Project Management Assignment 1

Managing Projects

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1) Key Characteristics of any project.....................................................................................1
2) Explain the five key stages in project management...........................................................1
3) Purpose of project initiation document..............................................................................2
4) Knowledge areas in project management and their importance........................................3
5) Five attributes or characteristics of a project manager and its importance........................3
6) Explain the purpose of stakeholder analysis and why it is important in project management
................................................................................................................................................4
7) Draw the corresponding network diagram and show the critical path...............................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
Project life cycle.....................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................16
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................18

INTRODUCTION
Projects refer to the task or assignment which is executed by an organisation for
achieving their organisational goals and objectives. The process of managing these projects is
known as project management which includes the planning and organising of different resources
of an organisation for performing the task or for executing the project. Taken firm for the
assessment is London Skills Concern who is supporting the young people in developing their life
standard. This report is divided into two parts. Task one is focused on characteristics of any
project, key stages of project management, purpose of project initiation document and area of
project management. Whereas task two will cover a project with the project life cycle for
providing the information to the young people regarding their job, employment along with the
time for completing the project
TASK 1
1) Key Characteristics of any project
There are various characteristics of a project out of which some are discussed below:
 Project consists of pre determined objectives which should be accomplished in a given
time with the required performance and cost.
 A project is executed by a project team which look after the planning, managing and
controlling activities of project in order to achieve the pre determined objectives and
goals.
 A project can be described as the result which responds to the opportunities of the market
and business environment.
 Project includes the future activities of the organisation due to which management of the
firms can determine the future expenses which can be used for carrying out the project.
 While implementing the project, project managers includes the coordination of work
performed by the team members.
2) Explain the five key stages in project management
Project management is divided into 5 stages which are used for designing the structure and
for planning the strategies which are required for executing the project. These 5 stages are as
follows:
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 Project Initiation: it is the first and essential phase for undertaking any project because it
sets the standards for running the project. If this stage is not done properly, then there are
chances that project can fails. Project Planning: It is the second stage for executing any project in which the planning
of strategies and other aspects is done. There are chances that this part may not be
implemented properly due to which chances of error in the work can increase which will
impact the work (Braglia and Frosolini, 2014). Project Execution: It is the third stage in which the planned strategies and other aspects
are implemented in order to satisfy the requirement of the clients. Team leader assign the
resources to the project team for executing the project. Project monitoring and control: In this stage, the project manager monitor the activities
of the project for determining whether the activities are going as planned or not. This is
essential for determining the variations in the expected and obtained results by using the
key performance indicators.
 Project Closure: It is the last stage in which the executed project is delivered to the
clients. Project team also communicate with the stakeholders, and releasing resources to
other projects.
3) Purpose of project initiation document
Project initiation document refers to the document which forms the foundation for a
company’s project. This document involves the information of various aspects of the project
such as budget, strategies, resources etc. The purpose of the project initiation document is to
capture and record basic information, which is needed to correctly define and plan the project
(Parker and et. al., 2013). Three essential documents for this are as follows:
Project goals: In this, the goals and objectives which should be accomplished by the
execution of the project are given. This document provides the essential information regarding
the goals of the project so that project can be executed effectively.
Project size: This the second document in which the project is divided into large, medium
and small based on the goals and purpose. There are also mentioned about the how long does it
takes and how many people are involved.
Project organisation: This document provides the information regarding the tasks,
responsibilities and power of authority in an organisation whose project has been undertaken.
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