Project Management 1.

01 Guided Notes

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. The
temporary nature of projects indicates a definite beginning and end. The end is reached when the
project’s objectives have been achieved or when the project is terminated because its objectives
will not or cannot be met, or when the need for the project no longer exists.

[Although most projects are completed by people working in teams, many projects are completed
by individuals. When a person is given a long-term assignment such as a research report or an
essay, for example, that person is being assigned a project.]

Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring
about the successful completion of a project, namely, achieving its goals and objectives.

Increasingly businesses organize their work around projects. project management is important
because, when done properly, it increases product or service quality, improves communication,
reduces risks of failure, and increases the chances of project success.

The four core functions of project management are: scope, time, cost, quality

1. Scope, which defines the boundaries of the project and what is outside those boundaries.
The boundaries are typically defined in terms of objectives, deliverables, and resources (e.g.,
time, personnel, money). The more aspects of scope you can identify, the better off your project
will be.

2. Time, which involves establishing a timeline for completion of the project, including
deadlines, benchmarks, and milestones.

3. Cost, which is the amount of money that will be required to complete the project
successfully.
4. Quality, which refers to the ability of a process or product to satisfy both stated and
implied needs, with those needs being defined by the stakeholders.

The four facilitating functions are human resources, communication, risk, and procurement.

1. Human resources are the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes of those working on
the project.

2. Communication is a two-way process of reaching mutual understanding in which

participants not only exchange information, but also create and share meaning.
Communication may involve conventional or unconventional means, take linguistic
or nonlinguistic forms, and occur through spoken or other modes.

3. A risk is a threat of a damage, liability, loss, or other negative occurrence that is

caused by external or internal vulnerabilities, and that may be minimized or
neutralized through preemptive action.

4. Procurement is the way that businesses and organizations purchase or obtain goods or
services. Procurement may involve specifications development, price negotiation,
purchase orders, purchasing, inventory control, and invoices.

Enterprise Environmental Factors

The Enterprise Environmental Factors refer to both internal and external environmental factors
that surround or influence a project’s success. They are considered as inputs to most planning
processes.