What is Project Management within IPMS?
Project management is planning, leading, organizing, executing and controlling a broad range of activities to meet a
project's specific requirements - with maximum efficiency and quality. Project management is particularly important
when projects consist of complex, deadline-driven, interdependent processes, or when they involve multiple organizations.
What do IPMS project managers do?
PIPMS professionals build detailed project roadmaps, coordinate activities and communications, and ensure that carefully
made plans are carried out by all players. IPMS project managers do not make decisions; rather, they facilitate best
decision-making practices as an objective third party, and then ensure the project stays on track via both technical
and interpersonal skills.
When should I consider using an outsourced project management service like IPMS?
Companies use external resources for many reasons. Some don't have in-house expertise or have too many projects for existing
staff to handle. Others wish to focus their staff on core competencies instead of on planning, coordination and project execution.
Some firms are faced with difficult decisions or turbulent third-party relationships that require help from an objective facilitator.
Finally, many companies want to learn project management best practices, to establish a template for continuing success.
How can project management reduce my company's risk?
By planning proactively and engaging a highly structured approach, project management improves an organization's ability to get things
done on time, on budget and with accuracy. Skillful project management can help companies anticipate and avoid potential pitfalls by
employing specific risk-management strategies, and mitigate problems that do crop up by facilitating effective decision-making.
Shouldn't our own managers be able to run projects?
Yes - if employees have specific project management skills and are tasked solely with guiding the project. In practice, project management
is often an add-on to an employee's regular responsibilities or assigned based on availability. An effective project manager focuses on
project process: facilitating decision-making as an objective "third party," building detailed project roadmaps, coordinating activities
and communications, and ensuring that carefully made plans are carried out by all participants. Project managers must have honed organizational
and interpersonal skills, and be as immune as possible from internal political pressures in order to act effectively among multiple individuals
and teams.
