Project Management defined

Project management is the set of processes and tools applied to business problems or opportunities to develop and implement a solution. One of the key components is having a change defined - you must know what is changing (processes, systems, job roles, organizational structure, etc.) in order to manage that change effectively.

Project management involves understanding the tradeoff between the time, cost, and scope of change that can be achieved. The time component is related to the key milestones and timeframe for the specific initiative, from problem identification through solution implementation. Cost is associated with the resources used in the development of the solution, both the people resources tied to the project team and others in the organization supporting the project and the investment in the selected solution. The scope describes what is changing as part of this initiative, and what is not changing or 'out of scope'.

Finally, project management is the application of the discipline called 'project management' that is a structured approach for managing tasks, resources, and budget in order to achieve a defined deliverable. This discipline has been well-documented and includes a number of tools and software applications to manage the technical side of a project. Successful changes apply project management tools and processes to their initiatives.