Statement of Work and Its Role in Project Management
Project management is a complex undertaking that requires dedication and accuracy with regard to the execution and propagation of various components that characterize its essence. In most cases, project managers rationalize ideas and activities in order to ensure and guarantee efficiency and timely completion of underlying tasks and objectives (Fox 13). Such undertakings require a comprehensive statement of work that outlines various objectives that suffice with regard to the project.
The statement of work is vital because it embodies basic requirements that ultimately define the overall progression and orientation of the project (Fox 13). It also presents structural and institutional frameworks that shall support the initiation and completion of the project. In essence, a statement of work reflects a project summary and various desirable outcomes after its completion (Fox 17). This declaration anchors pertinent facets of a project and offers room for evaluation in order to determine progress. However, it is important for project managers to present the statement of work to stakeholders for scrutiny and approval (Fox 21).
This function plays a crucial role in enhancing accountability and institutional goodwill. Whenever project managers present such statements, they seek stakeholder support and approval (Fox 23). The approval allows project managers to undertake and implement various components of the project without interference. Stakeholders are very critical with regard to the initiation and propagation of projects.
Project managers must cooperate with stakeholders in order to guarantee goodwill and support for the project (Fox 27). Devoid of such efforts, it would be difficult for project managers to actualize ideals and aspirations that characterize projects within organizational contexts. A statement of work guides project managers on specific areas of interest such as cost, duration, funding, and desired outcomes. These functions give credence to the formulation and actualization of a statement of work (Fox 32).
Project Controlling and Monitoring Processes in Project Management
As earlier mentioned, project management requires skills that augment the overall desire for success and accomplishment. Project managers must understand basic realities that characterize project initiation and actualization (Mantel 47). In absence of such knowledge and skills, it is difficult for them to evaluate and appraise projects with regard to progress and adherence to institutional guidelines.
A project life cycle constitutes various developmental phases that embody diverse objectives and aspirations (Mantel 47). It guides the implementation and articulation of inherent components of a project. It also eases surveillance on core tenets that embody organizational projects and undertakings. Surveillance guarantees accountability and transparency regarding costing and budgetary allocations (Mantel 48).
It also supports introspection and evaluation with a view to enhancing the progression and implementation of project ideals and aspirations. The most important phase of a project life cycle involves monitoring and control (Mantel 49). Through monitoring and control, project managers evaluate various metrical aspects in order to sustain compliance and adherence to initial objectives that suffice with regard to a project. Monitoring bolsters institutional and statutory frameworks that guide the overall implementation of diverse aspirations that relate to a specific project (Mantel 52).
It also facilitates budgetary control and rationalization to guarantee adherence to initial costing and estimates. It identifies areas that require review in terms of cost and time. These processes assess progress in relation to actual and planned outcomes within specific facets of a project (Mantel 56). Monitoring and control facilitate risk control and performance reporting. Other areas of control include cost, schedule, risk, scope, and change management (Mantel 57).
It is important to note that projects do not necessarily comply with initial expectations. Through monitoring and evaluation, project managers identify discrepancies and ultimately draft recommendations for a reprieve. Indeed, monitoring and control play an important role in facilitating the qualitative completion of organizational projects (Mantel 62).
Project Team Management in Accordance with Organizational Vision and Mission
Compliance augments basic principles that guide conformity to statutory and organizational provisions that characterize projects in corporate contexts. Successful projects must satisfy legal frameworks that define their essence and rationale (Kloppenburg 11). In fact, compliance is very important with regard to project management and appraisal. Project managers strive to guarantee compliance and adherence to core objectives that relate to specific projects and organizational undertakings. In order to bolster compliance, most organizations institute control mechanisms and frameworks that support the realization of underlying objectives (Kloppenburg 11).
Project compliance ensures that projects adhere to organizational aspirations and regulatory thresholds. This ensures credibility and the ability to deliver anticipated outcomes with regard to the project. Project managers must play an active role in guiding project progression and compliance with holistic ideals that suffice in project activation and propagation (Kloppenburg 13). This involves recurrent monitoring and evaluation in order to quantify progress in specific areas of interest. Project managers must invoke various institutional controls that empower comprehensive foray into compliance and statutory alignment (Kloppenburg 13).
Project managers should also inspire action through candid engagement with leaders and supervisors within the team (Kloppenburg 14). This should involve constant reporting and appraisal regard progress in important areas that characterize the project. Situational and incident reports enable managers to understand issues and challenges that manifest in the course of implementation (Kloppenburg 18).
It also enables managers to make decisions that create an impetus for success and accomplishment (Kloppenburg 21). Unless project managers understand their role in actualizing projects, it is difficult for them to perform accordingly. They should also appreciate the role of teamwork in ensuring proper implementation of core ideals and aspirations that support project sustenance and completion (Kloppenburg 23).
Project Team Performance and Its Evaluation
Evaluation is a pertinent undertaking with regard to project management in contemporary organizational contexts. It offers an opportunity for project managers to appraise performance and progress. Numerous paradigms suffice in relation to project evaluation and appraisal (Haynes 53). There are systems that facilitate evaluation among project team members. Under this premise, team members check on colleagues in order to determine and sustain compliance with the basic objectives of the project. Another paradigm involves situations where team leaders appraise individual members (Haynes 53).
The latter is very common because it yields better results as compared to the former. In order to institute effective evaluation, project managers should instruct team members to appraise individual performance on key areas of interest. After presenting individual appraisals, the project manager should analyze them with a view to identifying discrepancies and strengths (Haynes 54). Project managers should identify successful areas and areas that require special attention. Evaluation should revolve around areas such as challenges, performance, achievements, individual strengths, and overall orientation of the project (Haynes 57).
Managers should exercise candour and precision in order to achieve favourable outcomes. In absence of such action, there would be little progress in relation to understanding the overall progress of the project. It is important for managers to appreciate the individual contribution of team members. However, team members must earn sustenance through performance and positive results (Haynes 58). Project managers should identify areas that require more effort and allocation of resources. This guarantees continuous progress and the ability to satisfy objective areas of interest. Project evaluation creates an impetus for actions that guarantee consistency and accountability (Haynes 63).
Teamwork plays an important role in supporting the qualitative and timely completion of projects. Project managers should utilize evaluation as a tool for accountability and transparency. Evaluation should suffice in consultation with team members and organizational stakeholders (Haynes 63).
Problem Areas Identification in Project Management
All organizational projects gear towards successful and resourceful completion. Project managers desire positive results that ultimately guarantee accomplishment and timely closure of core objectives that encompass project undertakings (Kanda 19). However, managers should appreciate the challenges and complexities that characterize the actualization of projects. It is impossible for projects to actualize devoid of challenges. Challenges should suffice as motivators as opposed to impediments. Project managers should endeavour to conduct regular appraisals that identify key problem areas within the project (Kanda 19).
Through such exercises, project managers enhance accountability and transparency. This cannot happen in absence of constant evaluation with regard to pertinent areas of interest. Regular project appraisal identifies areas that warrant attention and adjustment (Kanda 21). For instance, it could realize budgetary deficits and inadequacies that could ultimately jeopardize the quality and timely completion of the project.
All projects must encounter challenges in the course of actualization and propagation (Kanda 22). Such issues should motivate remedial steps that gear towards ameliorating implementation. This guarantees appropriate action towards offering solutions regarding such discrepancies. Project managers should evaluate progress by comparing current progress to initial objectives enshrined in the statement of work (Kanda 26).
This makes it possible for project managers to identify problem areas that could affect the progress and completion of the project. Such areas should enhance constant troubleshooting with regard to the general orientation of the project (Kanda 29). Managers should devise appropriate structural frameworks that not only solve problems but also forestall their occurrence and propagation within projects. Indeed, problems are integral realities in project initiation and sustenance. However, challenges should not affect overall performance within project teams (Kanda 32).
Project Work Integration in Organizations
Whenever organizations embark on projects, they entrust it to project managers. Project managers play an important role in ensuring the success and actualization of a project. Their contribution to projects must embody inclusive and rational objectives that ultimately enhance progress (Hobbs 76). In most cases, projects involve teams that perform specific tasks towards the realization of core ideals and aspirations.
It is important for project managers to initiate appropriate ownership models that enable team effort towards the actualization of the project (Hobbs 76). This involves the creation of specific roles and responsibilities that outline specific duties assigned to team members (Hobbs 76). Team members cannot achieve success in absence of proper knowledge regarding their anticipated contribution to the team. Proper knowledge enables team members to pursue areas that bolster performance in their assigned roles (Hobbs 78). The project manager should assign roles depending on identifiable attributes that manifest with regard to individual team members.
This ensures that all tasks reflect individual competencies in pertinent areas that require attention. All activities within teams should promote organizational ideals and aspirations in order to guarantee efficiency and overall adherence to basic thresholds of existence within such entities (Hobbs 81). This is possible through proper leadership and tutelage by project managers. The development of project ownership models should revolve around the basic tenets of organizational entities. Team members should have a willingness to undertake duties that reflect individual ability. Projects that lack such probity fail to satisfy overall ideals that warrant their existence and propagation (Hobbs 82).
Works Cited
Fox, William. A Guide to Project Management. London: Juta and Company Ltd, 2008. Print.
Haynes, Marion. Project Management: Practical Tools for Success. Newyork: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
Hobbs, Peter. Project Management. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2009. Print.
Kanda, Arun. Project Management: A Life Cycle Approach. Newyork: PHI Learning Pvt Ltd, 2011. Print.
Kloppenburg, Timothy. Contemporary Project Management. London: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.
Mantel, Samuel. Project Management: A Managerial Approach. Newyork: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print.