Project Management Fundamentals

What Are Project Management Fundamentals?

To manage any project successfully you must have a good handle on project management fundamentals, like Cost, Schedule, and Scope.

• Cost
• Schedule
• Scope

The Cost determines how much money will be spent to complete the work. It can serve as both a budget and a measure against work completed.

The Schedule is how much time the work will take to complete. It is broken down into deliverables, dependencies, and tasks.

The Scope is the work defined in the project that is to be completed. Regardless of project methodology, work units must be defined in a way that can be tracked. For example, a task may be defined, in progress, or completed.

The Triple Constraint

What is the Triple Constraint? Completing projects successfully always comes down to balancing the Triple Constraint of Scope, Schedule, and Cost. It is sometimes referred to as the “long pole in the tent”.

It is known as a constraint because one or more of these limits the project from being completed.

For instance, you might have the budget, but if people to complete the work are not available, the schedule is negatively impacted and my keep completion of the work from being accomplished.

Or, you might have the right team and an appropriate budget, but if the requirements keep changing, the Scope is altered and becomes the constraint that makes completing the Schedule elusive.

Project Organization

Project Sponsor

The person or group to whom the Project Manager reports. They may be responsible for funding and also be accountable for project success.

Project Manager

The person responsible for the everyday activities of managing and monitoring the project is the Project Manager. This person may be accountable for the success of the project also. They provide status and monitor the overall health of the project. They communicate with the Sponsor and the Stakeholders as well as the Project Team.