Project Management Summary (Part 3)
Today I would like to summarize some study material I went through in preparation for an assignment that I’ll be making in the upcoming month and, prepare myself for the exam at the end of October. I’m going to write about operations management and organizational project management.
So what is Operations Management? It deals with the ongoing production of goods and/or services. Furthermore, it makes sure business activities continue efficiently by using the optimal resources needed to meet the demand of customers.
Next, we have organizational project management. Portfolios, programs and projects are aligned with organizational strategies and differ in the way each contributes to the achievement of strategic goals: 1) Portfolio management aligns portfolios with organizational strategies by selecting the right programs or projects, prioritizing the work and providing the needed resources. 2) Program management harmonizes its program components and controls interdependencies in order to realize specified benefits. 3) Project management enables the achievement of organizational goals and objectives.
Next we’ll talk briefly about Project life cycles. A project life cycle is the series of phases that a project passes through from its start to its completion. Due to the fact that life cycles involve the development of a product, they are also called development life cycles. There are five main life cycles:
1) A predictive life cycle, where the project scope, time and cost are determined in the early phases of the life cycle.
2) An iterative life cycle, where the project scope is generally determined early in the project life cycle, but time and cost estimates are routinely modified as the project team’s understanding of the product increases.
3) An incremental life cycle, where the deliverable is produced through a series of iterations that successively add functionality within a predetermined time frame.
4) An adaptive life cycle, which is agile iterative or incremental, involves defining a detailed scope and the approval thereof before the start of an iteration.
5) A hybrid life cycle, which is a combination of a predictive or adaptive life cycle.
Project life cycles are independent of product life cycles, which may be produced by a project. A product life cycle is the series of phases that represent the evolution of a product, from concept through delivery, growth, maturity, and to retirement.
That’s it for today, have a nice weekend!