A project is complete when it starts working for you, rather than you working for it.

Scott Allen

At its heart, the project management plan is little more than a series of time, cost, and scope benchmarks that you can use to monitor performance.

The risk management process overlays on this a series of hypothetical controls.

In this Module, we will introduce tools, techniques, and processes you can apply to monitor and manage your projects.

Be warned, though – there is a bit of maths ahead, so we’ll try to keep our explanations as simple and practical as possible!

Before we get there, though, we will take a couple of Units to reflect on what managing and leading projects looks like.

Leading project stakeholders is a complex activity, above and beyond the technical skills of preparing schedules, budgets, and risk management plans.

We will show you how to:

• Manage the performance of your project team
• Make timely and effective decisions
• Communicate those decisions to stakeholders at every level
• Leverage conflict, converting creative tension into productivity gains, and
• Drive the innovation necessary for your unique undertaking to succeed.

Finally, we will visit the important – but often overlooked – processes to successfully close projects.

Beyond handing the outputs off to the client, this involves capturing lessons learned and continually improving how we do things at the personal and organizational levels.

Our ultimate aim is to build and maintain a culture of project excellence in our workplaces and communities of practice.