Project Planning and Control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Project Planning and Control - Essay Example Project management may be defined as the sum total of the functions of conceiving, formulating, scheduling, implementing, supervising, controlling, and reviewing a project with the objective of completing it on time according to specifications and budget. Marion Haynes (2002, p.3) describes project management in the following words: Project management focuses on a project. A project is an undertaking that has a beginning and an end and is carried out to meet established goals within cost, schedule, and quality objectives. Project management brings together and optimises the resources necessary to successfully complete the project. These resources include the skills, talents, and cooperative efforts of a team of people; facilities, tools, and equipment; information, systems, and techniques; and money. Newman, Warren, and McGill defined a project and its value as â€Å"simply a cluster of activities that are relatively separate and clear-cut. Building a plant, designing a new package, soliciting gifts of $500,000 for a men’s dormitory are examples. A project typically has a distinct mission and a clear terminating point†. The multifarious tasks within an organization get simpler and more amenable to effective execution when they are broken up into separate projects that are distinct and specific in terms of cost, time frame, activities, and the project team. As such it is most often likely that a given project remains as a part of a larger organizational project with a longer time frame.