subject: Understand The Concept of Time Management [print this page] Understand The Concept of Time Management
When preparing for pmp exam preparation, it is critical to understand the concept of time management. This is one of the corner stones of project management, and must be part of any good pmp exam prep course.
Many organizations have a desire to use project management to achieve the success it brings when executed with precision. However, once an organization that has never used project management before attempts to implement it, they soon discover the required investment in time to plan a project correctly is daunting. The functional or operational managers see activities like scope definition, risk planning, etc as a waste of time. Therefore, what happens is the reduction of project management to nothing more than a list of activities to complete by an arbitrary date. This approach typically places the focus on getting the job done by the date the "paper" says. What usually happens is the arbitrary dates are missed, because they did not take into consideration many other factors necessary to estimate how long an activity will last and the resources needed to do the activity. Good PMP exam preparation courses will show examples of this.
Understanding what is involved in project time management and the methodology necessary will help the project manager make better estimates in resources, durations, planning and controlling the schedule. There is discipline required in good time management. It is far easier to dismiss this topic by stating that all one has to do is make sure the activities are done by the date specified. This approach could increase stress to the project team. It could affect other project success factors like the budget or quality. Focusing on project time management the way it should be will reinforce the other aspects of project management. The learner in this course will soon discover the importance of having a scope and project plan developed. These, along with other inputs, are necessary if the project manager wants to manage time accurately on a project. These inputs are developed in previous project planning activitiesthe ones that usually frustrate functional and operational managers. PMP exam prep material should explain this in detail.
In summary, the focus on project time management will help build the case for the other necessary project management activities. A good PMP exam preparation course should explain its scope an example is: While this course does not focus on the specific prerequisite activities that form the inputs to many of the phases of project time management, this course will emphasize the need to perform these prerequisite activities, because they are the foundation to accurate time management in projects.
