Project Management is a discipline that works at all times

Do you think that with the use of Project Management (PM) the ongoing

global financial crisis could have been tackled?



Project Management (PM) is a discipline that works at all timeswhen the

economy is growing or is in a recession. The science of PM focuses on improved

efficiency, completing projects on time and within budgetwhich is a

consideration for any business at all times. Add to these the overall goal with

which any project must kick offstrategic orientation, strong organizational fit

and factoring in the business and economic landscape in which the project is

launched.

However, I would go a step further and advocate that these economic

conditions require organizations to mature their PM methods.

What is the strategic role of PM in overcoming business challenges?



PM is not a career, which is chosen at the beginning of ones professional

life. Individuals qualify as engineers or management professionals with

specialization in HR, Finance or Marketing. However, most people end up managing

projects some time in their career and some are in the projects business all the

time. Therefore, it becomes important that theres some academic exposure and,

where required, qualification in PM to ensure that all aspects of PM are

understood and appreciated.

Apart from the IT sector, why are the other sectors and businesses not

keen on implementing PM principles in their respective business plans?



Project Management Institutes roots are from the civil and construction

engineering streams. While it is a fact that the IT industry has widely adopted

the practice of PM, other industries are not far behind. Analysis of our

membership profile shows the PMs functional area as in IT4%, project

management offices21%, operations12%, R&D5%, customer service3%,

finance25%, while HR, sales and marketing share 1% each.

What are the key benefits of PM for any business and how does it work in

sustaining businesses?



It is estimated that $14 tn will be spent in the next five years on

projects. If you include the IT, pharma and research projects the figure would

be more likely to be $20 tn. That is one-third of the global GDP. It becomes

apparent why it is very crucial for organizations and governments to adopt PM

practices. As said earlier PM assists in difficult times by enabling

organizations to take the right decisionswhich projects to move forward, which

ones to stall and which ones to kill. In good times its the same principle that

works.

Pankaj Maru/CyberMedia News



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