Companies don’t execute work just like that. Whether it is the creation of software packages or the construction of a mall, they are all treated as projects. Firms undertake projects to solve a problem, exploit an opportunity or satisfy a need. This helps companies to properly plan and execute an assignment without any loss of resources. It is essential to see why project management is a critical function for an organization before we look at the skills required for the job.
The Importance Of Project Management For Businesses
There are various benefits for organizations to implement project management. It helps in getting work done successfully. There is a high level of transparency that allows all stakeholders to know the actual position of the job. It encourages better productivity and gives a clear vision to all team members about their responsibilities. Good project management also ensures optimum use of all resources without any wastage. A project management course teaches students about the other significant benefits of project management.
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Ensures Effective Communication
Project managers are skilled in communication. When a project is managed correctly, it ensures effective communication between the team members and outside entities. If instructions are conveyed clearly, it helps all team members perform well and ensure that their job is done successfully. Clear communication to all stakeholders provides a better understanding of the work’s scope, schedule and cost. When requirements are conveyed accurately, projects run smoothly without the lack of any items. A project management course in India equips students with excellent communication skills.
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Makes Proper Resource Allocation Possible
Projects require various kinds of resources. Of these, human resources are most important. Good project managers make sure that they get the most suitable employees for every job in a project. As these people come from different departments, they may also have other commitments. Good project management will ensure their availability when the needs arise. At the top of a project, an efficient person can procure other resources and ensure their proper use, reducing wastage and loss. One can learn the effective use of resources in the XLRI project management course.
Project Management Results In Higher Productivity
Achieving optimum productivity is critical for the success of any project. All projects are taken at very competitive prices. The cost of each phase is worked out meticulously, and any loss in productivity can result in the project exceeding its budget. This can result in a loss for the stakeholders. Proper management of projects ensures that all resources achieve their best productivity. This is not limited to human resources. Those undertaking a program for project management from IIM learn that all resources, including machinery, must achieve their maximum productivity for the work’s success.
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Achieve Better Customer Satisfaction
One of the main factors for any company’s success is customer satisfaction. No company can grow and prosper without happy customers, no matter how big or good its products are. Even the best products can fetch good customer appreciation only if it is delivered promptly. Project management helps all jobs to be completed on time. This process also involves constant interaction with customers and ensures that the product is developing as per customer requirements at every stage. In the project management course, one can learn how we must report work progress to the client.
Gives Financial Independence
Financial independence is vital for all organizations. Unless it can spend money without thinking many times, no company can progress. All firms must invest in various resources if they want to expand to new areas. They must increase production facilities if more markets must be covered. Infrastructure must be developed to accommodate the growing staff strength. Acquiring better and more human talent also costs money. Project management assures the success of all projects, which in turn increases the customer base. This way, the company earns more and achieves financial strength.
Increases Risk Management Capability
One of the main aspects of project management is planning. This starts even before any resource is acquired. Planning of all phases of a project is done before any work starts. This allows the project managers to forecast problems that can occur during the work accurately. A backup plan makes it easy to overcome any problem and ensures that the project does not incur any loss. Every project management course in India teaches that though risks cannot be avoided, they can be managed better with project management.
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Enables Better Employee Retention
A major problem that companies face today is staff attrition. Every human resource manager knows that recruiting a new person is more expensive and difficult than retaining an existing employee. So how is project management related to worker retention? Successful projects result in happier employees. They also get rewarded monetarily and an elevation of position when there is continuous success. Good project management helps all workers to exhibit all their skills and contribute more to the assignment. The XLRI project management course teaches that all the above factors prevent people from moving to other firms.
Better Planning Makes Work Easy
Without project management, people dive into the job without any planning. This can result in a lot of work pressure as workers are suddenly thrust into a task they may not have planned well. Project management has a separate planning phase where one can work out all the details and plan all resources in advance. This helps all team members to know what work they must do at different stages of the project. Anyone attending the course for project management from IIM knows that proper planning makes work easy.
Control Over Quality Of The Project
Projects don’t usually run as per schedule. This leads to hurrying through different processes. Sometimes cost overshoots can result in cutting corners. Missing deadlines can force workers to rush through jobs without properly checking if everything has been done as per specification. Agile methodologies in project management ensure that quality is checked and ensured at every stage. This confirms that there is no deviation from what is demanded by the customer. A project management course is the best place to learn how testing must be done to ensure that the end product conforms to specified standards.
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Improving Oneself With Every Project
There are no perfect project managers. They must keep learning and improving with each project because every one of them poses a different challenge. Having proper project management allows these experts to learn from their mistakes. There is a retrospection stage after completion of the work to facilitate this. Some methods also allow you to study the process periodically. Knowing the errors enables project managers to correct them in the next project. Those who have attended a project management course in India learn how to retrospect and learn from mistakes.
Looking at the above benefits that project management offers, we know how important a project manager’s job is. Let us see what roles this person plays to make the assignment successful.
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Roles of A Project Manager
Planning To Ensure Success
Many projects don’t succeed because there is no proper planning. One of the most important phases of any project is planning all the resources and how the work is going to be executed. Resource planning is very important because if they are not available when required, it will delay completion. When the timelines for each stage are decided, a good project manager considers all the strengths and weaknesses of the team.
Another important factor that the expert considers is the risks involved and how they can derail the job. Backup plans are made to manage these risks. As the people are tasked with multiple tasks in the project, planning every member’s activities is crucial for the assignment’s success. Financial planning is required to make sure that the project progresses smoothly. The XLRI project management course equips future PMs with excellent planning skills.
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Leading And Motivating A-Team
No project gets completed only because of the efforts of a project manager. It needs a well-organized and motivated team to complete the job successfully. A project manager’s primary responsibility in this regard is to accumulate people who are most suitable for the work. The person must also select those who can be used for multiple jobs in different stages. This reduces the number of people to be managed. A project manager must clearly understand the team members’ strengths and weaknesses.
It is not enough to bring together a good team. The PM must lead them by example. Project managers must do their jobs correctly so that the team follows. They must pressurize the team members too much. The team must be motivated to put in their best effort for the project’s success. The project manager must give the team clear plans and instructions that will help them work efficiently towards success. One can learn team management by participating in a program for project management from IIM.
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Meeting Delivery Deadlines Every Time
This is an essential responsibility of project managers. No client likes to see the product delivered past committed dates. Customers don’t like to hear excuses for delays, however genuine they are. Project managers must ensure that they complete the project on time. To achieve this, they must stick to deadlines at every stage of the work. They must make sure that the team members are committed to completing their jobs on time.
The most important requirement for meeting deadlines is good planning. PMs must make sure that there is enough flexibility in schedule to meet unprecedented delays. These must be incorporated into the plan so that committed timelines are followed strictly. They must define each activity, sequence them and estimate their duration precisely. One learns at the project management course how to develop a schedule and stick to it.
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Estimating And Budgeting
However well a project is completed and meets all customer’s requirements, it cannot be allowed to go very much above the budget. All clients plan for whatever estimates are given by the company that undertakes the project. Though they may plan for a little extra that is common with any project, it will not be possible for them to go way beyond what they have planned for. This can result in unwanted delays in completing the job.
One of the essential skills of project managers is good estimating. They must take into consideration the cost of all materials and people required to complete the job. It is also crucial to consider the standard increase in the prices of materials. A good PM also considers the extra expense that may be required to put in place alternate plans when something fails. The project management course in India stresses the need for frequent review of the budget.
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Keeping The Customer Satisfied
Every company wants to add customers. There is no better publicity than a word from satisfied clients. It is the project manager’s responsibility to ensure complete customer satisfaction when a project is handed over. An ideal way to keep them happy is to meet their expectations. This can be achieved only if the PM keeps the client’s desires realistic. The project experts must keep the customer updated regularly.
It is always better to inform the customer of any delays that cannot be avoided. This will help to prevent unpleasant surprises at the end. No project can be executed exactly as planned. The clients must be involved in the progress of the work so that they also know about delays or deviations in the budget. The XLRI project management course insists on all students acquiring good communication skills for this purpose.
The project managers have their hands full when executing a project. They must acquire a lot of skills to fulfil all their responsibilities successfully. Every PM aspirant must know what skills are necessary for the job.
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Top Skills That Project Managers Must Possess
1. Leading The Team Efficiently
One can manage a team by following established processes and ensuring that the team follows them. But it takes a good leader to motivate and inspire the team to find solutions by themselves. Successful leaders know when they must take control and when to delegate work. The primary objective of the course for project management from IIM is to produce leaders.
2. Communicating Effectively At All Levels
A good project leader has excellent communication skills. The person must deal with people at all levels. There are workers from different economic, social, and educational backgrounds in a project, and everyone must be made to understand their roles very well. Communicating with external entities is also an essential part of a PM’s job. Attending a project management course can equip one with excellent communication skills.
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3. Preparing Realistic Plans
One cannot talk about project management without mentioning planning. It is not just a stage in the process but highly critical for the success of any assignment. Without proper planning, a project could miss its schedule, overshoot cost estimates, and damage the team’s morale. This is why every project management course in India allocates much time teaching proper planning methods.
4. Keeping The Team Together
It is not easy working with a team. It is even more complicated when the members come from different departments and have never worked together. A project usually has such people working on it. The PM must keep the team together, preventing any unwanted friction between members. The XLRI project management course is the place to acquire this skill.
5. Managing Time To Meet Deadlines
When there are so many jobs to be completed and deadlines looming ahead, only excellent time management skills can help execute a project successfully. Fortunately for PMs, various tools help in scheduling tasks and keeping track of them. Those learning project management from IIM gets familiarized with these tools.
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6. Complete Tasks With Efficient Management
A project is made up of numerous tasks. It is easy to forget one or perform it at the wrong time. Good task management skills are necessary for a project manager to ensure that the assignment is completed on time. The person must know which tasks must be performed first and what tasks can be done simultaneously. The project management course can teach you about tools that help in task management.
7. Master Risk Management Skills
Risks are part of every project. There are some that can be predicted and others that appear unexpectedly. Project managers must have the skill to overcome these problems and ensure proper completion of the work. Mastering the skill of risk management will reward a PM with more successful projects. Learn to forecast and manage risks from a project management course in India.
8. Develop The Fine Art Of Negotiation
Project managers must possess excellent negotiation skills if they want to complete the work profitably for their company. They must bargain the prices of various materials with vendors. It is also necessary to negotiate with heads of various departments to get the right people for the job. The XLRI project management course teaches excellent negotiation skills.
| SKILLS | BENEFITS |
| Leadership | Motivated and inspired team members |
| Communication | Better understanding of tasks by team members |
| Planning | Completion of project within cost and schedule |
| Team Management | Smooth working conditions |
| Time Management | Timely completion of the project |
| Task Management | All tasks completed without missing any one of them |
| Risk Management | Contain losses and ensure prompt completion of the project |
| Negotiation Skills | Can secure all resources at reasonable costs |
Before we end this article, an effort is made to answer some common questions that future project managers will have in their minds.
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FAQs on Project Management
Q. What is a Gantt Chart in project management?
Ans. A Gantt chart is a visual representation of all the activities that must be completed within the given deadline. It is an excellent tool to keep track of tasks.
Q. What is cost-benefit analysis in project management?
Ans. Those attending the course for project management from IIM learn that the cost-benefit analysis is a tool to calculate the return on investment, internal rate of return, net present value, and payback period.
Q. What role does a project reviewer play?
Ans. A project reviewer can be a single person or a group of people who will check the project plan to assure the top management that it is viable. They will check whether the project has been developed for successful and profitable completion.
Q. What is the purpose of scope management?
Ans. Scope management is required to establish what tasks come under the project and which ones are beyond it. A project management course can teach how to prepare a scope statement which is an agreement between all parties about the tasks to be completed.
Q. What is a contingency plan in project management?
Ans. It is a course of action that must be taken if an identified risk becomes a reality. These are created in advance for those risks that can be accurately forecasted. It helps to complete a project without any delay.
Q. What is FTE?
Ans. FTE stands for full-time equivalent. It is used for conversion of hours worked by temporary employees in a week. A project management course in India teaches this to calculate the cost in terms of money, personnel, and time.
Q. What is a project management report?
Ans. A project management report is a document to inform all concerned persons about the status of a project at any given time. The report will be made weekly or monthly, depending on the size of the project and client requirements.
Q. What is a portfolio in project management?
Ans. A portfolio is a set of projects and programs undertaken by the same company. The XLRI project management course teaches that the purpose of creating a portfolio is to have centralized management of multiple projects and programs.
Q. What is earned value in project management?
Ans. Earned value is the measure of work that has been completed in a project. It is arrived at by multiplying the percentage of work completed with the total project value.
Q. What is Service Level Agreement in project management?
Ans. This agreement is drawn with vendors and service providers whose support is crucial for completing the project on time and within budget. The program for project management from IIM explains that this will lay down all the services the vendor is expected to provide.
Wrapping Up
A project manager needs a lot of skills to complete a project successfully. However, what is most important is to be flexible because every project brings up surprises. Only someone who can change plans and act on the new situation can be successful. Every project manager must be ready to learn from experience and use such knowledge to improve constantly.
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