The Most Extensive Project Management Guide for 2024
Project management is a discipline with which it is possible to create new things quickly, consistently, and in an organized manner.
If you’re interested in project management, you already are or plan to become a project manager, or you’ve been given this role without requesting it. In this case, you’re an “accidental project manager.”
Whatever the case, learning project management will help you not only in your career but also in your everyday life. Planning a trip, redecorating your house, or starting a new business are just a few projects you might encounter. Understanding project management and how it works will also help you with your projects.
In this article, I cover the basics of the main project management topics. At the same time, each section offers a link to an in-depth article on that topic with detailed information, templates, and actionable advice. The articles are constantly updated with the latest developments in the project management field.
Since there is much information to read and digest, please bookmark this article and return to it whenever you have time or want to dig deeper.
1. What is project management?
Project management is the process and the ability to plan, organize, and execute a project from start to finish. It involves defining the project scope, creating a schedule, managing resources, tracking progress, and delivering the project on time and within budget.
In a nutshell, project management helps deliver a valuable outcome by applying specific strategies and expertise and using specific tools.
The process, or “the project,” is a set of temporary actions to create value through unique processes, products, or services. A project combines tasks, activities, and deliverables to achieve the desired outcome.
Read more about the basics of project management.
2. How to become a project manager
The project manager is a professional responsible for overseeing and coordinating all aspects of a project, from start to finish. He must ensure the project is completed on time, within budget, and to a specific quality standard.
You must complete a formal project management certification or program degree to become an accredited project manager. However, not all project managers are accredited. These are accidental project managers because they’ve been attributed this role when no one else was available for the job.
Besides the formal certification, to become a project manager, you must also develop soft skills and invest time into understanding the field you’re working on. The most essential skills are communication and negotiation, leadership, organization, problem-solving, attention to detail, accountability, and critical thinking.
This complete project manager guide offers all the information you need and the step-by-step process you need to go through to become a successful project manager.
3. Project manager responsibilities
Whichever career path you choose, the first thing you do is have a clear understanding of your responsibilities. When you know what you’re responsible for, you have clarity and focus and stay out of trouble.
Although the list is quite long, these are the most critical responsibilities:
- Delivering the project on schedule and within the allocated budget.
- Ensuring that the project meets the required quality standards and specifications.
- Managing the project team and resources effectively to achieve the project objectives.
- Overseeing the project planning, monitoring, and control processes to keep the project on track.
- Addressing any issues or risks during the project and implementing appropriate solutions.
Or, let’s put it this way: the stakeholders — the people interested in the project — are happy when the project is completed on time, within budget, meets the agreed-upon quality standards, and, if possible, without too much hassle.
In this article, we look at an extensive list of pm responsibilities and how to ensure you do your project manager job properly.
4. Product manager vs. project manager
Product manager and project manager are two roles often mixed up, especially in a tech company. Why? Besides the fact that they sound similar, they also overlap in qualifications and skills. Often, the same person does both jobs (without even knowing it).
Things get clearer after we understand the difference between a product and a project.
A project is often undertaken to create or deliver a product, service, or outcome, whereas a product is the project’s result. A product often requires ongoing maintenance and support, while a project is completed when the goals are achieved.
The product manager role is more strategic. The product manager is the person who sets and owns the product direction, staying with it until the product is removed from the market. He talks to customers to gather requirements, identifies problems, decides which opportunities to go after, creates a product roadmap based on specific features, and prioritizes development tickets.
The project manager role is rather tactical. The project manager takes the product vision from the product manager, develops a project plan, and ensures the development teams hit the goals and deadlines. Simply put, the project manager is responsible for delivering the product within the agreed budget, time, and quality.
This product vs. project manager guide explains the differences in more detail while answering the critical question, “Can you handle both roles simultaneously?”
5. Project management phases/life cycle
Each project goes through a set of steps from creation to completion. In theory, there’s a small debate regarding the number of phases: some say five, and some say four. In practice, though, they are the same:
- Project initiation phase
- Project planning phase
- Project execution, monitoring, and control phase*
- Project closure phase
*Some split this into two: the project execution phase and the project and control phase
The first phase is dedicated to determining client requirements and analyzing whether or not you have the essential resources to complete the project . . .
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