Discover Key Principles & Best Practices: BCom Project Management

The importance of effective project management teams

Project management is essential in today’s complicated and changing corporate environment. Upcoming project-orientated activity within the economy is expected to create a yearly demand for 2.3 million project managers.

This is because project management dramatically influences the success of companies as a whole. It offers a structured method for organising, planning, and carrying out tasks — guaranteeing that projects are finished on schedule, within the allotted budget, and with the intended quality.

Furthermore, it enables effective resource allocation and risk management, which decreases the likelihood of a project failing. It also promotes higher levels of productivity and teamwork by encouraging collaboration and accountability — leading to higher employee retention.

What are the fundamental principles of effective project planning?

Project management takes a lot of hard work, planning, and implementation. If you decide to pursue a BCom Project Management degree, you’ll learn the following fundamental project planning principles.

Formal structure
The project needs to have a formal structure, including tools that need to be used and processes that must be followed. This means it needs to have a clear plan of action and a designated project team to complete all necessary tasks before the project starts.

Clear outcomes
A project cannot succeed without having clear outcomes and deliverables. Thus, managers and employees should know the precise requirements and criteria of the project. Otherwise, the final project may not adhere to everything the client requests — which could lead to wasted time, money, and effort.

Team responsibilities
All team members must know their roles and responsibilities before the project starts. This way. Everyone will know what’s expected of them and how to approach their duties. Many companies follow the RACI formula to determine the duties of employees:

• Responsible
• Accountable
• Consulted
• Informed
• Communication

Without effective communication, project management is futile. All team members must be clear on precisely what needs to be done at each project stage and be updated on its status.

Communication is also vital in keeping stakeholders engaged, solving problems, escalating risks, and more. Discover the importance of communication in the workplace.

Performance management
Projects generally have three main components:

• Cost
• Schedule
• Scope

These components can measure performance and ensure the project runs according to predicted outcomes. All of these components affect the others. For example, if the scope of the project changes and more deliverables are expected, the cost will increase, and the schedule will expand.

Top 11 best practices for project management

Project managers need to follow the following 11 practices to manage a project from start to finish effectively.

• Establish clear objectives and goals: Project managers (PMs) must create clear goals and communicate them to teams so all employees know what they’re working towards and how to get there.
• Effective leadership: Managers should assist in decision-making, resolve conflicts between co-workers, and address any issues during the project to keep team members accountable.
• Stakeholder engagement: They must manage the understanding and expectations of deliverables so stakeholders know exactly what to expect during and at the end of all projects.
• Risk management: Projects managers must identify and mitigate risks that might negatively affect the project. By identifying possible risks early on, they can ensure the entire project runs without a hitch.
• Resource management: They should ensure the effective allocation of resources and select the right personnel, budget, equipment, technologies, and processes to enhance productivity and minimise waste.
• Quality management: PMs must set the standard of deliverables per the criteria provided by clients and stakeholders and ensure that these standards are always met.
• Continuous improvement: Managers should continuously encourage a culture of learning and innovation so employees feel inspired and satisfied with their careers.
• Adaptability and flexibility: They must embrace the agile mindset and be open to new plans and strategies to accommodate changing circumstances or new opportunities.
• Collaboration and teamwork: PMs should encourage effective teamwork and collaboration so employees feel comfortable sharing and supporting ideas.
•  Effective documentation management: Project managers must maintain accurate documentation that ensures knowledge sharing and transparency amongst employees and team members.
• Ethical conduct: They should ensure the company adheres to professional and ethical standards throughout the project, all while working with honesty, integrity, and fairness.

Tools and technologies for effective project management

When you study project management, you’ll learn about all the tools and technologies used to help make the process more efficient and seamless — from planning to better communication, task management, and time tracking.

Several tools can help with project management, including Asana, ClickUp, Monday.com, Microsoft Project, etc.

When it comes to choosing the right tools and technologies for a specific company, it comes down to the scope of projects, the type of functionalities that are needed, and the company size and budget.

For example, ClickUp is a robust project management tool with many functions that could run larger projects. Yet, this tool can be more complicated and have a stricter learning curve. On the other hand, Monday.com is simpler to use but has some limitations regarding features.

Register online & study BCom project management with MANCOSA

If you enjoy taking charge and can run a project effectively from start to finish, a career in project management could be ideal for you.

You can learn more about the Bachelor of Commerce in Project Management course here to see what this program includes and whether it suits your interests and career goals.
Aside from the MANCOSA BCom project management course, we also offer a range of other management degrees, including BCom in Human Resource Management, BCom in Marketing Management, and BCom in Retail Management.