Understanding of Project Management, Essay Example

Cost

As many have stated previously, a project is by definition a temporary endeavor to produce a unique deliverable at the conclusion of the endeavor. With any endeavor that will result in a specific deliverable there is a cost associated with the work and other resources that go into the delivery of that good or service. As the project progresses through the lifecycle the time draws closer to start assigning costs to the project. At this point, the project’s scope has been appropriately defined and there are specific actions that will need to occur in order to achieve the goals and objectives outlined by the requirements. With that being said the expectations are set with the stakeholders and a deliverable is expected at a certain time in the future. The cost and schedule management occur within the monitoring and controlling functions of project management. The actions to monitor and control the project’s cost and time are core functionalities of the project manager’s role as these two items are the most visible and quantitative aspects of project management. In cost management the initial phase in the project is to develop the costs associated with the project so that a forecasted budget can help determine the required resources for the project completion. Throughout the project cost management will need to be taken into consideration. Just as defining the scope of the project laid the foundation for the project’s deliverables at completion the project’s budget is a foundation on setting the expectations of what the project will require for completion (Bloucher, Stout & Cokins , 2009). Cost and Time management require taking the appropriate project management actions involving the two critically limited resources within a project to ensure that the amount of resources utilized provide the expected results and progress the deliverables along the project’s lifecycle efficiently and effectively.

 References

Barsky, Allan Edward. (2009) Ethics And Values In Social Work, An Integrated Approach For A Comprehensive Curriculum. Oxford University Press, USA.

Bloucher, E., Stout, D., & Cokins , G. (2009). Cost management “a strategic emphasis” Cost management: a strategic emphasis. (5^th ed.). McGraw-Hill.

Highsmith, J. A., & Highsmith, J. (2010). Agile project management, creating innovative products. Addison-Wesley Professional.

Prencipe, A., Davies, A., & Hobday, M. (2007). The business of systems integration. Oxford University Press, USA.

Project Management Institute, P. M. (2008). A guide to the project management body of knowledge. (4^th ed.). Newtown Square: Project Management Inst.

Shockley-Zalabak, P. 1999, Fundamentals of Organisational Communication: Knowledge, Sensitivity, Skills, Values, Longman. New York, NY.