5 Basic Principles of Project Management that every project manager must know

Although there are some unique methods and patterns in which project managers work; however, across the globe, project managers are united by the principles that they follow in the projects they handle.

Although, the nitty-gritty may differ; however, the basics or the fundamental principles remain the same. If you are a project manager or aspiring to be one and facing a myriad of issues in a new job role or unique challenges in the same role, you must be aware of the key principles of project management. You may use the basic principles of Project Management as the foundation to make each day of the project more lucrative.

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Here are the 5 Universal Project Management Principles:

• Address important questions at the beginning.

• Draw a plan, scope, and goal for your project.

• Communicate roles, expectations, and objectives to the team.

• Monitor progress and identify hurdles.

• Ensure all deliverables are met, then finalize the project.

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Let us see in detail each Principle at length:

 

Address important questions at the beginning of the project: It is pertinent that as a project manager we take-out time to address important issues right at the beginning of the project. For every project, no matter which domain it is into, it can always work in the same manner. For example, you are generating content for a new client or ideating on the software update, the initial blueprint must be properly laid out prior. This is one of the most important management principles. There are certain fundamental questions that must be encountered in the very beginning.

 

Draw a plan, scope, and goals for your project: The initial phases such as planning process, resources, budget, and other transitions need to be laid in the beginning. When you assess the value and ROI of the project for your company, it is pertinent to lay scope and goals also. To begin with, you must try figuring out the answer to a few basic questions such as - the main goal of this project, deliverables, resource allocation, how to handle the scope creep, risks that may occur, priorities and changing workloads if happen in mid of the project and so forth.

 

Communicate roles, expectations, and objectives to the team: Now, the next important work is communicating roles, expectations, and objectives to the team of resources. This is the non-negotiable top priority of a project and the most important principle of any project management. This must be elaborated and communicated to the team with utmost clarity. Starting from the delivering individual objectives, specific functions, and roles, laying expectations, constant progress reports and the pattern they must follow with timely updates must be conveyed in an apt manner is the job of Project Manager.

 

Monitor progress and identify hurdles: Reporting and time-bound analysis is the backbone of any Project Manager. This principle is common in every industry. The roles and responsibilities must be allocated and creating project deliverables must be shared with the team. Project Managers understands that the middle stages of any project remain busy. One of the main principles that clearly define the timeline and progress of a project is timely monitoring of the phases at every step.

 

Ensure all deliverables are met, then finalize the project: It is important as a project manager that we understand when to decide to finalize a project. Before you let your team scatter, ensure that all deliverables have been met. The step could be self-analysis, report analysis, scheduling a brief and going over the project goals whether completely met or not.

 

Depending upon the methods that one follow in a particular industry and your own experience you must figure out the methods that are most effective to you on a personal level. There cannot be one size fits all step-by-step approach to this. However, these basic underlying principles always work best when an issue arises or you face problems during the various stages of a project lifecycle.

Best Of Luck

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