What is a Project?

A project manager is usually responsible for a project. The project manager is often supported by a project team as well as other stakeholders and sponsors who also play important roles in the project.

Project management involves planning, controlling and monitoring projects to achieve specific objectives within a given time and budget. It involves coordinating resources, managing tasks and ensuring the quality of results. Project management encompasses various processes, including:

• Initiation: Defining the project, setting objectives, conducting a feasibility study and obtaining permits.
• Planning: Detailed planning of activities, resources, schedules and budgets. Risk management and communication strategies are also developed.
• Implementation: Implementing the planned tasks, coordinating the project team and managing resources.
• Monitoring and controlling: Continuously reviewing progress, measuring performance and adjusting plans to keep the project on track.
• Closure: Completing the project, delivering results, releasing resources and conducting a final evaluation.

Project management aims to complete projects efficiently and effectively by establishing clear structures and processes. A key part of this involves promoting collaboration and communication within the project team.

The Initiation Phase

The project team develops the idea, checks its feasibility and obtains initial approvals. They develop goals and the general framework of the project.

The Planning Phase

The project team creates detailed plans, including schedules, resource requirements, budget and risk management. Project requirements and scope are clearly defined.

The Implementation Phase

The project team implements the planned activities and monitors progress. Proper management and communication with stakeholders are crucial in this phase.

The Monitoring and Controlling Phase

The project team continuously reviews progress, measures performance and makes necessary adjustments to keep everything on track.

The Final Phsae

The project team officially ends the project after the relevant goals have been achieved. Results are handed over, resources are released and a final evaluation is carried out. Successes and lessons are documented.

Traditional and Agile projects differ fundamentally in their approach.

Traditional projects

These follow a waterfall model, which provides a linear sequence of phases: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and closure. The scope is set at the beginning and remains unchanged throughout. Detailed planning and extensive documentation are key, and changes are difficult to implement.

Classic projects

In contrast, Agile teams work iteratively and incrementally. They are divided into short cycles (sprints) that involve regular feedback loops. This flexibility allows requirements to be continuously adapted. The focus is on working products and prototypes rather than extensive documentation. Agile teams are self-organizing and make decisions together, which enables rapid adjustments and continuous improvements.

In summary, traditional projects offer stability and predictability through fixed plans and comprehensive documentation, while Agile projects emphasize flexibility and adaptability through iterative processes and continuous feedback.

Project portfolio management (PPM) is concerned with the strategic management of a collection of projects to achieve business objectives. In this context, projects are of central importance as they are the building blocks that make up the entire portfolio. Here are some key roles that projects play in the PPM context:

Strategic direction

Projects are selected and prioritized to ensure they contribute to achieving the company’s strategic goals. PPM helps identify the right projects that will deliver maximum benefit and value.

 Resource allocation

In PPM, resources (such as personnel, budget and time) are distributed optimally across projects. This ensures that the available resources are used efficiently and that no overloads or bottlenecks arise.

Risk management

PPM provides a holistic view of risks and their impact on the entire project portfolio. A coordinated risk management strategy makes sure that risks can be better identified and mitigated.

Performance monitoring

In PPM, the progress and performance of each project is continuously monitored. This allows problems to be identified early and corrective measures to be initiated in a timely manner.

Optimization and balance

PPM ensures a balanced portfolio by encouraging balance between short and long-term projects, different risk levels and different business objectives. This promotes a sustainable and robust project landscape.

Synergy effects

When you manage projects as part of a portfolio, you can more easily identify and exploit synergies. This can lead to cost savings and efficiency gains by leveraging shared resources and technologies.

Overall, PPM helps you to stop looking at projects in isolation, but place them in a larger, strategic context. This enables companies to better manage their projects, achieve their goals more effectively and maximize the overall value of their project portfolio.

The iron triangle of project management (also known as the project management triangle, the Eisenhower Method or the Eisenhower Principle) is a model that represents the three main constraints of a project: time, cost, and quality (often referred to as scope). These three elements are interrelated and influence each other.

• To reduce the time, you may need to add additional resources (cost) or reduce the scope (quality).
• In order to reduce costs, you may need to extend the timeline (time) or limit the scope (quality).
• When you expand the scope (quality), you usually also increase costs and time.

The goal is to find a balance between these three factors and ensure that the project achieves the set objectives while taking these constraints into account.