How to understand project management in 5 minutes?

Project management is almost like sex or social media marketing. Everyone thinks that they know how to do it right and that they are good at it. Well, are you that sure? I’ve started writing an e-book, which really helps you understand project management and get better in it. I’ll also tell you how use it also outside the office to do your day to day tasks more effective. When we want to get better in something, we need to know a bit about what it is, right? This part of my e-book is already written, so I’ve decided to share it with you. Keep reading…

So let’s figure out what project management is. According to Wikipedia, project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end (usually time-constrained, and often constrained by funding or deliverables), undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value.

Well, it sounds a bit… It’s correct, but I had to read it twice to make sure that I understand what they mean. And if you are not a project manager, I’d say that you are a bit confused after reading it even five times. For me, simplicity is the key  and I’m pretty sure that there is at least one more human friendly definition. I consider project management something, that helps you get things done. And to fit into project management, let’s call the things projects. That’s it, nothing more and nothing less. Although we can discuss what a project may be, it’s usually a list of requirements that have to be done within the requested timeline and fit into the budget. So it means, that project management helps you get things done on time, within the budget and according to the specification. The most important here is the word “helps”.

I hope that you aren’t disappointed that you haven’t read another ridiculous definition and description. As I said before, I believe that simplicity is one of the things that makes life easier and gives you more time for fun, friends and family. If you want to get a free copy of the ebook when it’s ready, just subscribe to get the posts by email and you will be the first one to know.

Image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/oberazzi/318947873/