Everything in life is a project whether you make a team, hiring a team, launching a new campaign in the market, or doing anything in finance. And, if you don’t know how to manage the project and achieve it 100%, then it will definitely fail. If you go as per the framework of project management for managing your project, then you will achieve your 100% goal. # **What is a Project?** The institute of project management called PMI (Project Management Institute) gives this definition of the project – “A project is a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.” Let us take an example to understand why the project is said to be a temporary endeavour. If you want to hire people, you cannot make it a project because hiring is on-going while the project is temporary and get closed. On the other hand, if you want to hire a CEO, COO, Head of Operations, or Head of Marketing, then this can be considered as a project and it will finish when you hire him/her. # **What is Project Management?** Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities for meeting the project requirements. In other words, when you use all the four things, i.e. knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques for the completion of your project, then it becomes project management. Now, suppose you have defined the project but what are the frameworks or steps of management because of which the project stands and you can complete that project from start till end. Let us discuss these steps in detail. # **Steps in Project Management** **`1. Initiation –`** It means ****when you conceive a project, you thought about it. Suppose you thought to hire a CEO in the company, then you have conceived the project. **`2. Planning –`** There should be a proper plan and a team for the project. Suppose you have to hire a COO, then first you need to hire the Head of HR or Consultant, who will hire COO. The HR or consultant will conduct 10-15 interviews for you. After interviewing 20 people, you will hire one COO. **`3. Execution –`** Planning is done for the project. Suppose after 20 days, 60 days, or 90 days, you have to hire a COO in the company. So, who and how will it be executed. Either your Head of HR, HR Consultant, or maybe you have a very smart HR Resource, who has contacts in the market will bring candidates for the interview of COO. In this hiring project, a couple of interviews will happen after 5 days, some more interviews are done after the next 10 days, and on the 90th day, COO will be selected to whom offer letter should have been sent and its acceptance has been received. After that, several other activities are also performed like if COO has to be given some advance payment, which should be given to him, he will get designation; he will know about the company, on-boarding will be done, etc. There are many parts in the project so execution is important. **`4. Monitoring and Controlling –`** The complete execution needs to be monitored. For example, you delegated an HR resource for hiring COO, then an HR Manager, Sr. Manager or HR Head will monitor whether your project is running or not. He needs to check whether the project of hiring is running as per the period decided for it or has any gap came. Like everything was going normal and suddenly corona came and everything went in lockdown. Thus, all the planning that was done before corona got on hold. In such a scenario, the companies which had done project management properly were able to win. The Business needs to move fast today because professional companies have strong project management. Every senior leader strongly owns the project and looks for end-to-end execution with no time gap. Every leader reports to the Chief Clarity Officer (COO) of Business. You have to implement exactly the same organogram in your business. As a founder or owner, you become the Chief Clarity Officer and then hire relevant people and ensure that these relevant people are able to do project management efficiently. **`5. Closing –`** It means the project that you have started should be closed with 100% achievements. You may find everything correct when the project is started but something changes in-between. Some new factors came which you have never thought of and due to these new factors, the project might extent. So, your project manager should be so strong and capable that he is able to execute this plan. He should not fear on extension or reduction of project days. He should be able to plan its changed costing, from where the raw material will come, what things changed, etc. Al these things can be controlled if you implement project management as a framework in your business. Project management is a critical skill that you should learn if you are a student. Above are five pillars on which project management stands. # **Ten Steps of Making Project Management Successful** **`1. Integration –`** This means *how you will be able to fit the entire project in your company. Integration is very necessary. Many times, you become so passionate about one project that you leave all other things. It should not happen that your entire focus comes on a small project and companies’ actual growth goes away. Don’t do this.* **`2. Scope -`** As a project manager, your KRA is the scope of the project. **`3. Time -`** You need to decide in how much time it is to be delivered and how much time would it take to complete it. **`4. Cost -`** The cost of the project includes human resource cost, operational cost, technical cost, etc. **Example:** How big IT companies like Wipro, TCS, and Infosys earn money? If they are making software for big international clients, then they need to decide various things like how they make these software and from where their employees’ salaries will come, etc. All this comes in project management. In these companies, the customer gives them work. The project manager decides the number of people required for it along with the total cost of their salaries and scope of work. Based on the amount he will take from the client for the project and time duration in which he will deliver the project, the fund is allocated to the project manager. **`5. Procurement –`** For projects’ success, procurement is very necessary. Procurement can be of anything. It can be of raw material, human resources, communication, funding, etc. So, procurement is critical. **`6. Human Resources –`** How many people are required, which skillset people are required, and what cost of people you will put on that project. This choice is yours. **`7. Communications -`** If there are less people in the project, say 2, then it’s easy to communicate. But if the team is big or the project requirements increase, then communication becomes a challenge. A big team can be of 5000 people and communication in such a big team becomes difficult. The KPIs and KRAs of the team will also be set by the project manager. **`8. Delay –`** Everyone knows that the project should not be extended, else the cost will increase. **`9. Risk Management –`**If you are an owner, who is a project manager or you hire a project manager, then from day 1 you should know about the potential risk of the project. The risk could be any say: - Employee leaves in-between - If any communication goes wrong - Any natural calamities if happens - No funding So, you should know and be prepared for risk management. **Example:** In real estate, builders promise that if you pay today, the flat will be yours after 5 years. But, those 5 years never come. **`10. Stakeholder Management –`** A project can have internal stakeholders and external stakeholders. Internal stakeholders are your employees and external stakeholders are your customers, partners, retailers, and distributors. And, if you are listed as a public company, then every person in the public is your stakeholder. You need to communicate with them and manage the project. **Example:** Basecamp is a US-based tool, which helps 100% to manage the project of your business successfully. It is a very easy and economical tool with an incredible team for many years. If you implement its SaaS-based software, your entire project management will be in your hands. The day you are able to manage the project, you will see that you can make your small business like Amazon, which is gathering several small projects.