Project management - what is it? Advantages and disadvantages

Project management is an integral element of the modern management system in Russia. Many domestic and foreign companies use project management to improve the quality of products and services, reduce costs, increase profits. What is project management and what are its main advantages?

What is a project?

The concept of "project" can be interpreted in completely different ways. The first option assumes as a set of documentation, according to which the construction of a building or structure is possible. This article will discuss the second meaning of the word "project".

There are a lot of definitions of the project, although they all agree on one thing: a project is an idea that involves the implementation of a specific material task in a limited period of time. At the same time, the main features of the project are called:

If all three conditions are met, then the set of activities can be called a project.

Programs and project portfolios

Projects are often grouped into programs and portfolios. At the same time, programs are a set of projects that are united by a common goal. For example, a program to improve the quality of education for the population may include projects to increase teachers' salaries by 20%, the construction of 15 new schools, and the release of 26 new textbooks in basic subjects.

A project portfolio brings together projects financed from a single source, regardless of their objectives. For example, Company N's portfolio of projects may include charity projects, the construction of a new corporate office, the celebration of the director's anniversary, and an increase in annual turnover by 10%.

Projects in portfolios and programs should also have the three main features described above.

Basic principles of project management

In view of the dynamically developing market for technologies designed to facilitate the management process, it is difficult to name specific methods that fully describe project management.

Project management includes many approaches and tools and is based on the following basic principles:

Methods of stimulating project participants

The stimulation of project participants is usually given special attention when project management is selected to perform specific tasks. Project management usually includes tangible and intangible motivational mechanisms.

Financial incentives include bonuses, fines, additional payments for early completion of intermediate tasks.

Non-material methods of motivation include certificates and disciplinary gifts in the form of time off, as well as the deployment of competition among project participants as part of a competitive competition.

Main stages of project management

Project management takes place through the stages of the project life cycle and the phases of the complexity of management. The relationship of stages and phases is given in the table below.

Thus, the areas of project management include financial, personnel, structural areas of the organization.

Applications of project management

The project management structure includes the division of all the work of the organization into projects that are limited in terms of time and targets. At the same time, a team of each project and a team of project managers are formed, who report to the manager on the progress of their project.

In this regard, project management is used, as a rule, in organizations of various industries and sizes, with a wide range of simultaneously executed orders. However, in small businesses, he also uses project management to solve specific problems of modernizing production or, for example, introducing a new product.

Project management in the construction industry

In the construction industry, the application of project management methodology is especially relevant. In companies that perform the functions of a customer or contractor, project management uses a natural division of work into projects (according to the product principle, that is, the construction of each building is a separate project), and the top management structure practically does not require serious reorganization.

The design organization is also often managed on a project basis, successfully using already established design teams as the project team.

Project management in state structures

Project management in government bodies is a fairly new trend of our time. The program-target method of management, which has been developing since the Soviet period, has now taken the form of project management throughout the country. Now, to solve strategically important tasks for the state, programs are used that include individual projects with target indicators and implementation deadlines. However, the very methodology for managing such programs is still far from ideal and requires modernization and updating.

Experience in implementing project management in the Belgorod region

Project-based public administration is well established throughout the world. In Russia, there is experience in applying this technology in the Belgorod region.

This large-scale experiment affected almost all aspects of the civil service in the Belgorod region. Among the main elements are training in project management, organizational and methodological support, on-site inspections, motivation, assessment of employees' competencies, expert commissions for reviewing projects.

The project management of the Belgorod region now includes collegial bodies of project management:

• Interdepartmental commission that manages project activities.
• Industry expert commissions that decide on the opening/closing of projects.
• Regional project office that controls compliance with the project management methodology.

The principle of "one window"

As part of the transition to project management, in 2010 the Belgorod Region switched to coordinating investment projects through the “one window” system, which is now well known in Moscow. The role of this window is just performed by one of the newly introduced services - the regional project office. Now, exactly one month after applying to the project office, the business entity receives a document on approval.

Automated information system "Project management"

Information and technical support for project management in the Belgorod region is carried out through the automated information system (AIS) "Project Management". It is a web-based application that does not require installation of additional software and performs the following functions for projects, portfolios and programs:

• Maintaining a registry (database).
• Calendar planning.
• Budgeting.
• Monitoring implementation at the regional and municipal levels.
• Distribution of powers and responsibilities of the team.
• Making changes to content.
• Notification system about upcoming and upcoming events for projects.
• Document flow.
• Automated analytical reporting.
• Integration with the electronic Government of the Belgorod region.

Advantages and disadvantages of project management

The described experience of implementing project management in the Belgorod region turned out to be successful. The effect of these changes was expressed primarily in an increase in the growth rate of the gross regional product by 0.1% (more than 3 billion rubles), a decrease in the time spent on project approval (by 2 months for each project) and an increase in the rate of development of investments in the region by 23 %. However, the most important result is the formation of project thinking among employees who actively analyze and try to solve the problem, sometimes even with non-standard, innovative methods.

Motivation and restructuring of the management structure made it possible to obtain a positive effect not only for the civil service, but also for business, creating a favorable investment climate and removing barriers to entrepreneurship.

The population of the region now takes an active part in the selection and control of the implementation of important strategic projects. For people, project management is an opportunity to use high-quality services and high mobility.

However, despite all the advantages of the project management structure, there are also disadvantages of this approach.

First of all, the transition period. It takes a certain time for the project team to work together and perform its functions as a well-coordinated mechanism.

Secondly, when implementing project management in an enterprise, the search for a good project manager can be delayed. Very high requirements are imposed on the personal and professional qualities of the project manager: comprehensive qualifications, complete immersion in the project, experience in managing projects of the required specifics.

The third disadvantage of project management can be considered the need to split the company's resources between projects. In "poor" firms, this may not be feasible at all. Project managers will have to "fight" for funding and personnel, which is unacceptable in conditions of total control of all stages

One of the most important disadvantages of the project management path in an organization is the employment of the project team members and the project manager after the completion of the project. As you know, the workload of the team is the most important rule of a successful business, and in the case of project work, groups of specialists “hanging in the air” regularly appear, which at once lose their constant workload.

Summarizing the above, we can conclude that project management is an integral part of the modern business space, and studying its foundations is simply necessary for competent management decision-making both at the state level and within a single business.