Key takeaways from the Echo Webinar: Your Guide to Understanding the PM Rubix Cube
It’s no surprise to anybody that in today's fast-paced business world, effective project management is crucial for organizations to deliver successful outcomes. Our experts at Echo not only keep their finger on the pulse of what’s new, what’s working, what’s not working, etc., they genuinely enjoy sharing their thoughts and findings!
During our recent webinar, Project Management Essentials – we dove into and covered some of the most tried, true, and adopted methodologies in project management, not to mention some of the foundational aspects from which they’re comprised.
In this blog we’ve summarized the key points to help you gain an understanding of fundamental project management approaches and the differences between them. As we say, no two approaches are exactly the same.
Get to Know Echo
We began with an introduction to Echo. We are a leading provider of work management solutions. Our core services include:
Project + Work Management: Comprehensive project management and work management solutions to streamline processes, improve efficiency, and enhance project collaboration.
Process Improvement + Automation: Echo helps organizations automate their processes, reducing manual efforts and increasing productivity.
Software Implementations: Deploying and integrating software, tools, and techniques into business operations.
Training + Workshops: Interactive training and workshops to enhance project management skills and knowledge in specific areas.
Strategic Planning + Change Management: Assist organizations in developing strategic plans, coaching, and facilitation services to align projects with their overall business goals or manage change effectively.
Let’s Talk Projects
As with any broad topic, we find it best to start with conventional definitions: A project is defined as a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service with a defined beginning and end.
Key components of a project include:
Goals: What are we trying to achieve?
Timelines: When are we trying to achieve it?
Budgets: How much will it cost to achieve?
Stakeholders: Who has interest or skin in the game?
Identifying projects vs day-to-day operations isn’t always as clear a differentiation as we’d like to think. More often than not, operations consist of day-to-day efforts that involve ongoing, repetitive activities aimed at sustaining and improving core functions of an organization - while project management is wholly focused on executing temporary, unique endeavors. A good way to remember this, is that projects always have a definitive beginning and end date.
While operational projects aim to improve day-to-day operations and enhance efficiency in the short term, projects focus on delivering unique products or services.
Essential Skills for Project Managers
So, while a lot of the project management profession orbits around the tracking of tasks and schedules, the absolute most important aspect is effective communication. This requires a fine balance of hard and soft skills.
Examples of hard skills include, but certainly aren’t limited to – project planning and scheduling, risk assessment and management, and budget management.
On the other hand, soft skills more closely encompass adaptability, resourcefulness, influence, communication, and unflappability. All good project managers have some balance of both, but for our money, we put more stock in the soft skills for one simple reason: Hard skills can always be taught.
A Brief History of Project Management
At one point we spent a few minutes discussing the history of project management. Not just because it’s interesting, but we feel that (just like projects) there’s a ton of value in understanding the process of iteration and evolution. I mean, Agile has barely been around for two decades! What’ll be the next whiz-bang methodology? We can’t wait to find out.
Understanding Agile vs. Waterfall: Which is Best?
As we delved into how some of the more popular methods compare and contrast with one another – we’d have been remiss if we didn’t put particular emphasis on the two big ones - Agile and Waterfall.
Waterfall is a sequential approach where the project, right from planning to execution, is carried out in segments. On the other hand, Agile takes into consideration iterative development. Agile is about delivering smaller but meaningful parts of the project at a time, keeping flexibility intact. It’s worth noting that Agile isn’t limited to software development alone, it can extend to lots of applications.
We contrasted the risk curves associated with both methodologies. The waterfall approach is a sequential method divided into distinct phases, while agile is a more fluid and iterative approach that allows for feedback and adaptation. Here are the key differentiating points that were discussed:
Agile: Agile provides flexibility and adaptability, making it suitable for projects with evolving or unknown requirements. By delivering smaller, meaningful pieces of the project through iterative development, agile allows for continuous improvement, collaboration, and better alignment with customer needs.
Waterfall: The waterfall approach is suitable for projects with clear requirements where a plan change is uncommon. It is a linear process, executing each phase before moving on to the next. This approach is efficient for projects with stable requirements.
While the waterfall approach can provide a clear, predefined path, agile allows for rapid prototyping and continuous feedback, enabling progressive improvements throughout the project lifecycle.
Risks in Project Management
Sticking with the Agile vs Waterfall topic, we discussed how projects often have a higher risk curve as the project progresses, while agile projects have a more gradual risk curve due to their iterative nature. Agile’s continuous feedback and adaptation process mitigate risks by addressing them early on.
The Triple Constraint Theory: Balancing Time, Quality, and Cost
The triple constraint theory in project management highlights the interdependence between three critical factors: scope, time, and cost. Changes in one constraint (e.g., expanding scope) will likely affect the other two (e.g., increasing time and cost). Balancing these constraints is essential for delivering successful projects that meet objectives without compromising on quality.
Triple constraint theory is a project management concept that says every project operates within the boundaries of scope, time, and cost. A change in one factor will inevitably affect the other two.
Project Governance and Project Management Office (PMO)
We also highlighted the significance of project governance in project-based organizations. Good project governance involves assigning decisions, rights, and accountabilities among stakeholders. The establishment of a Project Management Office (PMO) is an effective way to ensure project governance. A PMO acts as a central hub for project management practices, providing standardized processes, support, and oversight to projects within an organization.
Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification
We also spent a few minutes talking about certifications in project management, with a specific focus on the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification offered by PMI.
Why consider getting PMP certified? The PMP certification validates a professional’s expertise in leading and managing projects. Clients increasingly demand PMP certifications to ensure a common language and standard of competence. Joining professional organizations like PMI provides valuable resources and networking opportunities for project managers.
Project Sponsor vs. Project Manager
Project managers are responsible for managing project execution, ensuring alignment with project goals, managing resources, and coordinating stakeholders.
Project sponsors, on the other hand, hold the ultimate responsibility for the project's success, providing strategic guidance and support.
It’s worth pointing out that project sponsors also often deal with fiduciary responsibility. It might be coming from their budget; they might be reporting out to executive leadership or to senior leadership and be a point of escalation. It is important for the project manager and sponsor to have a transparent relationship around responsibilities and commitments on projects.
That wraps up a brief round-up of our webinar. Don't worry if you missed it, you can watch the entire webinar here and we will host many more like this.
Stay tuned and keep learning with us. In the meantime, here are some more helpful resources:
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