1.

Introduction
Welcome to the Basics of Project Management!
This course provides an approach to what many consider a complex
process: the management of projects. The course is designed to simplify
the management processes required to manage a project from start to end.

The need for Project Management (PM) has been driven by businesses
that have realized the benefits of organizing work around projects and the
crucial need to communicate and coordinate work across departments and
professions. One of the first major uses of project management was to
manage the US space program. The government, military and corporate
world have now adopted this practice.

If you lack skills in project management, taking a role in a project team

provides an excellent learning opportunity – one that can improve your
career profile. Even if you’re an experienced manager or team member, a
review of the critical elements of project management can inform and
improve how effectively you take projects from concept to concrete plan
and through to completion.

With that in mind, we’ll start with some essential definitions and move
towards the project lifecycle and its four phases in more detail. After that,
we’ll introduce the most important tools and most common modern
frameworks every project manager should know.

2. Managing Projects
The ability to deliver projects on schedule, on budget, and aligned with
business goals is key to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment.
Project managers have an incredibly complex assignment, one that blends
organizational skills, an analytical mind, and adept interpersonal abilities.

Definition
What is a Project?

Before we get into project management, we need to define what exactly a

“project” is. Sure, you’ve probably been assigned countless “projects” in
school or on the job, but what is the actual definition? A project is defined
as “a unique endeavor to produce a set of deliverables within clearly
specified time, cost and quality constraints”. Projects are different from
standard business operational activities as they:

 Are unique in nature. They do not involve repetitive processes.

Every project undertaken is different from the last, whereas
operational activities often involve undertaking repetitive (identical)
processes.
 Have a defined timescale. Projects have a clearly specified start
and end date within which the deliverables must be produced to
meet a specified customer requirement.
 Have an approved budget. Projects are allocated a level of
financial expenditure within which the deliverables must be
produced to meet a specified customer requirement.
 Have limited resources. At the start of a project, an agreed
amount of labor, equipment, and materials, is allocated to the
project.
 Involve an element of risk. Projects entail a level of uncertainty
and therefore carry business risk.
 Achieve beneficial change. The purpose of a project, typically, is to
improve an organization through the implementation of business
change.

What is Project Management (PM)?

Project management (PM) is the practice of applying knowledge, skills,

tools, and techniques to complete a project according to specific
requirements. It comes down to identifying the problem, creating a plan to
solve the problem, and then executing on that plan until the problem has
been solved. That may sound simple, but there is a lot that goes into it at
every stage of the process. Project managers will help an organization to
become more efficient and to improve collaboration across and within
teams.

Project Management (PM) contains all the skills, tools and management
processes required to undertake a project successfully.
PM Triangle
The Project Management Triangle (PM Triangle) is used by managers to
analyze or understand the difficulties that may arise due to implementing
and executing a project.

All projects irrespective of their size will have many constraints. There are
three main interdependent constraints for every
project: time, cost and scope. This is also known as the Project
Management Triangle.

1. Time
A project’s activities can either take a shorter or longer amount of
time to complete. Completion of tasks depends on a number of
factors such as the number of people working on the project,
experience, skills, etc. Time is a crucial factor which is uncontrollable.
On the other hand, failure to meet the deadlines in a project can
create adverse effects. Most often, the main reason for organizations
to fail in terms of time is due to a lack of resources.
2. Cost
It’s imperative for both the project manager and the organization to
have an estimated cost when undertaking a project. Budgets will
ensure that the project is developed or implemented below a certain
cost. Sometimes, project managers have to allocate additional
 resources in order to meet the deadlines with a penalty of additional
project costs.
3. Scope
The scope looks at the outcome of the project undertaken. This
consists of a list of deliverables, which need to be addressed by the
project team. A successful project manager will know to manage both
the scope of the project and any change in scope which impacts time
and cost.

What about Quality?

Quality is not one of the three corners of the project management triangle,
but it is the ultimate objective of every delivery. Hence, the project
management triangle implies quality.

The major takeaway from the Triple Constraint, being that it is a triangle, is
that one cannot adjust or alter one side of it without in effect, altering the
other sides. So for example, if there is a request for a scope change mid-
way through the execution of the project, the other two attributes (cost and
time) will be affected in some manner. How much or how little is dictated by
the nature and complexity of the scope change. As an added example, if
the schedule appears to be tight and the project manager determines that
the scoped requirements cannot be accomplished within the allotted time,
both cost and time are affected.

PM Triple Constraint
Example: “Pick Two”

To provide an easy example, we changed the dimensions of the triangle

into the options of Fast, Good, and Cheap, and ask you to pick any two.
Here, Fast refers to the time required to deliver the product, Good is the
quality of the final product, and Cheap refers to the total cost of designing
and building the product.
This triangle reflects the fact that the three properties of a project are
interrelated, and it is not possible to optimize all three – one will always
suffer. In other words, you have three options:

 Design something quickly and to a high standard, but then it will

not be cheap.
 Design something quickly and cheaply, but it will not be of high
quality.
 Design something with high quality and cheaply, but it will take a
relatively long time.

As the project manager, making sure that you stay on top of all the key
attributes of the triple constraint will make the likelihood of project success
that much higher. So be cognizant of any fluctuations to the key attributes,
whether they be unexpected or requested. Never assume that other
attributes can be left unchanged if one attribute is known to be changing or
fluctuating. As noted earlier, one cannot simply dismiss a change to one
without being fully aware of the fact that it will affect the other two.

The Triple Constraint is one of the most known and well-respected

mechanisms for signifying the interaction of the key attributes of a project.
Being fully aware of its function and implications is an important aspect of
the project manager’s role and responsibility. The triple constraint is meant
to be an asset to the project manager’s arsenal and should not be viewed
as a hindrance.

The project triangle expresses the “triple constraint” of time, cost, and
scope.
PM Roles
Irrespective of how the organization is structured, there are certain roles
and responsibilities that are required in all projects. Different organizations
may use different names for these roles but the responsibilities of each one
will be the same.

1. The Project Stakeholders

Stakeholders are individuals and organizations that are actively
involved in the project, or whose interests may be positively or
negatively affected by the execution of the project. They may also
exert influence over the project and its deliverables. The project
management team must identify the stakeholders, determine their
requirements and expectations, and manage their influence in
relation to the requirements to ensure a successful project.
2. The Project Sponsor
The project sponsor is responsible for securing the financing and
overall resource budget approval and owns the opportunities and
risks related to the financial outcome of the project. An effective
sponsor will be someone with the authority and personal drive to
overcome major obstacles to completing the project. The role of the
project sponsor is to approve and fund the project, but not to get
involved in day-to-day management.
3. The Project Manager
The project manager is the person assigned by the performing
organization to achieve the project objectives. The project manager
has the authority to use cash and other resources up to the limit set in
the project charter. A project manager should have experience in the
project domain and should also be familiar with the processes that
make up project management.

There are typically three different project management roles:

1. Project stakeholders – 2. Project sponsor – 3. Project manager

3. Project Lifecycle
Regardless of what kind of project you’re planning, every
project goes through the same stages, more or less.
The project lifecycle is the sequence of phases that a
project goes through from the beginning to its end. A project typically has
four major phases: Initiation, Planning, Execution, and Closure.

1 – Initiation
The first phase in the project is the Initiation Phase. The goal of this phase
is to define the project and develop a business case for it.

Once a business problem or opportunity has been identified, a Business

Case is prepared. This includes an executive summary, a detailed
definition of the challenge or goal and an analysis of the potential solution
options available. For each option, the potential costs, benefits, risks, and
issues are documented. The Business Case also includes the
recommended solution and a generic execution timeline. The Business
Case is approved by the Project Sponsor and the required funding is
allocated to proceed with the project.

At any stage during (or after) the development of a Business Case,

a Feasibility Study may be commissioned. The purpose is to assess the
likelihood of a particular solution option’s achieving the benefits outlined in
the Business Case. The Feasibility Study will also investigate whether the
forecast costs are reasonable, the solution is achievable, the risks are
acceptable and/or any likely issues are avoidable.

At this point, the scope of the project has been defined in detail and
the Project Team is ready to be appointed. Although a Project Manager
can be appointed at any stage of the project, he/she will need to be
appointed prior to the establishment of the project team. The Project
Manager documents a detailed Job Description for each project role and
appoints a human resource to each role based on his/her relevant skills
and experience.

Once the team members are ‘fully resourced’, the Project Office is ready
to be set-up. The Project Office is the physical environment within which
the team will be based. Although it is usual to have one central project
office, it is possible to have a ‘virtual project office’ environment, with
project team members in various locations around the world.

Ask yourself the following questions during Initiation:

  What is the problem?
 Will the development of a project solve that problem?
 What are the specific goals of the project?

During the Initiation Phase, you figure out an objective for your project,
determine whether the project is feasible, and identify the major
deliverables for the project. The phase is essentially about laying out the
project’s mission.

2 – Planning
The Planning Phase is the second phase of the project life cycle. It involves
creating a set of plans to help guide your team through the next phases of
the project.

Once the project receives the green light, it needs a solid plan to guide the
team, as well as keep them on time and on budget. A well-written Project
Plan identifies the project timeline, including the phases of the project, the
tasks to be performed, and possible constraints. The plan should be agreed
and approved by the project team and its key stakeholders.

The Project Plan is the most important document created in the planning
phase and typically includes the following detail sub-plans:

 A Resource Plan identifies the types of resources (labor,

equipment, and materials) and quantities of each resource type
needed for the project.
 Similar to the Resource Plan, a Financial Plan identifies the
quantity of money required for the resources. An expense schedule
can help you to compare forecast spending vs. the actual spending
throughout the project.
 A Quality Plan defines what quality means in terms of this project,
lists clear quality targets for each deliverable, and identifies the
techniques used to control the actual level of quality.
 The foreseeable project risks are then documented within a Risk
Plan and a set of actions to be taken formulated to both prevent
each risk from occurring and reduce the impact of the risk should it
eventuate. 
 A Communications Plan identifies the types of information to be
distributed, the methods of distributing information to stakeholders,
 the frequency of distribution and responsibilities of each person in
the project team for distributing information regularly to
stakeholders.

The plans created during this phase will help you to manage time, cost,
quality, change, risk, and issues. They will also help you manage staff and
external suppliers, to ensure that you deliver the project on time and within
budget.

Ask yourself the following questions during Planning:

 Are there measurable objectives or success criteria?

 Do you have a high-level description of the project, requirements
and risks?
 Can you adequately schedule and budget high-level milestones?

During the Planning Phase, you break down the larger project into smaller
tasks, assign them to team members, and prepare a schedule for the
completion of assignments. Make sure to create smaller goals within the
larger project!

3 – Execution
The third phase, Execution Phase, is usually the longest phase in the
project lifecycle and it typically consumes the most energy and the most
resources.

This phase involves the execution of each activity and task listed in the
Project Plan. In this phase, you will build the physical project deliverables.
The Project Manager monitors and controls the activities, resources, and
expenditure required to build each deliverable. This constant vigilance
helps keep the project moving ahead smoothly. If you developed a good
plan in the previous phase, executing the project will be much easier.

There are different visual tools that you can apply to see which deliverables
have been completed to ensure that your project remains on track. We will
introduce the most important ones in the next chapters.

Ask yourself the following questions during Execution:

  Is the project on budget and on time?
 Can resource planning be optimized?
 Are there major roadblocks that require change management?

The Execution Phase turns your plan into action. The project manager’s job
in this phase is to keep work on track, monitor the activities, and make sure
the work is done according to the original plan.

4 – Closure
The Closure Phase is the last phase of the project life cycle. In this phase,
you will formally close your project and determine the success of the
project.

When you have worked long and hard on a project and it’s finally
completed, it’s hard to find time to really close it down properly. However, it
is definitely in your best interest to have a closure procedure so that you
cover every base and can safely archive it. Project Closure involves
undertaking a series of activities to wind up the project, including:

 Analyzing whether the project’s goals were met (tasks completed,

on time and on budget) and the initial problem solved using a
prepared checklist.
 Evaluating how team members performed, including whether they
met their goals along with timeliness and quality of work.
 Conduct a final analysis of the project, taking into account lessons
learned for similar projects in the future.
 Communicating closure to all stakeholders and interested parties.

A Project Closure Report, created by the Project Manager, is the final

document that assesses the success of the project and also catalogs
project deliverables and officially ends the project. The primary objective of
a project closure report is to provide a complete picture of the successes
and failures of a project.

Ask yourself the following questions during Closure:

 Are the project’s completion criteria met?

 Have the stakeholders received the project closure report?
 Have all project artifacts been collected and archived?
Some methodologies also include a fifth phase (labeled controlling or
monitoring) but for our purposes, this phase is covered under the execution
and closure phases.

During the Closure Phase, you will formally close your project and
determine the success of the project.

Book Example
Now that we know the project lifecycle and the four major project phases, it
is time to take a look at a real-life example to understand the concept
better. We will keep it simple and assume that you and your team intend to
create, develop and publish a new textbook.

1. Project Initiation
In the initiation phase, we need to get a rough idea of how long it will
take to make, how much it will cost, and the effect it will have. If the
CEO of the publishing company decides that the value is worth the
perceived difficulty, it’s time to move onto planning.
2. Project Planning
The planning stage would involve meeting with the marketing team
and stamping out a timeframe for each chapter of the book to be
completed. Once the topic has been set and assessed (for the
difficulty of writing), these dates will become more solid.
The person responsible for writing each chapter will be assigned,
along with the task of designing and creating the book
itself. Furthermore, risks such as hidden topic depth or difficulty in
securing a designer for the book would be assessed.
3. Project Execution
The execution stage would involve creating the content for each
chapter and carving out regular meetings during which your team’s
progress and problems will be relayed. Everyone should know what
they are working on, why they are working on it, when it should be
completed by, and what everyone else is responsible for.
 For our book, let’s say that you’ve set out a two-month deadline for
the final product, and you meet twice a week with your marketing
team to check on their progress. If problems arise, such as a chapter
being more complex than originally thought or team members having
to take time off, you may have to bring in someone who wasn’t
already working on the project, or shift the responsibilities of the
current workforce on the project to better suit the new situation.
4. Project Closure
The project closing step would be after the book’s public launch.
Once complete, the benefits would be tracked (eg, increased
conversion rates), any expenses on items such as the design of the
book would be totaled, and contracts with freelancers terminated.

Whether you’re working on a small project with modest business goals or a

large, multi-departmental initiative, understanding the project management
life cycle is essential. Every project has essential milestones at the
beginning, in the middle, and at the end, following a path from initiation to
completion to evaluation. Working with an understanding of the project
management cycle helps you keep your project organized and on track
from ideation to completion.

4. Essential Tools
Selecting the right approach to manage a project is essential
for the successful delivery of projects. There are many
project management techniques you can choose from. In
this chapter, we will discuss the top four tools that project
managers should know in order to steer their projects to
success.

Work Breakdown Structure

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a project management tool to
visualize the scope of work by breaking a project into individual
components that can be effectively scheduled. Such a structure defines
tasks that can be completed independently of other tasks.

The WBS is a tree-style structure with the overall task on the top; followed
by project sections and further into individual tasks. The components may
be explained in text or in boxes. The following picture shows a
WBS example for constructing a house:

The WBS enables a team to estimate time and/or cost for each task, then
tally the numbers to arrive at an overall project estimation. The chart
resembles the layout of a family tree, with the project at the root and
splitting branches from it into smaller and smaller components. As such, it
is neither useful as a timeline to see the interdependencies of tasks, nor for
scheduling overlapping tasks.

Gantt Chart
A Gantt Chart is one of the most popular ways of showing activities (tasks
or events) displayed against time. The bar chart is named after its inventor
Henry Gantt, who designed the first chart in 1917.

On the left of the chart is a list of the activities and along the top is a
suitable time scale. Each activity is represented by a bar; the position and
length of the bar reflect the start date, duration and end date of the activity.

The following picture shows a Gantt Chart example for building a house.

Note that two activities (the plumbing and electrical work) can be executed
simultaneously.
A Gantt Chart allows you to see at a glance:

 What the various activities are

 When each activity begins and ends
 How long each activity is scheduled to last
 Where activities overlap with other activities, and by how much
 The start and end date of the whole project

 A Gantt Chart shows what has to be done (activities) and when (schedule).

PERT Chart
The acronym PERT stands for Program Evaluation Review Technique. It’s
a primary project management tool used to schedule, organize, and
coordinate tasks within a project. The PERT Chart can show task division,
time allocation, and starting and ending dates.

Unlike the Gantt Chart which uses bars to represent tasks, the PERT Chart
displays information as a network model that uses boxes to represent tasks
and arrows to present dependencies between tasks.

Here, you can see a PERT chart example for building a website:

In this example, different legends make it possible to categorize tasks
effectively. The tasks are categorized based on their owners, which include
the programming team (yellow), the design team (blue), or both (green).

The layout of a PERT Chart makes it easier to see the relationships

between different activities. On the downside, however, this chart can
become quite confusing with complex projects that feature many
dependencies and tasks.

Critical Path Model

Critical Path Model (CPM) is another important project management
technique that requires you to construct a project model that includes a list
of all tasks, the duration to complete the tasks, dependencies between
tasks, and deliverables for the entire project.

With this information, you can easily calculate the longest path to
completion of tasks. The Critical Path is the longest path of scheduled
activities that must be met in order to execute a project.

For example, if you’re building a house, you would have several task
sequences as follows:
Each task takes a different amount of time and resources. It takes more
time to build walls and lay the roof than to install faucets and fixtures.

If you had to figure out the project’s ‘Critical Path’, you would look at the
sequence that takes the most amount of time, like this:

The total time taken to complete the sequence along this critical path would
give you an idea of the project’s minimum duration. In our example, the
critical path takes 40 days.

You might undertake several task sequences simultaneously, but if there

are any delays in the critical path sequence, your project will suffer delays
as well.

The CPM calculates the longest path of planned activities to the end of the
project and the earliest and latest that each activity can start and finish
without increasing the overall project duration. This process determines
which activities are “critical” (on the longest path, colored blue) and which
have “total float” (can be delayed without making the project longer, colored
green).

5. New Frameworks
Project management has evolved significantly in recent years,
and there are plenty of project management frameworks to
help facilitate these changes. In this chapter, we will explore
the most important modern project management
methodologies: Agile, Scrum and Kanban.

Agile
What is the easiest way to plan out a project? Sequence the tasks that lead
to a final deliverable and work on them one after another. This is
the waterfall methodology. Waterfall project management originated in
construction industries where one phase must be completed before another
begins. The waterfall methodology excels in predictability, but lacks in
flexibility.

In early 2001, a group of 17 independent-minded management experts met

to discuss the future of software development in Snowbird, Utah (US). The
group’s members shared frustration about the current state of affairs. The
problem, they agreed, was that companies were so focused on excessively
planning and documenting their software development cycles that they lost
sight of what really mattered – pleasing their customers.

The famous Agile Manifesto emerged from this group meeting at just 68

words:

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and

helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:

 Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.

 Working software over comprehensive documentation.
 Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
 Responding to change over following a plan.
That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on
the left more.
– Agile Manifesto 2001

The short document went on to change software development and project

management forever. In the two decades since its creation, these words
have been embraced (in varying degrees) by countless individuals, teams,
and companies.

Agile development is based on an incremental, iterative approach.

Instead of in-depth planning at the beginning of the project, Agile
methodologies are open to changing requirements over time and
encourages constant feedback from the end-users.

In Agile methodologies, leadership encourages teamwork, accountability,

and face-to-face communication. Project objectives are made clear by the
customer (internal or external) while the final deliverable can change as the
project progresses. The project team works in iterative cycles, always
evaluating results at the end.
Depending on the results of these evaluations, the final deliverable may be
modified in order to better answer the customer’s needs. Continuous
collaboration and communication are key, both within the project team
members and with project stakeholders.

Advantages of Agile Disadvantages of Agile

 Planning can be less concrete: It

 Change is embraced: With shorter
can sometimes be hard to pin down
planning cycles, it’s easy to
a solid delivery date. Re-
accommodate and accept changes
prioritizing tasks and adding new
at any time during the project.
sprints may delay the whole
 Continuous improvement: Agile
project.
projects encourage feedback from
 Team must be
users, customers and team members
knowledgeable: Agile teams are
throughout the whole project.
usually small, so team members
 Faster, high-quality delivery:
must be highly skilled in a variety
Breaking down the project into
of areas. They also must understand
iterations allows the team to focus
and feel comfortable with the
on high-quality development,
chosen Agile methodology.
testing, and collaboration.
 Final product can be very
 Strong team interaction: Agile
different: Because Agile is so
highlights the importance of
flexible, new iterations may be
frequent communication and face-
added based on evolving customer
to-face interactions. Teams work
feedback, which can lead to a very
together and people are able to take
different final deliverable. The final
responsibility and own parts of the
product can look much different
projects.
than what was initially intended.

Scrum
Scrum is a subset of Agile and one of the most popular process
frameworks for implementing Agile. It is an iterative development model
used to manage complex software and product development. Fixed-length
iterations, called sprints lasting two weeks long, allow the team to ship
software on a regular cadence. At the end of each sprint, stakeholders and
team members meet to plan the next steps.
Every Scrum project includes certain roles, responsibilities, ceremonies,
tools, and artifacts that never change. Here we highlight the most important
ones:

 Scrum Master: Often considered the coach for the team, the

Scrum Master helps the team do their best possible work. A key
difference between a Scrum Master and a traditional project
manager is that a Scrum Master does not give step-by-step
directions to the team.
 Daily Scrum meetings: The Daily Scrum is a 15-minute stand-up
meeting where each team member talks about their goals and any
issues that have come up.
 Sprint review meeting: At the end of each sprint, the team
presents the work they have completed at a sprint review meeting.
This meeting should feature a live demonstration, not a report or a
PowerPoint presentation.
 Scrum board: The Scrum task board can have different forms – it
traditionally involves index cards, Post-It notes, or a whiteboard.
The Scrum board is usually divided into three categories: to do,
work in progress, and done.
 User stories: A user story describes a software feature from the
customer’s perspective. It includes the type of user, what they
want, and why they want it.

Working with Scrum often means changing the team’s habits. They need to
take more responsibility and boost the speed of delivery. This level of
commitment acts as a change agent; as the teams commit to sprint goals,
they are more and more motivated to get better and faster to deliver a
quality product. A good place to start with Scrum is to talk about the roles
and their responsibilities.
Advantages of Scrum Disadvantages of Scrum

 Risk of scope creep: “Scope

 More transparency and project
creep” refers to uncontrolled
visibility: With daily stand-up
growth in a project’s scope, since
meetings, the whole team knows
stakeholders may be tempted to
who is doing what, eliminating
keep requesting additional
many misunderstandings and
functionality.
confusion.
 Team requires experience and
 Increased team
commitment: With defined roles
accountability: The Scrum Master
and responsibilities, the team needs
and the teamwork together and help
to be familiar with Scrum
each other, improving collaboration
principles and needs to commit to
and empowering each team
the daily Scrum meetings.
member to be independent.
 Poorly defined tasks can lead to
 Easy to accommodate
inaccuracies: Project costs and
changes: With short sprints and
timelines won’t be accurate if tasks
constant feedback, it’s easier to
are not well defined. If the initial
cope with changes. For example, if
goals are unclear, planning
the team discovers a new user story
becomes difficult and sprints can
during one sprint, they can easily
take more time than originally
add that feature to the next sprint.
estimated.

Kanban
Kanban is another framework for implementing agile but is based on a
team’s capacity to do work. It originated from the factories of Toyota during
the 1940s and was originally a visual system of cards (“kanban” in
Japanese) used by a department to signal that their team has more
capacity to produce.

Kanban strives to better coordinate and balance work with the capacity and
bandwidth among workers. The framework does not require a certain setup
or procedure. Therefore, you could overlay Kanban on top of other existing
workflows.

The Kanban board is the central tool to implement the Kanban method for
projects. A Kanban board – whether it is physical or digital – is split into
categories of work to do, work doing, and work done. Each task is recorded
on a Kanban card, which moves from column to column on the board as it
moves through the team’s process.

A visual representation of your work allows you to understand the big

picture and see how the flow of work progresses. The Kanban board keeps
team members on the same page, but it also helps teams identify where
processes need improvement. It makes problems like bottlenecks highly
visible, allowing the team to make corrections as needed.

Traditionally, this tool has been a physical board, with magnets or sticky
notes on a whiteboard to represent work items. However, in recent years,
modern project management software tools have created online Kanban
boards that can display even more complex tasks and add more columns
to better visualize the processes.

The flow of work throughout the Kanban board should be monitored and
improved upon. Ideally, you want a fast, smooth flow, which shows that the
team is creating value quickly. The team should analyze problems in the
flow then implement changes.
The Kanban method encourages small, continuous changes that stick.
Once the Kanban system is in place, the team will be able to identify and
understand issues and suggest improvements. Teams measure their
effectiveness by tracking flow, measuring cycle time, and increasing the
quality of work.

Advantages of Kanban Disadvantages of Kanban

 Increases flexibility: Kanban is an  Outdated board can lead to

evolving, fluid model. There are no issues: The team must be
set phase durations and priorities committed to keeping the Kanban
are reevaluated as new information board up to date, otherwise, they’ll
comes in. be working off inaccurate
 Reduces waste: Kanban revolves information.
around reducing waste, ensuring  Teams can overcomplicate the
that teams don’t spend time doing board: The Kanban board should
work that isn’t needed, or doing the remain clear and easy to read,
wrong kind of work. however, some team members may
 Easy to understand: The visual tend to overload the board.
nature of Kanban helps to make it  Lack of timing: The columns on
incredibly intuitive and easy to the Kanban board are only marked
learn. The team doesn’t need to by phase (to do, in progress,
learn a completely new complete), there are no timeframes
methodology, and Kanban can be associated with each phase, so you
easily implemented on top of other really don’t know how long the to-
systems. do phase could last.

Finally, which project management methodology should you use?

Unsurprisingly, the answer to this question depends on your unique team
and its aims. Waterfall works best for projects completed in a linear
workflow. Agile focuses on adaptive, simultaneous workflows since the
method breaks projects into smaller, iterative periods. Scrum is concerned
with getting more work done faster whereas Kanban is primarily concerned
with process improvements.

6. Conclusion
Project management is the practice of initiating, planning,
executing, and closing the work of a team to achieve specific
goals and meet specific success criteria at the specified
time. It can be somewhat complicated, and to do it well requires delving
into what needs to be done from the very beginning.

Although the practice of project management has been around for

centuries, scholars and project management professionals are still studying
how to make project management better. The value of face-to-face
interaction does not deteriorate, even with the deployment of virtual project
management teams. Projects require leaders who are trained in both
business and technology and have teams with qualified project
management professionals when possible.

In today’s business world managing projects has become essential. We

hope that this course provided a short and practical project management
introduction.

In the last chapters, you learned the basics about:

 the different phases of project initiation, planning, execution, and

closure
 essential tools like the Gantt Chart, PERT Chart and Critical Path
Method
 Agile Project Management as well as Scrum and Kanban methods

Thank you for taking this course and good luck with the quiz!

Basics of Project Management – Exam

Welcome to the course quiz!

Now it’s time to test your knowledge and get your course certificate. You
will be able to download your certificate after reaching a minimum score of
70%. You can retake this quiz as often as you like if you do not reach this
score

Which statement is not true for defining a project?

 Projects are unique in nature.

 Projects have a defined timescale.

 Projects involve repetitive processes.

 Projects have limited resources.

What is the first phase of the project life-cycle?

 Kick-Off-Phase

 Planning Phase

 Starting Phase

 Initiation Phase
Which of the following steps is part of the Execution Phase?

 Developing a Project Plan.

 Building Deliverables.

 Conducting Quality and Risk Analyses.

 Appointing the Project Team.

What does “WBS” stand for? (Hint: It’s an important tool!)

 Work Breakdown Structure

 Work Balance System

 Work Breakdown Software

 Work Balance Schedule

What is typically the longest phase of the project (in terms of duration)?
 Initiation Phase

 Planning Phase

 Execution Phase

 Closure Phase
Which of the following steps is not part of the Planning Phase?

 Project Plan

 Feasibility Study

 Resource Plan

 Financial Plan
Which of the following items is the most important document created in the
planning phase?

 Resource Plan

 Financial Plan

 Quality Plan

 Project Plan
Which of the following elements is not part of the Scrum framework?

 Scrum Board

 User Stories

 Scrum Master

 PERT Chart
 Who is responsible for securing the financing and overall resource budget
approval of the project?

 The Project Manager

 The Project Stakeholders

 The Project Accountant

 The Project Sponsor

What are the three parts of the Project Management Triangle?

 Benefits, Costs, and Risks

 Time, Cost, and Scope

 Unfreeze, Move, and Refreeze

 Monitoring, Controlling, and Evaluating