Almost everyone has managed a project at some point in their lives, either domestically or professionally. If you’ve remodeled a bathroom, planned a wedding, or implemented a new software system at work, you’ve managed a project—likely without giving the concept of “project management” a single thought.
Though the steps we take to accomplish our goals—such as planning, doing, and troubleshooting—can be intuitive, a more externalized, systematic approach can be more efficient, effective and successful.
“Most people who manage projects at work aren’t in the profession of ‘project management,’” said Jeff Rand, project manager in the training simulations group at General Dynamics Mission Systems. “A project is anything with tangible results—deliverables—that have to occur within a definite period of time. There are certain tools that can really help these things go more smoothly.
Higher education professionals are often charged with these kinds of responsibilities, but don’t necessarily have the training required to move methodically through the process, Rand observed. Below you’ll find information about the basic components of project management, and learn about an opportunity to deepen your project management understanding and skill through AACRAO’s online professional development courses.
Start at the end
“What’s your objective?” Rand asks. “You start there and work backwards. What are the incremental steps you need to get there?”
To be efficient, start with a clearly-defined project, broken down into component parts. These include:
- Initiation. Define the project objectives, stakeholders, and project team.
- Planning. Create a schedule, document plans, and define deliverables.
- Execution. Move through the activities involved in completing the work to produce the deliverables.
- Closure. Verify the project met the requirements, ensure all stakeholders are satisfied and acceptance criteria are met.
This structure can be helpful when you’re responsible for implementing a new system, creating a new process or putting new policies into place—things that AACRAOans are doing every day.
“These principles are great, and easy to understand. With a few hours of study, you can get the basics of project management down,” Rand said. “But the problem is—projects never go exactly as planned.”
Plan for Mr. Murphy
“You can have everything perfectly lined up—the right people, the right skill levels, no scheduling conflicts. That’s where our friend Mr. Murphy always shows up,” Rand said, referring to Murphy’s inevitable Law. “Developing the project management mindset—the real art of the job—is to start asking yourself: ‘What’s going to go wrong?’”
Rand recommends a “risk register,” which:
- Identifies predictable problems.
- Assesses the likelihood of each and prioritizes them accordingly.
- Establishes ways to mitigate the most likely issues.
“People who are really good at project management are good at heading off potential risks before they become problems,” Rand said.
Register now
To develop your project management competencies, consider enrolling in AACRAO’s two-week Essentials of Project Management course, taught by Rand.
“My goal with this course is to take the mystery out of why some projects work and some don’t,” Rand said. “We’ll discuss the mechanics and the mindset, and give people a system so they have a level of comfort and ease with taking on projects.”
The course will be held three times this year—May 16 to 29, August 8 to 20 and November 7 to 19.
To learn more and to register, visit the Essentials of Project Management page.