Frequently Asked Questions

Project management is the practice of applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to complete a project according to specific requirements.

Proper execution of this practice comes down to identifying the problem, creating a plan to solve the problem, and then executing that plan until the problem has been solved. That may sound simple, but there is a lot that goes into it at every stage of the process. With the proper management plan, the project will be completed on time and within budget.

• The main function of a project management office involves the comprehensive support of project managers.
• Establishing project management methodology, standards, and best practices.
• A PMO is responsible for developing common frameworks used by all project participants (team members, stakeholders, project managers) in their work on projects. In addition, a project management office provides all necessary project documentation (templates, policies, etc.).
• Making sure that university’s projects are aligned with business objectives.
• A PMO analyzes a university’s short- and long-term business objectives and helps prioritize projects accordingly.
• Managing shared resources across all projects.
• Facilitating communication and collaboration between teams.

The five project management process groups are:

• Initiating: The goal for this phase is to define the project.
• Planning: This phase includes developing a roadmap for everyone to follow.
• Executing and Monitoring: In this stage, the project team is built, and deliverables are created. PMs (Project Manager) will monitor and measure project performance to ensure it stays on track.
• Closing: The project is completed, a post-mortem is held, and the project is transferred to another team who will maintain it.

PMBOK officially recognizes 47 typical project management processes, organized into 10 knowledge areas:

• Project communication management: Processes that disseminate information among team members and external stakeholders, ensuring that data is exchanged continuously, and more importantly, understood by all concerned.
• Project cost management: Processes regarding budgets, funding, spending allocation, and timing. Cost management is dependent on activity estimates from time management.
• Project human resources management: Processes involving managing your project team, like sourcing, hiring, assigning roles, professional development, and fostering team spirit.
• Project integration management: Processes necessary to define, consolidate, and coordinate all the other processes and project management activities. These processes are vital in setting expectations and keeping communication lines open.
• Project procurement management: Processes for planning, budgeting, and purchasing resources — whether physical or informational — to complete work.
• Project quality management: Processes that define a project’s success or criteria for considering the task complete. The team manages quality at every stage of the project, from planning to continuous performance improvement.
• Project risk management: Processes involved with preparing for and managing unexpected risks.
• Project scope management: Processes managing the scope or parameters of a project. These processes ensure the range is well-defined and that all requirements remain within the limit.
• Project stakeholder management: Processes that identify who will be impacted by the project and manage relationships with them, including strategies for collaborating with stakeholders on project direction and execution.
• Project time management: Processes needed to ensure the project is completed before the specified deadline.

• Communication
• Consultation
• Educational
• Integration
• IT Construction
• Management
• Networking
• Organizational change
• Research and development
• Software
• Technology
• Web

• A team dedicated to multi-project management and keeping track of all the processes, changes, conflicts, risks and decisions
• Increased project efficiency and quality while reducing project risk
• Improved communication across projects and across the entire organization
• Effective transfer of knowledge, applying best practices and minimizing errors

Project portfolio management (PPM) is the centralized management of an organization’s projects. While these projects may be related, they are managed under one umbrella, called a portfolio, to provide oversight and manage competing resources. 

The Project Management Institute (PMI) defines a project as "a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result."

A predictive methodology project, incorporating the five stages of initiation, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing, can be defined as a sequential approach where project activities progress steadily downward through these stages, with each stage completed before the next one begins. Predictive methodology is ideal for projects where the objectives are clearly outlined from the beginning and is best suited for projects that require predictability. Unlike Agile, which allows for flexibility and iterative development, predictive methodology follows a strict sequence of stages, ensuring that each phase is completed before moving on to the next.

An adaptive methodology project is one that follows adaptive principles and practices, emphasizing flexibility, collaboration, iterative development, and delivering value to customers in short iterations. Adaptive projects typically involve cross-functional teams working in short cycles called sprints or iterations to deliver incremental improvements and respond to changing requirements. 

The Agile Manifesto is a foundational document that outlines the core values and principles of Agile software development. It was created in 2001 by a group of software developers who sought to establish a set of guiding principles for more effective and Agile approaches to software development. The Agile Manifesto consists of four key values and twelve principles that emphasize customer collaboration, iterative development, flexibility, and responding to change over following rigid processes and plans. For more information on the Agile manifesto, you can visit agilemanifesto.org  

The term "Scrum project" typically refers to a project management framework known as Scrum. In Scrum, teams work in short, iterative cycles called sprints to deliver increments of work, typically lasting two to four weeks. The Scrum framework emphasizes collaboration, flexibility, and continuous improvement, with key roles including the Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team. Scrum projects prioritize delivering high value features early and frequently, enabling teams to adapt to changing requirements and deliver customer value more effectively. 

A hybrid project refers to a project management approach that combines elements of different methodologies or frameworks, such as waterfall and agile, to suit the specific needs and circumstances of the project. In a hybrid project, certain aspects of the project may be managed using traditional, sequential approaches (e.g., waterfall) while other aspects are managed using more iterative and flexible methods (e.g., agile). The goal of a hybrid approach is to leverage the strengths of different methodologies to maximize project efficiency, flexibility, and success, tailored to the unique requirements of the project and organization. 

The business analyst (BA) is the primary liaison between project/program stakeholders, who understands business needs, structure, processes, policies and operations. The BA recommends and assesses impacts of changes that enable the organization to achieve its goals; captures, analyzes, and documents requirements; and supports the communication and delivery of those requirements to the stakeholders. The BA is sometimes expected to also play the role of a systems analyst (a subject matter expert for the technical solution) and bridge the gap between the business problem and the technology solution.

Change management refers to the tools and processes used to manage change within a project and its team.

To fully understand the definition of change management, you must break it up into its two components: change and project management:

• Change: This is anything that transforms or impacts projects, tasks, processes, structures, or even job functions
• Project management: This refers to the process of managing a project team and monitoring their activities to meet project goals

The change management process often consists of a project manager and a dedicated change management team. The manager oversees team members’ work to ensure they successfully incorporate change into their practices and achieve the overall project objectives. Team responsibilities can include liaising with stakeholders, developing training programs, and tracking engagement.

Change management in project management is a combination of managing change and managing people (teams and stakeholders) to incorporate change. It significantly impacts how motivated employees are and how teams perform.

Change and project management aim to achieve specific outcomes but approach them from different perspectives.

Project management focuses on executing a specific endeavor with a defined start and end date, as well as constraints around scope, resources, and budget. It involves planning, organizing, and directing resources (people, equipment, and materials) to achieve project goals.

Change management, on the other hand, is a system for dealing with the transformation of a company’s objectives or processes. It can fall under project management or stand by itself. Change management implements strategies for effecting change, controlling change, and helping people adapt to change.

To visualize the connection between project management and change management, think of the former as delivering a technical solution on time and within budget, and the latter as a way of ensuring that changes within a project or organization are smoothly implemented and lasting benefits are achieved.

In the first change management example above, project management would ensure that an EHR system is built to fit the hospital’s needs and requirements and change management would onboard and train all hospital employees to use the new system to improve performance across the board.