Why Project Planning & Management?
Project-based work has become a popular option in many organizations. There are many functions that actually operate through a project-based format that are often overlooked as being considered as projects. For example, projects could include new product development, information system technology change, employee social activities, and various assorted company campaigns. Other than traditional planning and organizing skills, project leaders and members need project management skills in order to execute plans effectively and achieve goals in a systemic approach. Because of the wide range of applicable uses for project-based functions, project planning skills are suitable for all levels of managers and employees.
Integral Perspective in Project Planning & Management
Integral has trained hundreds of participants in this field, with positions ranging from fore-front operations level to executive management level. Despite their wide range of backgrounds, the common resulting comment was that Project Management greatly helped them to increase their efficiencies in time, manpower, and money to achieve their goals.
From our perspective, project planning is not just simply a plan of what needs to be done, but also a process of building stakeholder commitment. A well prepared plan by the leader does not necessarily result in ownership and commitment from the team, which may lead to issues arising in implementation. Instead, the leader would want to focus on involving all the team members in a facilitated, interactive process during the planning stage. This structured process allows for the team to collaborate on defining the measurements of the outcome, to brainstorming the tasks, outlining the responsibilities, and estimating the resources and risks. Integral’s Project Management Model summarizes the process in a nutshell: