Project Management: Key Variables for Managers

This article discusses the four key variables in project management that help managers evaluate effectiveness: Scope, Schedule, Quality, and Budget. It explains how these variables affect project success and provides examples of how they can be applied. The article also includes references to relevant research studies.

Project Management

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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Scope...........................................................................................................................................................2
Schedule......................................................................................................................................................2
Budget.........................................................................................................................................................3
Quality.........................................................................................................................................................3
References...................................................................................................................................................5

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Introduction
There are four key variables in the success of the managers that helps in evaluating the
effectiveness while managing a particular team. The variables are as follows: Scope, Schedule,
Quality, and Budget. The managers work under these variables in order to complete the tasks
given to the manager or to his team. These four variables are very important in carrying out a
project. It helps the managers in understanding a problem which may arise while executing a
project. The three variables scope, schedule, and budget are referred to as the ‘Iron Triangle’.
The manager has to manage the variables in an efficient manner to avoid cost and time overruns.
Scope
Scope is one of the first and important key variables in managing a task. It determines the goals,
deliverables, and a task of the project. With the help of these variables, the manager can come to
know what is to be included or not as project tasks. The scope helps in performing the work that
is to be delivered within the prescribed time and with its functions. It helps the managing team in
making decisions about the project. A scope is a part of planning a project which involves a
determination of a list of project tasks, features, functions, deliverables, and costs (Martens and
Carvalho, 2017). The project scope is used in explaining the boundaries of the project and helps
the member of the team to focus on the task. The first key variable has effects on the other
variables. The project scope reflects all the needs of the project which helps the project manager
to improve the delivery of the product or services.
For instance, suppose an event manager has to plan an engagement event on the day of the
commencement. Such an event needs some information regarding the scheduled date and time. A
manager needs to specify all the arrangements of the event and the most important is to see how
much the client can afford. It helps in determining the overall scope of the task so that a manager
can divide the tasks among the members to complete the project.
Schedule
The schedule is another important variable in managing any project. It is the list of activities
which are performed by the team for fulfilling the scope of a project. The list includes the
duration of activity, variables, and interdependencies. The project schedule helps the managers in
managing the resources smoothly and also help in communicating the clients to prevent delay in

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providing services. The important dates of project milestone can also be specified by the
schedule of the project. Schedule normally means time, which remains constant for all. If the
project schedule is not used properly then it affects the scope of a project and also leads in
increasing the cost of the project (Cho et al., 2016). It is a significant variable which helps in
guiding a manager for successful completion of the project on time. The start and finish dates are
listed in the project schedule. Project schedule are of three types such as – master project
schedule, milestone schedule, and detailed schedule.
For example, the event manager must schedule the event as prescribed by the client. The event of
engagement is a very important day. There would be no failure of delivering the service to the
client. By adopting the scheduling variable, the event manager can manage the overall event
within the time.
Budget
The budget here means the estimated cost of the task needed to complete the final project. This
variable comes from the cost of resources for each activity. Each and every activity contains
resources which are related to the cost. The cost needed to complete the planned activities
referred to as a budget. It is a plan for the future which represents the operational end of the
planning. Moreover, it can be said that the amount which is allocated for completing the project
can be considered as the budget (Kaiser, El Arbi and Ahlemann, 2015). If the manager applies
this variable while completing the project then there will be no deficit. There are various costs
involved in executing a project. Budgeting helps the manager in managing the fluctuation of
costs in the whole project. Without a budget, no project will be started (Joslin and Müller, 2015).
The success of the project depends on how the project cost is maintained. To set up the project
budget at the beginning is the most beneficial for the manager to complete the project with the
estimated cost.
For instance, the budget for the engagement event is $ 15000. It is the responsibility of the event
manager to organize the event without overspending money and meet all the needs of the client
with that amount. So the budget variable is needed to complete the event with the budgeted cost.

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Quality
The other three key variables determine the quality of a product that is to be delivered to the
respective customers. Quality refers to the quality assurance of the project. Project quality is
implemented in order to fulfill the requirements of the concerned project as needed. This variable
helps in identifying the quality and standard of the project, it also assures the quality used for the
project completion (Hornstein, 2015). It monitors and records the results of activities that is
assessed by the performance of the managers. The client needs to be satisfied with the
deliverance of the quality product or services. Here, quality means the needs of the clients from
the project deliverables. The main objective of the manager is to deliver a product to the prior
expectation of the clients (Todorović et al., 2015). It is known that if the quality is not up to the
mark, then the customer remains unsatisfied. However, the deliverables must meet all the
requirements of the project and must satisfy the client. Without these four variables, the
managers could not get success in their project.
For example, the event manager needs to plan the whole engagement event. So the manager has
to manage all the necessary arrangements as per the client's requirement. The client needs to
satisfy with the quality of the work. The quality of the event depends on the other three key
constraints namely, scope, schedule, and budget. It is the duty of the event manager to manage
the event prior to the satisfaction of the client.

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References
Cho, C., Halford, J.T., Hsu, S. and Ng, L., 2016. Do managers matter for corporate
innovation?. Journal of Corporate Finance, 36, pp.206-229.
Hornstein, H.A., 2015. The integration of project management and organizational change
management is now a necessity. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), pp.291-
298.
Joslin, R. and Müller, R., 2015. Relationships between a project management methodology and
project success in different project governance contexts. International Journal of Project
Management, 33(6), pp.1377-1392.
Kaiser, M.G., El Arbi, F. and Ahlemann, F., 2015. Successful project portfolio management
beyond project selection techniques: Understanding the role of structural
alignment. International Journal of Project Management, 33(1), pp.126-139.
Martens, M.L. and Carvalho, M.M., 2017. Key factors of sustainability in project management
context: A survey exploring the project managers' perspective. International Journal of Project
Management, 35(6), pp.1084-1102.
Todorović, M.L., Petrović, D.Č., Mihić, M.M., Obradović, V.L. and Bushuyev, S.D., 2015.
Project success analysis framework: A knowledge-based approach in project
management. International Journal of Project Management, 33(4), pp.772-783.