Introduction to Project Management
DATE: 01.06.2025
Learning outcomes
● Analyse the fundamentals of project management to grasp its core principles and practices.
● Arrange project teams strategically to leverage diverse skills and expertise.
● Assess project leadership strategies to inspire and guide teams towards project success.
● Discuss the difference between Agile project management and traditional project
management.
● List and identify the tools available to project managers.
● Explain the stages of the risk management process and risk mitigation strategies.
● Classify project management documentation to ensure accurate recording and reporting of
project progress.
● Combine effective communication strategies to facilitate collaboration and alignment among
project stakeholders.
Project Management: Overview and Definition
● Projects are singular but non-routine events with precise objectives that must be achieved
within a set timeframe.
● They are broken into activities designed to fulfil the stated objectives. Examples of projects
include building a house, holding an event like a party, or even completing a school
assignment.
● The Project Management Institute (PMI) defines a project as a temporary endeavour to
create a unique product, service, etc.
● Project management requires the appropriate organisation of people, equipment, and
procedures to complete a project within a set timeframe and budget.
● A Project Manager is responsible for coordinating all these resources to achieve the project
objective.
● So, why do we need project management?
● Well, Organizations use project management techniques to ensure that their organizational
and system objectives are being met in a timely, accurate, relevant, and complete manner.
They provide a way of controlling people, resources, and procedures and identifying the
tasks that must be completed and the desired completion time.
, ● When planning a project, you need to identify your project's requirements and objectives,
ensuring everyone understands the goal of the project.
● Understanding and addressing all the needs will not only help ensure your project's
successful completion to the satisfaction of your stakeholders. But it will help you identify the
constraints of your project.
Project Constraints
All projects have constraints.
1. Cost: the project's budget, including the expenses needed for developing the project. Many
projects that receive funds or grants have contract clauses with a "use it or lose it"
approach. You will lose all the funds given if you don't use them. Projects can't go over
budget without eventually requiring corrective action.
2. Scope: The scope is what the project is trying to achieve, or one could say the scope is
the reason and purpose of the project.
3. Quality: the project must meet the standards, specifications, and requirements.
4. Risk: the events that will/can occur and the impact on the project
5. Resources: the people, requirements, and materials available for the project. Time and
budget could also be considered resources.
6. Time is the time it takes to complete the project, whether the amount of time it takes or
the amount of time set out for the project to be completed.
Note: Every project has primary constraints that compete against each other. These
primary constraints include schedule, scope, and cost, which is why the triangle of
constraints is called the triple constraint. A project manager must maintain the
ever-changing balance between these, as projects are prone to change.
, Types of Projects
While there are many different types of projects there are three primary ones.
● Strategic Projects: Projects that create something new, a product, a service, or even a new
store location, are strategic projects.
● Operational Projects: These are projects that improve the current operations.
● Compliance Projects are projects that comply with laws and regulations. Often, there is no
choice but to implement them due to the need to comply with the law.
● History of Project types: The history of project management can be traced back through
human history, from building the great pyramids of Egypt to the medieval castles of Europe.
However, it was only after the 1950s that the techniques, tools, and methodologies of
modern-day project management started to be developed.
● These traditional techniques have been refined and standardised by organisations such as
the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the US, The International Project Management
Association (headquartered in Switzerland), and AXELOS (the organisation behind the
PRINCE2 certification used in Great Britain).
● These processes and methods were adapted for software development, but as software
development evolved from large, slow-moving projects to fast-paced, adaptable projects,
traditional methods were not flexible enough. This led to the development of the Agile
DATE: 01.06.2025
Learning outcomes
● Analyse the fundamentals of project management to grasp its core principles and practices.
● Arrange project teams strategically to leverage diverse skills and expertise.
● Assess project leadership strategies to inspire and guide teams towards project success.
● Discuss the difference between Agile project management and traditional project
management.
● List and identify the tools available to project managers.
● Explain the stages of the risk management process and risk mitigation strategies.
● Classify project management documentation to ensure accurate recording and reporting of
project progress.
● Combine effective communication strategies to facilitate collaboration and alignment among
project stakeholders.
Project Management: Overview and Definition
● Projects are singular but non-routine events with precise objectives that must be achieved
within a set timeframe.
● They are broken into activities designed to fulfil the stated objectives. Examples of projects
include building a house, holding an event like a party, or even completing a school
assignment.
● The Project Management Institute (PMI) defines a project as a temporary endeavour to
create a unique product, service, etc.
● Project management requires the appropriate organisation of people, equipment, and
procedures to complete a project within a set timeframe and budget.
● A Project Manager is responsible for coordinating all these resources to achieve the project
objective.
● So, why do we need project management?
● Well, Organizations use project management techniques to ensure that their organizational
and system objectives are being met in a timely, accurate, relevant, and complete manner.
They provide a way of controlling people, resources, and procedures and identifying the
tasks that must be completed and the desired completion time.
, ● When planning a project, you need to identify your project's requirements and objectives,
ensuring everyone understands the goal of the project.
● Understanding and addressing all the needs will not only help ensure your project's
successful completion to the satisfaction of your stakeholders. But it will help you identify the
constraints of your project.
Project Constraints
All projects have constraints.
1. Cost: the project's budget, including the expenses needed for developing the project. Many
projects that receive funds or grants have contract clauses with a "use it or lose it"
approach. You will lose all the funds given if you don't use them. Projects can't go over
budget without eventually requiring corrective action.
2. Scope: The scope is what the project is trying to achieve, or one could say the scope is
the reason and purpose of the project.
3. Quality: the project must meet the standards, specifications, and requirements.
4. Risk: the events that will/can occur and the impact on the project
5. Resources: the people, requirements, and materials available for the project. Time and
budget could also be considered resources.
6. Time is the time it takes to complete the project, whether the amount of time it takes or
the amount of time set out for the project to be completed.
Note: Every project has primary constraints that compete against each other. These
primary constraints include schedule, scope, and cost, which is why the triangle of
constraints is called the triple constraint. A project manager must maintain the
ever-changing balance between these, as projects are prone to change.
, Types of Projects
While there are many different types of projects there are three primary ones.
● Strategic Projects: Projects that create something new, a product, a service, or even a new
store location, are strategic projects.
● Operational Projects: These are projects that improve the current operations.
● Compliance Projects are projects that comply with laws and regulations. Often, there is no
choice but to implement them due to the need to comply with the law.
● History of Project types: The history of project management can be traced back through
human history, from building the great pyramids of Egypt to the medieval castles of Europe.
However, it was only after the 1950s that the techniques, tools, and methodologies of
modern-day project management started to be developed.
● These traditional techniques have been refined and standardised by organisations such as
the Project Management Institute (PMI) in the US, The International Project Management
Association (headquartered in Switzerland), and AXELOS (the organisation behind the
PRINCE2 certification used in Great Britain).
● These processes and methods were adapted for software development, but as software
development evolved from large, slow-moving projects to fast-paced, adaptable projects,
traditional methods were not flexible enough. This led to the development of the Agile
