The iron triangle and effective project management leadership

Project Management/Essentials of Project Management

Nearly all businesses require project management. Having held a position as project manager with a reputable company, I have come to learn that the effective project manager is one who comprehends and is aware of the need to provide sound leadership to help deliver projects within the set budget and on time.

Being an Effective Project Manager

While working in a software company, I noticed that an effective manager must know and understand the 'iron triangle' of project management. This approach is also at times referred to as the 'triple constraints' of project management. An effective project manager is capable of taking advantage of all opportunities that present themselves during the course of the project to ensure development of team synergy (Project Smart, 2015).

This is to say that the effective project managers establish a network that is supportive of all people involved. They start by identifying the key stakeholders, diagnose the relationships present, and consider how influence flows in the group. The effective project manager is capable of obtaining and exercising influence in several circumstances. Using influence, and also allowing space for an environment that is cooperative, helps shape the project towards the desired direction with the least friction among concerned parties. This is done in a way that builds trust and so boosts the participant's perception of the project manager's competence and character (Mheducation, 2015).

Project Goals

I also observed that for the project manager, the main goal is achieving the goals of the projects for which he is responsible. The other goals are meeting the customer's needs and satisfying them. The triple constraints of scope, cost and time should help define the project and shape the actions taken during the project. Every objective defined by these constraints ought to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) (Kraft, 2015).

Also, while doing the job of project manager the focus should always be on the things that are most important. Ineffective meetings may lead to the primary goals being focused on less. Every meeting should therefore be designed in such a way that it plays a role in moving the project ahead. The team should always be seeking to move forward. Even the smallest of progress counts (Mathis, 2015).

I concentrated mostly on the projects being completed well inside the time allocated for them. The teams always did everything in their power to ensure this goal was attained. We also focused on finishing projects within the set budgets. Budgets are always set by other people and the project teams inherit them. Who sets the budget does not really matter as long as it is reasonable and well informed.

The team should then focus on working within the set budgets. When a project is finished within the budget and also on time, it speaks greatly of the character of the members and their competence. The project manager who leads the team also demonstrates leadership ability by ensuring this is the case. The third focus is ensuring that the quality of work is excellent. The sad thing is that project teams often sacrifice quality in instances where they are lagging behind in time and are rushing to meet the deadline (Mathis, 2015).

The thinking is always that by letting other parts of the project go, or by not giving them enough attention, they can complete the project on time. This often results in the quality suffering. Project managers should always be strategic thinkers and think of other sound ways of beating deadlines without sacrificing quality (Mathis, 2015).

It is inevitable that plans may be revised as the team encounters new information that had not been anticipated before; revisions made should never hurt quality. While the deadline is very important, quality is just as important. The fourth focus is often meeting the needs of the customer. The customer must always be "wowed." This may be achieved simply by delivering the project with all the specifications outline covered (Mathis, 2015).

The last piece of the puzzle is doing all that is possible with what is available. Not one project can be considered perfect. However, the team must commit to doing their very best. Some projects, for instance, may run into serious problems that are out of the control of the project team, such as earthquakes, power blackouts, or terror attacks. Often, there are cases where projects have been faced with such challenges and they bounced back to deliver very good results. It is up to the leadership and the team to figure out the best way forward (Mathis, 2015).

Project Portfolio Development

Successful project portfolio developments can take several shapes. What is ideal will usually depend on the specifics of the situation and the unique goals that the project desires to attain. From experience, a few components have been found to be standard in almost all successful projects (SEI, 2011).

Change management is one. This is all about managing the changes that are almost guaranteed to occur during the course of the project. All organizations should consider the frequency and the weight of the changes it implements. The changes could be to the workforce or to the technology, but they both require that the lines of communication are open and there is mediation and monitoring. Project prioritization is part of change management. Once the suitable projects have been identified, they should be prioritized and executed sequentially. Return on Investments or ROI must be paid attention considered when prioritizing and committing resources to projects (SEI, 2011).

Resource management will require that the team is appropriately skilled in enterprise resource management. Project portfolio management requires that there is serious evaluation of the resource needs of the projects as the resources available to companies are limited. Resource management is therefore very key in project portfolio management. Project evaluation is also important as it is important that projects are evaluated using best practices (SEI, 2011).

Using common variable to track projects like ROI, resource utilization, budget, and time ensures that the reporting is dependable and useful. Project evaluation should indicate that the team is making the necessary progress towards the desired outcome. It is very critical that projects be scored against these common metrics so that decision making is efficient and effective. This can save the organization from wasting funds unnecessarily or incurring higher opportunity costs (SEI, 2011).

Project Uncertainty Impact

Uncertainty characterizes most projects, as expectations and assumptions are made use of in the definition and the realization of the project. Two kinds of uncertainty exist. There is measurable risk or probability, and also unquantifiable uncertainty or ambiguity. Risk may be designated a probability value, while uncertainty is always not measurable in project management (Koleczko, 2012). My observations revealed to me that project uncertainty can greatly affect planning and execution, as well as the level of participation of the participants. Project uncertainty is therefore one of the factors that influence how a project performs (Jun et al., 2010).

Project Scheduling

Project scheduling is scheduling activities, showing the start and the finish point for every activity. Both points should be measurable and visible. Over the period that I served as project manager, I made the conclusion that certain factors should be paid attention to by project managers as they schedule their projects. They are: cash flow forecasts, responsibilities of the staff, and allocation and availability of resources. There should be constant monitoring and re-planning as the project proceeds. Basically, the project manager should define activities, sequence the activities, estimate the time required, and come up with a schedule as well as Program Evaluation and Review Technique or PERT techniques (Hassan, 2006).

Conclusion

The demand for project managers is continually rising, given the increase in the demand for Information Technology systems and the drop in product life cycles. Globalization is also pushing the demand up (Brown et al., 2010). Project managers should be well equipped to handle the work to come and be able to help companies attain their goals in the current competitive environment.