Project Management
Project management is described as the use of specific knowledge, skills, tool,s and techniques to deliver something of value to people. Projects can range from creating software to building structures like the one you see in the picture above. They can be small or large, but they all require the completion of multiple steps before the project is done. Project management is a process of steps or phases before completion, such as initiation, planning, executing, and closing. This is called the project management life cycle, and it is what each project must go through to be successful.
Project Management in Leadership
Being proficient at project management means knowing many skills that relate directly to leadership. In order to be a good project manager, you need to have great communication skills, be good at resolving conflict, building relationships, and a number of other skills that are necessary to be a good leader. Understanding that projects need to be broken down into manageable chunks and completed in phases is something that can directly relate to leadership as well. Leadership is just another form of being a project manager, just with having different types of projects. Having these skills also gives me confidence that I will be able to begin my journey as a project manager without worry of failing.
Project Management Artifact
My first class on project management was OGL 320 Project Management Foundations. This was my first real exposure to project management outside of the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK) and what it entails. The below artifact is from that class and was my reflection on Module 1. It asks a couple of interesting questions like what I learned about project management, and what was I already aware of. At the time I was already aware of the four phases, but not in great detail. This course really stirred my passion for project management and I am looking forward to finally securing a position as a project manager.
Project management is described as the use of specific knowledge, skills, tool,s and techniques to deliver something of value to people. Projects can range from creating software to building structures like the one you see in the picture above. They can be small or large, but they all require the completion of multiple steps before the project is done. Project management is a process of steps or phases before completion, such as initiation, planning, executing, and closing. This is called the project management life cycle, and it is what each project must go through to be successful.
Project Management in Leadership
Being proficient at project management means knowing many skills that relate directly to leadership. In order to be a good project manager, you need to have great communication skills, be good at resolving conflict, building relationships, and a number of other skills that are necessary to be a good leader. Understanding that projects need to be broken down into manageable chunks and completed in phases is something that can directly relate to leadership as well. Leadership is just another form of being a project manager, just with having different types of projects. Having these skills also gives me confidence that I will be able to begin my journey as a project manager without worry of failing.
Project Management Artifact
My first class on project management was OGL 320 Project Management Foundations. This was my first real exposure to project management outside of the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK) and what it entails. The below artifact is from that class and was my reflection on Module 1. It asks a couple of interesting questions like what I learned about project management, and what was I already aware of. At the time I was already aware of the four phases, but not in great detail. This course really stirred my passion for project management and I am looking forward to finally securing a position as a project manager.
Reflection
The importance of the competency of project management with regard to my degree is that it was the whole reason I decided on Organizational Leadership (Project Management) as my major in the first place. Prior to enrolling at ASU I knew I was interested in learning about project management, and was planning on earning my Project Management Professional certificate through the Project Management Institute (PMI). However, the moment I saw that project management was offered as part of a degree option, I immediately jumped on the chance. Had project management not been a part of the degree path, I would have chosen a business degree instead.
As previously stated, this was my first real taste of project management even though I had been reading the PMBOK guide and was already interested. But my knowledge was lacking and since then I have taken classes on project time management, project cost management, project risk management, and project leadership to name a few. These classes went much further into depth on the topics and with the first couple of classes I was worried that I would have a difficult time because I didn't know anything about the topic. But over the course of my education I have learned that just like in project management if you break things down into smaller chunks, you can accomplish anything. I was even able to discuss risk management with leadership at my job because I felt that they weren't practicing good risk management if any. I was able to explain a couple of my ideas to them and though it didn't amount to much, I felt great because I was able to be proactive and offer what I felt were good solutions to an ongoing problem.