Principles and principles of project management. 12 keys to successful projects.

So far, we have looked at project management and For The Project to Realize Value. I believe that we have seen that the project is actually something concrete and controllable, and that to realize the value of the project, it is not about special abilities or abundant funds, but about the flow of information between people, and the unity of direction.

Modern projects are fraught with uncertainty. Acquiring knowledge and methods does not guarantee success. Experience and failure are the key to success. PMBOK up to the 6th edition seemed to be based on a knowledge system and a worldview that believed that these could be controlled by managing processes and deliverables. However, in the PMBOK 7th Edition, the emphasis has shifted to "value" rather than "deliverables" and "principles" rather than "processes.

In the previous chapter, we have looked at "value. I think it was a very humanistic, people-centered approach. Next, let's look at "principles". Time, Cost, and Scope"? Is it about "clarifying risk"? No. These are also very human principles.

The Four Most Important Values

The four values identified as most important to the global project management community, consisting of project practitioners from around the world with experience in a variety of industries and on a variety of projects, have been identified as the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct as follows

• Responsibility
• Dignity
• Fairness
• Integrity

They are. It is not about competence, experience, funds, or contacts. It is the mindset, the standards of thinking and values that drive the work forward that are positioned as critical to the success of the project.

The PMBOK then derived 12 principles that provide guidance for project management.

• Be diligent, respectful, and caring stewards
• Creating a collaborative project team environment
• Engage effectively with stakeholders
• Focus on value.
• Recognizing, evaluating, and responding to system interactions
• Demonstrating leadership
• Tailoring based on the situation
• Embedding quality into processes and deliverables
• Addressing complexity
• Optimizing risk response
• Being adaptive and resilient
• To be able to change to achieve the envisioned future state

Although some of these words are difficult to understand, you can see that the four most important values above are the base of the project. Before we try to control the project with knowledge and tools, let's take a closer look at some more important ideas and attitudes as a project manager.

12 Principles of Project Management

These mind-sets will guide you in project management, but it does not mean that you have to follow all of the principles in any given situation. Projects live and breathe under the influence of the company, the project, and another related organization. Please approach your work with the mindset and attitude that best suits your project.

Be diligent, respectful, and caring stewards.

Steward is a word that means trustee, steward, or caretaker. Flight attendants were once called stewardesses. This is the feminine form of steward. This term is no longer used because it perpetuates the stereotype that this is a job for women.

What does a steward do? Taking care of something or someone. To spend money responsibly and to carry out something in a planned manner. To keep things right. These are some of the possible roles.

Being a steward" can be paraphrased as "demonstrating stewardship. What does stewardship mean in organizational and project management?

Understanding and working with the goals and objectives of the company or organization. Coordinating with project members and teammates so that they are able to hold their own when needed. Rewarding and respecting members. Managing company equipment and establishing rules. To be responsible and act on these things. It may be expressed in this way.

A project affects not only the lives of its members, but also those affected by the value of the project. The project manager must be aware of all impacts and make responsible decisions. They must be honest, caring, trustworthy, and abide by laws, regulations, etc.

Creating a collaborative project team environment.

What does collaborative mean?

Working together on an equal footing for the same purpose.

A project team is made up of "people" with different skills and experiences. Because of the variety of people, any combination of people can make a team that works well or not so well. The project manager is expected to create an environment in which team members are more collaborative. It is never a matter of ordering by power based on hierarchical relationships.

Clarify who is expected to do what and agree on what roles throughout the team. The overall project work will be broken down into tasks, each of which will be assigned to perform. By clarifying roles and responsibilities at this time, the culture of the team will become more positive. Clarify each member's authority, where accountability lies, and where responsibility for execution lies.

Engage effectively with stakeholders.

Stakeholders are all interested parties. These include the project team members, the company or organization to which the team belongs, the supervisor who requests deliverables, business partners, and the society surrounding the company. Stakeholders can have both positive and negative impacts on the project.

They can affect the requirements of the project, the schedule, the cost, the overall project plan, and the success or failure of the project itself.

When the project manager identifies the stakeholders with whom to engage and establishes effective relationships, the project is more likely to be successful. It is important to determine the depth and frequency with which stakeholders want to be involved and to build good relationships through two-way communication.

Never at the mercy of the stakeholder or only demanding from the project, but by building trusting relationships in good faith and in good faith, potential negative impacts can be minimized and positive impacts can be maximized.

Focus on Value.

Value is the ultimate measure of project success. Only when value is realized can a project be said to have been successful. Even if you receive compensation and produce a deliverable, if value is not realized through it, the project is not a success. That is "value.

Value can be defined as "making more money," "making things more convenient and efficient," "making things more socially meaningful," and so on. These are articulated as objectives at the launch of the project. Whether it is necessary from a business perspective, whether it is something that really should be implemented, and whether it is consistent with the direction of the company or organization. These are mutually examined to clarify the value to be realized.

Even if it is clear what needs to be created, that may not be enough to realize the value. This means that the project manager needs to focus on the value and not just the deliverables as the goal.

Recognize, evaluate, and respond to system interactions.

The term "system" here does not refer to the Internet or machines. It is more like "systematization. The entire organization is a big system, and each department (function) within it interacts with each other as a system. It is important to understand how each system is related to each other.

Many systems also consist of "people. Therefore, it is important to note that it is constantly changing. Take a look at how the whole project is going, including outside of the project, how the business is doing, are the assumptions correct, etc., and use advice from outside sources, as well as previous organizational deliverables and habits. It will make it easier to coordinate the entire project and identify risks.

Demonstrate leadership.

What is "leadership? It does not seem to mean running a team with strong authority and strict orders. Vision, creativity, motivation, enthusiasm, encouragement, and empathy are considered to have a positive impact on a project, and the attitudes, talents, characteristics, and behaviors that have this impact are called leadership.

There are many styles of leadership: autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire, commanding, participatory, assertive, supportive, consensus-dictating, etc., but none of these is best, and different styles are more powerful in different situations. For example, the command style is easier to get things done in a chaotic situation, while the laissez-faire style may be most productive for a highly skilled and motivated team.

Tailoring based on the situation.

Tailoring means tailoring clothes. In other words, it refers to tailoring a project to use a "no over/no under" process. Projects come in all sizes and severities; it is pointless to define a communication plan that defines weekly meetings and agendas for a three-day job, and it is unsettling not to have a plan for a project that will take a year to complete. It is undesirable to apply the same process and approach to every project.

The PMBOK 7th edition has tailoring as a single chapter, and it is emphasized. Rather than applying methodologies and processes directly to a project, carefully evaluating and applying them for their effectiveness for the team will help increase productivity for the project. Tailoring should not be done only once at the start of a project, but should be an ongoing process throughout the course of the project.

Building quality into processes and deliverables.

When processes and deliverables are defined to move a project forward, it is important to point out that "quality" is often overlooked in ongoing activities. During project activities, there should be an ongoing focus on quality to ensure that the deliverables meet requirements, meet acceptance criteria, and meet stakeholder expectations.

Quality may be an implicit expectation. This is the case, for example, when functionality is clearly defined in detail and in writing, but design and performance are not. Activities are required to provide deliverables as soon as possible, and ongoing review and feedback to identify discrepancies in perceptions and deficiencies early and reduce rework.

Dealing with Complexity

First of all, it is important to recognize that projects are complex to begin with and cannot be carried out completely according to plan. No matter how much money, time, and ability you have, you will never have complete control over an uncertain future. Dealing with this complexity is what project managers are expected to do.

Projects have organizations, systems (mechanisms), and people that interact with each other. The behavior of people and the behavior of the system are highly dependent on physical and emotional conditions and the actions that accompany them. Even a carefully formulated plan with an estimated workload cannot eliminate uncertainty and ambiguity, as problems may occur, new issues may arise, or a single task may take longer than expected. Innovations may occur, and current project goals may change dramatically.

By continually focusing on the elements of complexity throughout the duration of project activities, while building on your own and your organization's past experience and learning, you will improve your ability to deal with them, and thus increase the success rate of your project.

Optimize your risk response.

Risk is an uncertain event or situation. When risks become a reality, they can have a negative or positive impact on a project. It is necessary to understand what risks exist throughout the project and to continuously monitor and respond to them during project activities.

The project must have criteria for what is treated as a risk. When treating risks as risks, it is necessary to consider whether the severity of the risk is appropriate and whether it should be addressed now, whether it is cost-effective to address the risk, and whether it is realistic in light of the current project status. It is also important to ensure that all parties involved agree to treat the risk as a risk and that a person responsible for addressing the risk has been appointed. Otherwise, the decision will be made to "accept the risk."

Adaptability and resilience.

Adaptability" refers to the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Resilience" is the ability to minimize the impact of any problems or to recover from mistakes. Every project will encounter challenges, problems, and other obstacles that prevent smooth progress at some point during the project's activities. It is essential to have the ability to adapt and be resilient, with the mindset that problems are bound to occur and failures are bound to occur.

By focusing on results (value) rather than deliverables, better policies and solutions can be found based on feedback even when things do not go according to plan. By incorporating these changes into ongoing planning, project teams become adaptable and resilient.

Enabling change to achieve the envisioned future state

The word "transform" means "to change." This sentence can be taken to mean 'to be able to change in order to introduce new ways of doing things and become a better company. It does not mean that change itself is required, but that "to be able to change" is required.

To remain the same" represents stability and calmness. Change" will often be difficult, challenging, and met with resistance. On the other hand, in order for a project to inherently deliver value, its deliverables and outcomes must "change" for their users to be able to demonstrate value. It is important to "be able to change" as a principle of project management.

Summary of "Principles of Project Management

We have looked at 12 principles of project management. These are not the competencies, experience, rules, or regulations that you need if you are going to do project management, but rather the standards of thinking and values that you should keep in mind if you are involved in project management.

It is not the case that if you have all the knowledge, tools, and frameworks, or if you have a lot of money, contacts, or power, your project will always succeed. No matter what kind of project is undertaken by what kind of person, unexpected circumstances will always occur at some point. How do you take the helm of a project at that time? It is in times of trouble that we must hold responsibility, dignity, fairness, and integrity strongly in our hearts.