Project management is “both a profession and set of tools and techniques applied to deliver defined outcomes” (Linton, 2014, p. 3). Project managers are responsible for the creation and delivery of projects such as products, services and capabilities outside of day-to-day operational activities and processes (Linton, 2014, p. 3). That is, projects are specific, have a beginning and end and bring change.
Project management is important because it clearly defines what is to be delivered within the allocated timeframe utilising predetermined resources such as funding needed to complete the project. For example, the organisation of a trade show begins through a planning phase, is executed through the event …show more content…
The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) “defines all the work to be undertaken by the project team in order to achieve the project objectives and create the required deliverables” (Linton, 2014, p. 66). That is, it breaks down the project into easily manageable components to better identify what needs to be done.
WBS is critical because it is an essential tool for planning and executing the project. It organises and defines the scope of the project, assist to develop the project schedule, helps to assign team roles and responsibilities, shows the control points and milestones, allows for estimation of cost, risk and time and helps explain the project scope to stakeholders. For example, when building a house it would define that a three-bedroom house is to be built, it will cost $1 million, breakdown the internal work into milestones such as electrical, plumbing, fit out work with specific funds required and Jack is responsible for the completion of those …show more content…
As the scope of the project is defined and project’s tasks are broken down, the resources required to perform those tasks should come to light. Past project requirements and experience may also help determine resources. However, determining resources maybe difficult for inexperienced project managers as they may underestimate the duration of tasks and therefore the duration of the whole project (Linton, 2014, p. 178). Therefore, “it is important to look beyond the internal organisational horizon and look for new knowledge external to the organisation” (Klein, Biesenthal, & Dehlin, 2015). That is, not to be afraid to ask professionals for guidance as poor decision-making may damage the project mangers reputation. Thus, affecting their changes of being selected for future projects. Furthermore, according to Jugdev & Mathur (2012) “since it is not resources alone that are important, but also what is done with them” project managers should keep strategic objectives in mind to ensure resources are been utilised effectively and work towards corporate strategy such as maintaining competitive