You don't have to be a project manager to “do” project management. Whether you're a freelancer, an in-house manager, or someone who's just stepped into a managerial role, learning the basics of project management will help you manage your work better.
What is project management?
Project management is a systematic approach to planning, coordinating, and managing the various phases of a project in order to achieve specific goals within limited resources, such as time, budget, human resources, materials, and others. Project management includes various activities and processes that help ensure the successful execution of a project from start to finish.
So, how do you manage a project from start to finish?
Initiation phase
The initiation phase is about project awareness and involves meetings, discussions, and documentation of the processes, although there is very little planning at this stage.
The main steps involved in the initiation phase include:
- Define the project goals
- Identify project risks, constraints, and priorities
- Establish the project scope
- Make a project proposal
All information gathered during the initiation phase is documented and presented to clients as a project proposal (which also includes an overall budget and schedule based on the project scope).
Planning phase
After the project proposal is approved, the project moves to the planning phase. But it's important to note that project planning is not a one-time activity in its life cycle. As the project progresses, many things can change: goals, resources, evaluations, etc.
The planning phase includes the following steps:
- Create a project roadmap
- Create a detailed project plan
Execution phase
After creating the initial design and resource plan, the project moves into the execution phase. This is where the real work happens. Qualified team members work on the planned tasks, moving towards the planned result.
- Manage tasks and track project progress
To do this, you should use special software, such as Yaware.TimeTracker, a software solution aimed at monitoring and analyzing the time spent on work tasks. This tool helps both individuals and entire companies to manage time effectively and achieve greater productivity.
Features of Yaware.TimeTracker:
- automatic time tracking
- productivity analysis
- project and task management
- personal statistics for employees
- many visual graphs and charts
- screenshots and webcam images (only in countries where this is allowed by law)
Yaware offers a 14-day free trial so that you and your employees can experience its full functionality.
- Review and adjust the project plan
- Keep your colleagues informed of project progress
Closing phase
The project closure phase comes when the client is satisfied with the project. At this stage, the last step remains to be completed:
- Communicate the results, analyze the effectiveness, and free up the resources involved!
