Focuses on the training and development needs of admin professionals and features topics such as hard skills (software competencies, writing, communication, filing) and soft skills (teamwork, time management, leadership).
Issue link: https://digital.hrreporter.com/i/729408
OCTOBER 2016 6 6 Credit: canbedone/Shutterstock Project management: Let's look at the terminology By Rhonda Scharf Whether your company uses the term project management and deliberately applies its terminology and principles doesn't matter; the reality is that Proj- ect Management is now part of every admin's working life. Let's clarify the term. Put simply, project management is a problem scheduled to be solved. Project management gives struc- ture to a project by applying a specific set of tools and principles. Project management is filled with contradictions and exceptions, which can be frustrating. Understanding the terminology is the first step. What is a project? • A project has a deadline, as well as identifiable beginning and end points. It isn't an ongoing or recur- ring task such as calendaring or weekly board meetings. Projects have a set beginning, middle and end. • A clearly defined goal is also im- portant. Your project will have a specific end result that will define its success. A project wouldn't be something like improving the morale in the company, because that would be too difficult to measure and too general to have a specific end result. A clearly defined goal might be to install new payroll software, which will be up and running by January 1. • Projects almost always have a budget allocation. If a to-do item doesn't come with a specific budget, I tend to think of it as a task, or a short-term assignment. However, project man - agement is filled with contradictions, so it is possible to have an actual project without a specific budget. • Most projects involve multiple peo- ple. Think of arranging a corporate awards banquet. While you might be the only person coordinating all the aspects of the event, there are others involved, such as the venue staff, caterers, florist, etc. A current buzzword in business these days is stakeholder, a term often used in project management. A project stakeholder is "an individ- ual, group or organization who may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity or outcome of a project" (Project Man- agement Institute, 2013). Identify all stakeholders A lot of people can be involved in any business decision. Your stakeholders include people commissioning the project, people funding the project, and quite possibly people to whom you, as project manager, report. Other stakeholders are the custom- ers or clients. These are the people who will be the recipients of the work involved in the project. They may or may not participate in the project itself. Look after sponsor, customers Looking at our example of the corpo- rate awards banquet, there will also be a sponsor. It is likely someone in HR who has decided the company needs to have an awards banquet. Your customers will be the employees attending the event; each of them is a stakeholder. Each project has someone in charge: a project manager. (Some companies use the term team leader.) This is not necessarily a supervisory position. Just because you have a team, or are the manager of the project, does not mean you are in "management" or have a team of people reporting to you. It means you manage the project, but not necessar - ily people. Continued on page 7