Personal Reflection On The Concept Of Project Management

Question

Task: Successful completion of this assignment will result in achievement of the following subject learning outcomes:
1. Understand PMBOK knowledge areas and process groups and their role, relevance and impact on project management best practice and PMI’s Code of Ethics.
2. Critically compare and contrast project management approaches and their appropriateness for managing a variety of project types.
3. Apply appropriate project management tools and techniques, paying particular attention to risk management.
4. Critically reflect on the leadership styles necessary to succeed in a range of project management situations, and their personal capacity to succeed in those situations.

Context: At the beginning of your learning journey on this subject, you were encouraged to reflect on your learning experience and knowledge obtained from the learning modules through discussions and participation. This assessment will provide an opportunity for you to reflect on your learning, document lessons learned, identify global project management practices you hope to adopt in your career. In short, your reflection is a tool for developing knowledge and professionalism in all matters relevant to you as a project manager and leader.

Answer

Introduction
In today's scenario, project management practices become the need of each project team. It is because project management contains a set of different practices and approaches that guides the team in the successful accomplishment of a project. This paper represents my personal experience with the college classes. Also, it represents the knowledge areas that I developed after attending the session on project management. Generally, it can be said that project management organizes project tasks effectively to avoid potential risks and barriers. Therefore, it becomes a preference for each project manager and team members.

Discussion
Knowledge gained through different Lessons: My learning experience with each project management module was very nice. It is because the professor of each module came up with relevant information that strengthens our knowledge areas. My specific knowledge about project management knowledge areas can understand through the following sub-sections:

Project Scope Management
Project scope management is one of the crucial tasks of a project plan. In this knowledge area, I learned about project scope planning, collection of potential requirements, and creating WBS. While the determination of the project scope statement, it is essential for a project manager to consider project deliverables. Therefore, a session on project scope management improves my project scope defines. Also, work breakdown structure determination is essential to carry out projects effectively (Cha, 2018). Hence, I learned enough about project scope management that will prove very helpful in developing my career as a project manager.

Project Schedule Management
The second and most important project management key area is project schedule management. Most of the business houses use MS project software to plan their project schedule. With the help of this module, I gained information about how to use MS project software to plan schedules and determine different project activities. Apart from this, I also learned how to sequence different project activities to calculate accurate project duration. While serving as a project manager, I need to work on different projects and plan activities accordingly. Therefore, the theoretical and practical knowledge about project schedule management will help me in performing my job deliverables effectively.

Project Cost Management
For a project manager, project cost management is one of the important project tasks. Here, I gained information about how to plan, estimate, and control project costs. Before working on any project, it is essential to determine its budget initially (Dumrak, 2017). Therefore, the session on project cost management provides me a significant knowledge about different cost planning and control techniques. The knowledge about project cost management will help me to plan the cost of a particular project with more accuracy. A session on project cost management also comes up with some practical examples. These examples taught me how to make decisions while determining the project cost. In addition, it also introduces me with different cost estimation techniques that will prove helpful in determining the appropriate project cost.

What is the role of project quality management in the project management approach?
It is one of the important tasks of a project sponsor and project management team. Project quality management activities start with a project and end after its closure. Here, I learned about how to prepare a project quality plan for better control over activities. A project quality plan is a combination of different elements like quality management techniques, potential deliverables, and risk factors. In this knowledge area, I gained enough knowledge about project quality planning and its techniques. The example of different project cases also strengthens my practical knowledge and motivates me to move ahead to work as a project manager.

Project Resource Management
Before proceeding for a project, it is essential for a project manager to plan project resources effectively. In this module, I learned how to prepare a resource management plan to carry out the project effectively. In order to avoid unnecessary delays among projects, project resource planning is essential. Therefore, the knowledge about resource planning will help me to estimate activity resources with high accuracy. Moreover, I also gained information about how to collect potential resources and manage their presence within the project. Hence, it can be said that the project resource management knowledge strengthens my project management skills effectively.

Project Communication Management
Project communication management is essential for a project to avoid communication barriers. The session on project communication management introduces me with different project communication methods and their usability. A project communication plan helps a project manager to define communication roots and mediums (Behera, 2018). In a project, the communication methods like email, face to face, and presentation proves very effective to manage conversation and communication among project team members. Apart from this, I also learned about the suitability of each communication channel. For example; the email method is suitable for the project manager, sponsor, and various others. Hence, I can say that an effective project plan should contain an appropriate project communication plan to avoid unforeseen errors and mistakes.

Project Risk Management
While planning for a project, it is necessary for the project manager to identify potential project risks. With the help of this session, I learned about different risk identification methods and their usability in a project. These techniques involve forecasting and various others. Apart from this, I also learned how to conduct quantitative and qualitative risk evaluation for better risk prediction. Therefore, the knowledge about risk identification and evaluation techniques will help me to come up with better risk prediction measures. After the identification of potential risks, their mitigation and management are as essential as their evaluation. Hence, project risk management knowledge enhances and improves my project management skills.

Project Procurement Management
Before starting any project, a project manager needs to procure the required resources. Therefore, the project procurement plan is essential to develop for a project manager (Joslin, 2015). Here, I learned how to prepare a procurement plan and what elements I need to include in it. Apart from this, I also gained significant knowledge about the ways of procuring essential items and resources. Moreover, I also learned how to control project procurements. There is a wide range of examples given in the module. With the help of these examples, I strengthen my practical as well as theoretical knowledge about project procurement planning.

Project Stakeholder Management
After deciding on a project, the project sponsor moves ahead to determine a list of potential stakeholders. A session on project stakeholder management provides me a significant knowledge about stakeholder identification. Also, I gained information about the methodologies of stakeholder engagement. Effective project management asks for high stakeholder engagement. Therefore, the use of best stakeholder engagement techniques is essential for a project manager. On the basis of my personal experience as a project team member, I can say that project stakeholder engagement monitoring is as essential as project plan development. Therefore, project stakeholder engagement knowledge prepares me to serve as an effective project manager.

Project Integration Management
A short lecture on project integration management provides me a significant knowledge about how to prepare project charter. Hornstein (2015) defined the project charter as a document that explains the complete project. Hence, this session introduces me to different elements and components of a project charter and its usability within a project. Apart from this, I also gained significant knowledge about project management methodologies and work management. The knowledge about project integration management will improve my project management skills and enhance the capability to manage different projects for a certain time.

In order to become a project manager, it is essential for me to learn about different project management standards and practices. Therefore, this module improves my theoretical and practical knowledge regarding different project management knowledge areas. With the help of active knowledge in project management, I can serve as an effective project manager. Also, I can handle different projects with high efficiency. Apart from this, () said that project management should have knowledge about project key areas. It is because the knowledge about key areas enhances the capability of an individual to serve as a project manager. Hence, my experience with this session was nice.

Conclusion
After conducting a session on project management knowledge areas, I can say that project management is an important approach for a project manager. This session improved my knowledge and skills regarding project scope management, schedule management, risk management, and various other components. These skills and knowledge award me an opportunity to build a career in project management.

References
Behera, P., Mohanty, R. P., & Prakash, A. (2018). An investigation of implementation issues, process phases and knowledge areas of project management in the performance of construction supply chains. International Journal of Project Organisation and Management, 10(2), 137-157.

Cha, J., Newman, M., & Winch, G. (2018). Revisiting the project management knowledge framework: Rebalancing the framework to include transformation projects. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 11(4), 1026-1043.

Dumrak, J., Baroudi, B., & Hadjinicolaou, N. (2017). Exploring the association between project management knowledge areas and sustainable outcomes. Procedia Engineering, 182, 157-164.

Hornstein, H. A. (2015). The integration of project management and organizational change management is now a necessity. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), 291-298.

Joslin, R., & Müller, R. (2015). Relationships between a project management methodology and project success in different project governance contexts. International Journal of Project Management, 33(6), 1377-1392.