Every team and manager wants to deliver projects on time and within budget, all while satisfying stakeholders. For this, efficient project management is non-negotiable. But what does ideal project management include? What are the best frameworks, and which features are critical in the software you select?
This definitive guide to project management with Salesforce addresses all the questions you may have — no matter what size your business. You will gain insights into project management processes, optimal frameworks, and managing a project effectively, as it should be.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- What is project management?
- Why is project management important?
- The value project management delivers to your organisation
- Who uses project management?
- What are the five stages of project management?
- What are the four types of project management?
- Eight tips for successful project management
- Be a project management pro
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is Project Management?
Project management is the process of leading a team to achieve all goals within specified constraints. Typically outlined in project documentation created at the project’s inception, the main constraints include scope, time, and budget.
For instance, your objective may be to launch a new product, develop software, or organise a networking event. To attain your end goal, project management encompasses:
- Establishing goals
- Scheduling tasks
- Managing teams
- Monitoring progress
- Collaborating with stakeholders
Numerous structured frameworks, such as Agile, Kanban, or Scrum, can be employed to reach your project objectives.
While these frameworks take different approaches, each is focused on bringing the necessary steps to complete your project on time and within budget.
Why is Project Management Important?
Project management is vital as it provides the leadership, motivation, and problem-solving skills to introduce new products or services, boost revenue, and meet organisational objectives.
Prioritising effective project management styles enables proactive and continuous workflow improvement, preventing mistakes and overspending. The most successful companies understand how to manage a project efficiently and productively.
The value project management delivers to your organisation
Let’s take a look at how project management – when projects across disciplines and budgets are consistently delivered on time and with the desired results, builds internal and external stakeholder trust and helps grow the business.
Enhanced customer satisfaction: Inevitably, the success of most projects contributes indirectly or directly to improving customer experience. So, when projects are run predictably to deliver the right outcomes – it leads to happier customers as the end-result.
A more productive and loyal workforce: Employees, reassured that their work follows well-thought-out, frictionless processes will be more motivated, efficient, loyal, and willing to collaborate. This will save on the costs of hiring and training new people.
Optimised resource utilisation: Human effort and material resources are allocated effectively and efficiently across all projects, preventing waste and maximising productivity and profit for the business.Clear strategic alignment: Project management disciplines help organisations prioritise work that directly contributes to key business objectives. This ensures short-term success and long-term value.
Who Uses Project Management?
Organisations of all sizes, from large enterprises to small or medium-sized businesses, employ project management. Whether you’re leading a team in the office or managing remote teams globally, effective project management ensures your organisation reaches its goals.
Project management encompasses various project types, including (but not limited to):
- Product and service development
- Software engineering
- Event planning
- Construction projects
- Marketing campaigns
- IT system implementations
Traditionally, a project manager leads the project team and is responsible for the project’s overall success, assigning tasks to team members, monitoring progress, and ensuring deadlines and budgets are met. Multiple team members can share project management responsibilities in smaller teams without a dedicated project manager.
What are the five stages of project management?
Successful project management begins by designing and following a straightforward roadmap to set expectations. The number one thing to do before initiating any project is to outline the project roadmap at the beginning.
To help you create your roadmap, let’s delve into the five essential phases of project management. Here’s a high-level overview of each:
1. Initiating
In the project initiation phase, essential preparations are made to complete the work on time and within budget. This phase involves:
- Defining the project scope
- Providing a high-level project overview
- Establishing budgets
For larger projects, a project charter or Project Initiation Documentation (PID) may be created to delve deeper into these areas. Planning and creating a clear and deliberate project plan ensures all team members work toward a common goal. During the project planning phase, you will:
- Select project team members
- Outline deliverables
- Estimate required project resources
- Determine associated activities
- Set key milestones and dates
Additionally, you can outline your team’s project management methodology with options such as Agile, Waterfall, Scrum, Lean, or Kanban.
2. Executing
During the execution phase, you will carry out your project plan to deliver products to stakeholders. This stage runs concurrently with the monitoring and controlling phase and may involve:
- Managing workflows
- Recommending changes
- Suggesting corrective actions
Ultimately, it’s about maintaining control, collaborating with the entire team, and staying on track.
3. Monitoring
Regular monitoring is essential in any project life cycle to answer the question: Where are we versus where should we be, per the project plan? Effective monitoring requires:
- Regular project check-ins
- Use of proper project documentation and tracking tools to visualise project progress. Visual and real-time monitoring is more effective.
4. Controlling
When you’re in the controlling phase of your project you’re essentially taking what you learned in the monitoring phase and making positive changes to the course. You see where things are going well or not so well, and you course correct. This includes:
- Altering the goals of the project
- Enlisting help from various stakeholders to change course
- Using new tools to provide insights into your project progress
5. Closing
The closing phase, also known as “project delivery” or project closeout, involves wrapping up all activities and delivering the final product. This handover could be to the client, an internal team, or an external stakeholder. It may include concluding contracts or agreements and conducting a comprehensive review or audit.
What are the four types of project management?
Various project management types and frameworks can lead to successful project management. Choosing the right one is crucial, as it determines how you structure your team and plan and monitor your projects.
Here are the descriptions of the leading project management frameworks:
1. Waterfall
Waterfall project management focuses on meticulous planning, breaking down, and scheduling the entire project from start to finish sequentially. It’s best suited for teams capable of defining all project requirements upfront and comfortable with fixed deadlines.
2. Agile
Agile is an iterative approach that enables quick responses to project feedback. It prioritises adaptability, collaboration, and incremental delivery, making it ideal for complex projects with evolving requirements, especially in software development.
Want to learn more about Agile?
Dive into this valuable guide.
3. Kanban
Kanban focuses on continuous improvement through visualising and managing the flow of work. Tasks move across the Kanban board as the project progresses, allowing for rapid adaptation and resolution of bottlenecks. It is beneficial for projects with unpredictable workloads.
4. Scrum
Scrum divides larger projects into shorter sprints, adapting to project demands as it evolves. It defines rules for team size, roles, planning, meetings, and deliverables.
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Eight Tips for Successful Project Management
Effective project management allows companies to develop products or services, optimise operations, and provide value to customers with minimal friction and greater efficiency. To succeed in project management, follow these tips:
- Invest in the initiation and planning stages to avoid later confusion.
- Choose the proper framework or methodology for your project.
- Promote a culture of transparency and ownership to improve communication and collaboration.
- Define a realistic project scope to prevent scope creep.
- Prioritise efficient scheduling for better time management.
- Practice effective resource management to maximise efficiency.
- Engage your stakeholders and maintain strong communication throughout the project.
- Leverage tools like Salesforce to streamline project management workflows and facilitate decision-making.
PRO TIP: Enlist artificial intelligence (AI) for your project management needs. AI is ushering in a bold era of effectiveness in project management. In fact, 1 in 5 project professionals are already using AI, according to recent PMI research.
Source: Project Management Institute Global Project Management Job Trends 2024.
Agentforce extends the capabilities of teams by streamlining workflows and automating routine tasks. Its intelligent AI agents can provide actionable insights and handle repetitive activities, allowing project managers to focus on strategy and innovation.
Be a project management pro
Help your project come to life with the right tools and processes in place. There is nothing better than seeing a project become reality. From small business to enterprise, your projects make a big impact. Start mastering project management with Salesforce today and unlock the potential for successful and efficient project delivery.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Imagine you have a goal you want to achieve at work. This goal isn’t part of your everyday routine work; it’s something new and complex with a clear start and end, interdependencies on other people and teams, and requiring considerable time and money.Project management is the process of identifying and managing all the factors needed to achieve that special goal in the fastest, most optimal, and frictionless manner.
1. Initiating
Here you define the project’s scope, objectives, and budget. This phase is about planning and laying the foundation.
2. Executing
Put the plan into action. Coordinate teams, manage workflows so everyone is working toward shared goals.
3. Monitoring
Track progress against key milestones. Use real-time data and documentation to ensure everything stays on course.
4. Controlling
It is important to respond to changes and adjust as needed. Course-correct based on insights to keep the project moving forward.
5. Closing
Finalise all deliverables, hand over outcomes, and complete documentation. Celebrate success — and capture lessons learned.
Project management can be a route to increasing customer satisfaction by adopting an approach that keeps the customer’s needs, expectations, and feedback at the core throughout the project lifecycle. Then, the projects are planned, executed, and delivered in a way that aligns with what the customer values most, even when they are not customer-facing, they will boost satisfaction and loyalty.
