Project Management

The key project management skill set involves overseeing all aspects of the project ensuring it is done well, on time and within the budget, and anybody with an analytical mind and the ability to be a people person could prove to be a good project manager irrespective of the industry he/she is working. The knowledge areas of project management can be implemented and applied not only in the business world but also our day to day lives. It doesn’t matter what industry we are in, how experienced we are, how different our project is, every project’s core is the iron triangle i.e. the Schedule, Scope and Budget. It might seem that project management has gained wide popularity in the Information Technology sector; there are other industries which effectively use the project management skills to carry on their projects and hence are not limited to IT alone.  Today, most projects are large and complex in nature and involve many stakeholders such as shareholders, regulators, local authorities and multiple customers. Every industry has its own risks, deadlines, business processes, management hierarchy, costs, and effective project management is the one that binds all these together resulting in greater coordination and successful functioning of an organization irrespective of any industry. The Healthcare industry for example, requires detailed resource and material supply, IT and Technical team, supply chain network,  recruitment team and ambulances which are expected to be fully functional at all times. Decisions have to be made quick and executed consistently to meet the day to day challenges and these call for standardized project management methodologies which make the industry work almost flawless. Continuing to discuss about project management skills in various industries, a survey of LinkedIn’s employment listings show that there are over 500,000 vacancies for project managers in the oil and gas industry across the world.   This clearly indicates that for industries like the oil and gas that manages magnificently complex and technologically demanding projects, project managers with best practices who follow consistent project management framework that guides their decisions and processes are key and essential. The main challenges every industry faces are the scope creeps, cost and timeline variations and project management is the solution to most of them. Most projects today fail lacking these skills. The Project Management Body of knowledge also discusses about effective project operation and maintenance management, procurement management, integration and team management which are the most important elements in construction projects. Project Management is the vital ingredient in transforming this industry from an un-organized to an organized one. In addition to smooth functioning of the projects, relationship management is also the most fundamental project management talent needed during every phase of project life cycle be it in the construction, IT, Defense or Healthcare. Hence, I believe project management is a universal skill looked-for in every industry for setting goals and implementing the strategies for achieving these goals.