsibilities of a manager is quite large, and only with specific knowledge and careful organization of his activities can he ensure the success of the enterprise.
Society of Performers
To implement the project, the head creates 2 groups of employees: the project team and the management link. The final result largely depends on the quality of work performed by these two organizational structures.
The project team is specialists and / or organizations that perform work within the enterprise and are responsible to the management for their implementation and quality. This group is created for the duration of the planned activities. It may include both internal and attracted labor personnel (groups).
The management team includes employees of the first group, who are directly related to the monitoring of the process and make management decisions. The success of the initiative, the number of risks and emerging problems in the course of solving problems depends on how correctly the manager selects the performers in this group.
The management staff, like no one, are responsible for the implementation of their scope of work, the scale of which can be different: from the preparation of the document to the finished subproject. Sometimes the head of the enterprise collects a group of key personnel (subcommand), which is formed in accordance with the packages of necessary work or subprojects.
In order to ensure that the plan is completed on time, it is necessary that each employee knows the scope of their functional responsibilities, the requirements for the work performed, the level of personal responsibility, the timing and forms of a report on their activities.
Identification of project stakeholders
Any set of actions is aimed at achieving the final result. The final product is the customer’s vision. Starting an event, it is difficult to say whether the result will meet expectations. For success in planning, it is necessary to identify sources of uncertainty. Often the cause of failure is missed expectations from the project, because of which it is necessary to make changes in the course of work. The initiators of such changes are often project stakeholders. An example would be sponsors, suppliers, authorities, etc. They have the right to put forward their wishes for results that may differ from each other.
If the above persons or organizations can affect the course of the project, and the manager did not know or did not take this into account, then their intervention will change the course of the entire planned enterprise, and he will have to make adjustments in the course of actions. There should be no flaws in the work of the manager.
In order to identify agents or companies for which the implementation of the plan may have its own significance, there are several ways:
- Classification, i.e., the isolation of all enterprises, groups, persons that have any relation to the project. This includes: sponsors, customers, suppliers, users of the product, managers, competitors, executives, business partners, the media, authorities, etc. Here a complete list of all possible stakeholders is compiled and benefits are determined for them.
- Nomination, the essence of which is that the head determines the main interested person, for example, the sponsor, the head of the company, which compiles a list of all participants whose power to influence the course of the enterprise.
- Studying the documentation.
The success of the undertaking and the number of problems that arise depends on the completeness of determining the project stakeholders.
Control over the implementation of the plan
Tracking the implementation of the plan is carried out by holding meetings of the team, the participants of which provide information on the volume of work performed and indicate at the same time how much time is still needed to complete the tasks on time. These data are checked against the calendar schedule. If a delay is expected, then various solutions to the problem are considered, and one of them is taken for execution. In the same ways, the issue is resolved with a deviation from the amount of funds and resources provided, as well as the final level of quality.
Implementation of projects is a good way for organizations whose activities are aimed at developing the company. Knowing the components of the design process allows you to get good results with minimal cost in a short time, and coordinated interaction with project stakeholders to open new horizons for doing business.