Delta: Assignment Nov-23-09

1. What is project management?

Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. It is often closely related to and sometimes conflated with program management. [1]


2. Enumerate/Identify the traditional development phases of a project

* Project initiation stage;
The first phase of project management is the Initiation phase. It's during this initial time that the project goal is established. During Phase 1, if a project manager has been assigned, this person works with the involved parties, otherwise known as the project stakeholders, to fully determine how to measure the success of the project once all work is complete[2]

* Project planning or design stage;
Often the most time-consuming of the phases of project management, the Planning phase is where you lay your project groundwork. In Phase 1 - Initiation, you define your project deliverables through the Project Charter. Now, in Phase 2 - Planning, you create a specific list of things that need to happen in order for your goal or goals to be met.[3]

* Project execution or production stage;
During the Execution phase, your best-laid plan from Phase 2 - Planning is put to work. This is also a great time to use your project management tracking software to it's fullest extent. Project management software is a must during this time. It doesn’t have to be fancy, or even expensive, but it does need to keep you on top of everything you thought would happen during this project and whether or not it is actually happening.[4]

* Project monitoring and controlling systems;
In Phase three, you execute your original project plan. But, it's pretty rare that all of your project tasks are happening simultaneously. So, it's quite possible that while you're executing Task 2 (Phase 3), you're monitoring Task 1 (Phase 4) to make sure the work is going according to the project plan (Phase 2). Let's look at a real world example.[5]

* Project completion stage.
During this phase, project managers often depend on their project management software to provide detailed summary reports of everything from missed timelines to the amount of money spent during the project and how that information matches up with the original project plan.[6]

3. Which phases are commonly done or conducted using information systems (either standalone or web-based.)

Project Execution and Production stage, Project monitoring and controlling systems, Project completion stage.

4. State three or more advantages of using information systems for each of the phases that use them

When information systems are designed to provide information needed for effective decision making by managers, they are called management information systems. MIS is a formal system for providing management with accurate and timely information necessary for decision making. [7]


References:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management
2. http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/1672.aspx
3. http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/1673.aspx
4. http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/1674.aspx
5. http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/1675.aspx
6. http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/1676.aspx
7. http://www.management-hub.com/information-management-advantages.html