Construction Project Management Learning

The phases of a project management life cycle
Regardless of what kind of project you’re planning, they all go through the same stages. Although each project will require its own set of unique tasks, they all follow a similar framework. There’s always a beginning, a middle, and an end. This is called the project management life cycle.

Effective project management requires a thorough understanding of this life cycle. Each stage has individual challenges, deliverables, and stakeholders, and the project manager must be adept at navigating each one to ensure success.
1. Project Initiation phase
2. Project Planning phase
3. Project Ex*****on phase
4. Project Controlling and Monitoring phase
5. Project closure

What do project managers do?

In short, project managers are responsible for the planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, and completion of projects, so they must have a complete understanding of the subject matter. However, that is just the tip of the project management basics iceberg.
Here are a few of the main responsibilities:

Build the plan: Project managers are in charge of plotting out the most realistic course for the project. The plan must include the project scope, timeline, and budget. This can also include identifying the right tools for the job.

Assemble the team: Identifying the proper team is critical. Every project team will vary depending on the scope of the initiative and the functions needed to complete the project. Finding specialists and subject matter experts for each of the necessary tasks is ideal.

Assign tasks: Project managers must provide their team with a clear definition of specific tasks and timelines for every part of the project. Although each team member will be responsible for their own assignments, many tasks will require collaboration from both internal and external team members.

Lead the team: Now that the team has been assembled and their tasks have been assigned, the project manager must keep the machine well-oiled, covering the basics and beyond. This will include checking in on individuals for status updates, identifying and clearing roadblocks, negotiating disagreements, keeping team morale high, and providing training and mentoring.

Manage the budget: Most projects will require some expenses, which means understanding how to put together a project budget and manage cost is critical for success. This will involve comparing real-life expenditures to estimates, and adjusting the project plan if necessary.

Manage timelines: As with the budget, project managers are tasked with keeping everything on schedule so the team is meeting their projected deadlines for completion. This will require setting realistic deadlines throughout the life cycle of the project, communicating consistently with the team for status updates, and maintaining a detailed schedule

Engage stakeholders: Stakeholders play a large role in your project. They are typically influential people who are affected by the project. Project managers need to maintain a good relationship and an open line of communication with stakeholders who can not only help clear roadblocks and empower your team but also create unnecessary bottlenecks and derail a project if they become unhappy with the direction.

Hand over the project: Just because the project’s objectives have been delivered doesn’t mean a project manager’s job is over. The project manager must now deliver the project to the team who will be managing, maintaining, and operating it moving forward. At this point, the project manager will no longer be the go-to person and will be assigned to a new project.

Document the process: Identifying and documenting “lessons learned” is not only a good practice for personal growth, but also for relaying that experience to other teams around the organization for future use. This will help others avoid making the same mistakes, or taking advantage of the shortcuts discovered.

Areas within Project Management:

The Project Management Institute (PMI) has identified nine areas of knowledge within project management:

Integration management
Scope management
Time management
Cost management
Quality management
Human resource management
Communication management
Risk management and
Procurement management

The five project management process groups:

Initiating: The goal for this phase is to define the project.

Planning: This phase includes developing a roadmap for everyone to follow.

Executing and Monitoring: In this stage, the project team is built and deliverables are created. PMs will monitor and measure project performance to ensure it stays on track.

Closing: The project is completed, a post-mortem is held, and the project is transferred to another team who will maintain it.