BUS840 Business Project: Project Management Theory Elements

This essay examines the critical elements of project management theory essential for successful IT project execution. It emphasizes the importance of stakeholder engagement, highlighting how their involvement and communication are crucial for defining project requirements and managing changes. The essay then delves into critical success factors (CSFs), explaining how identifying and achieving these factors are vital for meeting project goals and ensuring quality. Furthermore, it explores various project management approaches, such as agile, scrum, and waterfall, emphasizing the significance of selecting the appropriate methodology to align with project requirements and enhance the chances of success while mitigating risks. The essay concludes by stressing the interconnectedness of these elements for effective project management.

Running head: BUSINESS PROJECT
Business Project
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction......................................................................................................................2
2. Importance of elements of Project Management Theory...............................................2
2.1. Stakeholders’ Engagement.......................................................................................2
2.2. Critical Success Factors............................................................................................3
2.3. Project Management Approaches.............................................................................4
3. Conclusion.......................................................................................................................5
References............................................................................................................................6

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1. Introduction
Several elements of project management requires to perform in an effective manner so
that a project can be completed as per the plan. The essay aims in establishing the importance of
different elements of several theories of project management in execution of IT projects. The
project management theories that will be discussed involves addressing the process of
stakeholders’ engagement, understanding and identifying the critical success factors along with
the project management approaches that can be considered for execution of the project (Cullen
and Parker 2015). The main idea of the essay is to discuss the major project management
approaches that ascertain the success of any project. The focus of this essay is specifically led to
IT projects that encompasses projects such as development and implementation of health record,
development of a website, implementation of ERP and others. The importance of implementation
of various project management theories in planning and implementation of a project is discussed
in the report.
2. Importance of elements of Project Management Theory
Implementation of any project is linked with defining two types of processes, one is
project management process while the other is product oriented process. There are several
elements of project management that affects the execution and completion of a project (Muller
2017). In IT projects, development of a skilled project team is the first step towards successful
execution of a project. In IT projects, the stakeholders and their engagement in the project play a
critical role in successful project completion (Eskerod and Jepsen 2016). For IT projects it is
quite necessary to recognize the major critical success factors that ascertains that the project is
implemented in a successful way. In this section of the report, the prominence of project
management theories in successful execution of IT projects are discussed. In the following
section, the managerial implication related to the importance of stakeholders’ engagement in IT
projects and the critical success factors linked with the execution of the project are discussed in
the report.
2.1. Stakeholders’ Engagement
Stakeholders are considered to be a crucial consideration of an IT project and their
engagement in the project. Stakeholders are important for execution of a project as these

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individuals have an interest in the effect of the undertaken project (Todorović et al. 2015). This
is one importance reason for communicating the advancement of the project to its stakeholders.
The stakeholders in any IT project can be the customers or the clients, end users, sponsors,
project manager along with the other individuals who are directly associated with the project
(Joslin and Müller 2016). The manager of an IT project is responsible for development of an
effective plan for a project.
An effective stakeholders’ engagement in a project is critical for accomplishment of an
IT project as the requirements of the same are outlined by the stakeholders. Any change requests
in a project is further highlighted by the stakeholders of a project and therefore proper
engagement of the stakeholders are quite important (Schwalbe 2015). Stakeholders generally
have stake in any project and therefore, the influence of the stakeholders are generally high in
any project. Stakeholders generally has different roles to play based on their responsibilities and
the rules that are formulated while planning the project (Kerzner 2017). The plan for a project is
formulated at the beginning of the project and is agreed by the stakeholders of the project.
Stakeholders generally play a critical role in approving the requirements and the needs of a
project.
Therefore, it is critical for the team to correctly categorize the stakeholders of the project.
The stakeholders’ engagement in a project is quite important to fulfill the main needs and the
requirements of the project. The project management theories specify the importance of
stakeholders in execution of IT projects (Alias et al. 2014). Since stakeholders are responsible
for indicating the needs and the main requirements of the project it is critical to manage their
engagement in a project. There are several tools of project management that helps in managing
the stakeholders of a project (Zou et al. 2014). In IT projects, the project plan generally involves
development of a stakeholders’ matrix for documentation of the interest and influence of a
particular stakeholder in the project. It is established that stakeholders generally have a high
interest and high influence on the execution procedure of a project.
2.2. Critical Success Factors
In IT projects, the project team recognizes and documents the critical success factors
(CSF) of a project which are used in the later section of the project to identify its

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accomplishment. The CSFs in a project is to be completed to a high standard of quality for
achieving the project goals. It is fundamental to recognize the CSF at the start of the project as it
sets a standard for execution process of a project. Fulfillment of all the identified CSFs are
important for an organization to realize its mission. CSFs are considered to be an important
component of project management particularly because the project teams are needed to be aware
about the key success factors that will help in checking of the project goals are met (Meredith,
Mantel Jr and Shafer 2017). It is vital to have a good knowledge of the CSFs mainly because it
helps the team in understanding the needs and the requirements of the project. For success of a
project, a project needs to fulfill all of its CSFs so that a project of high quality is delivered.
Success of managing a project generally depends on a number of factors and one
important factor is fulfillment of the CSFs. The project success is evaluated by the stakeholders
of the project by analyzing the identified CSFs (Todorović et al. 2015). If all the CSFs that were
set at the start of the project are fulfilled, the project is termed as a success. If the CSFs in a
project are not fulfilled, the project is termed as a failure. Thus, CSFs are considered to be one
most critical considerations of project management.
2.3. Project Management Approaches
The project management approaches chosen for execution of a project play a critical role
in its success. As per the principle of project management, it is crucial to identify and choose a
proper approach of project management that will ascertain success of a project (Rolstadås et al.
2014). For IT projects, it is necessary to choose a proper approach for project management.
There are a number of approaches of project management which involve process based approach,
iterative and incremental approach, process based management approach and approach for
management of project in critical chain model.
It is crucial to choose a particular project management approach in project execution as
this method helps in standardizing and structuring the major work methods in a project (Cullen
and Parker 2015). It helps in management and minimization of the critical risks in a project and
accordingly, improves the implementation process of a project. The choice of a particular project
management approach is critical in development of the project team (Harrison and Lock 2017).
Development of a skilled project team is crucial to execute the project as per plan. There are

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several project management methodologies that can be considered for execution of a project.
These methodologies include agile, scrum, six sigma, waterfall and PMBOK. Other project
management approaches that can be considered for execution of a project involves lean and
Kanban. The approach that is generally chosen for the execution of a project is largely based on
the requirements and the process of implementation of a project. Correct choice of a project
management approach is crucial to implement a project as per the plan (Todorović et al. 2015).
For example, waterfall approach is not suitable for a project having dynamic requirements and
for such project use of agile or scrum method is appropriate. Thus, it can be said that the choice
of the approach considered for execution of a project employs the sustainability of the project. If
a correct approach is chosen for execution of an IT project, the chances of project success is
enhanced. However, on choosing an incorrect approach the complexity in the project increases,
which might lead to disaster of the project.
3. Conclusion
The essay discusses the importance of three major elements of project management
theory in successful execution of an IT project. In the essay, the importance of the stakeholders
in a project, their engagement and needs are discussed. Along with that the importance of
identification and following the major critical success factors of a project are discussed. The
CSFs in a project is critical for understanding and fulfilling the major goals of the project. Along
with that, the essay discusses the prominent factors that helps in choosing a correct approach of
implementing a project. It is crucial to choose a correct approach of execution of a project so that
the major goals of the project are fulfilled. The essay establishes the need of effective
stakeholders’ engagement, identification of the CSFs and choosing a particular approach of
project management.

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References
Alias, Z., Zawawi, E.M.A., Yusof, K. and Aris, N.M., 2014. Determining critical success factors
of project management practice: A conceptual framework. Procedia-Social and Behavioral
Sciences, 153, pp.61-69.
Cullen, K. and Parker, D.W., 2015. Improving performance in project-based management:
synthesizing strategic theories. International Journal of Productivity and Performance
Management, 64(5), pp.608-624.
Eskerod, P. and Jepsen, A.L., 2016. Project stakeholder management. Routledge.
Harrison, F. and Lock, D., 2017. Advanced project management: a structured approach.
Routledge.
Joslin, R. and Müller, R., 2016. The relationship between project governance and project
success. International Journal of Project Management, 34(4), pp.613-626.
Kerzner, H., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and
controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Meredith, J.R., Mantel Jr, S.J. and Shafer, S.M., 2017. Project management: a managerial
approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Muller, R., 2017. Project governance. Routledge.
Rolstadås, A., Tommelein, I., Morten Schiefloe, P. and Ballard, G., 2014. Understanding project
success through analysis of project management approach. International journal of managing
projects in business, 7(4), pp.638-660.
Schwalbe, K., 2015. Information technology project management. Cengage Learning.
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.

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Zou, W., Kumaraswamy, M., Chung, J. and Wong, J., 2014. Identifying the critical success
factors for relationship management in PPP projects. International Journal of Project
Management, 32(2), pp.265-274.