The blog post by David Hartshorne begins with covering the basics of what project management is. Project management covers the overall facets of how to meet and achieve the deadlines of a project such as setting goals, meetings, and communicating and collaborating the the stakeholders/customers. This is all done in order to insure that tasks are completed in an efficient and timely manner to avoid mistakes or possible challenges from popping up. The blog then moves into have many different types of companies from software to construction as examples that use project management. The main types of projects are,

Predictive: Follow a linear timeline between phases

Adaptive: Short periods of work with frequent check-ins and feedback

Hybrid: A blend of the two

There are also five main phases to the process of a project which are,

Initiating: Laying the foundation of the project including understanding the project scope, main overview and budget

Planning: Define members roles, goals, time tables, and needed resources

Executing: The start of the project, institute changes and suggestions as needed

Monitoring: Check-ins and consistent communication, keep and eye on the goals and overall task at hand

Closing: Deliver the project, Conduct overview on the project on what went good and bad and where to improve

I chose this blog post due to its depth on the topic of what project management is. The blog focuses on the overall scope of the project and all of the possible avenues that need to be considered from tools to aid the process, team members and their roles, phases, tips, and the main areas of management. I also was attracted to this topic due to its application to industry as having a key understanding of project management is needed when either running a project or being the best team member that you can be. Having read the blog, there has been a fundamental shift in how I view projects and my role in them and my other team members. The need to constant communication has only been further reinforced as the backbone of a solid project. Clear defining of roles and goals is also needed to ensure that everyone knows what they need to do. With goals, something that also stuck with me is to keep the prioritization of the goals that need to be completed all within a realistic scope. This stuck out to me as I often feel like and find that scope creep can quickly seep into projects and teams and take hold. I have also begun looking into and pursing how to apply the suggested team-based tools like roadmaps and time management software to help keep me on task and use on future projects such as some of the suggested software like “Waterfall” and “Agile”. This blog was an excellent source on information on the management process and I encourage everyone to read it for themselves.

Works Cited

Hartshorne, David. “A Guide to Project Management.” Monday.com Blog, 20 Dec. 2020, monday.com/blog/project-management/guide-to-project-management/

From the blog CS@Worcester – Dan's Blog by Daniel Fung-A-Fat and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.