Learn the fundamentals of project management with this comprehensive guide
Overview of Project Management Basics
PMI (Project Management Institute) reports a serious risk of a talent gap between the growing demand for project managers and the amount of trained project managers that can fill those roles. As stated in a 10-year employment trends report by PMI, “The global economy needs 25 million new project professionals by 2030. To close the talent gap, 2.3 million people will need to enter PMOE [project management-oriented employment] every year just to keep up with demand.” In the state of Arizona alone, there were over 52,000 job openings looking for project management skills in 2024.
Every business or non-profit needs to execute projects; that’s why project management is essential for any organization’s overall project success—whether it’s increasing performance for an outpatient surgical center or rescuing an essential client relationship from turning sour. Project managers are responsible for overseeing the delivery of a project—efficiently managing the scope of work, timeline, budget, and stakeholders throughout. Based on the invaluable nature of project management skills, they can be widely used across nearly any industry—including healthcare, construction, IT, and more.
Together, we’ll explore project management basics—from core components and the five stages of a project management life cycle to top skills and tools for effective project management. Through education and training, real-world experience, and soft and technical skills, you can build a successful project management career—no matter where you’re starting from. Learn how to become indispensable to your future (or current) company’s success with this comprehensive guide to project management basics.
What is Project Management?
The discipline of project management is more complex than just managing projects. According to APM (Association for Project Management), project management “Is the application of processes, methods, skills, knowledge and experience to achieve specific project objectives.” To sum it up, a project manager is responsible for creating and abiding by timelines, staying on budget, managing team members, and communicating updates with stakeholders to achieve project goals.
In order to achieve project success, a project manager will need to create and present project charters, project plans, and a budget to internal team members and external stakeholders. This helps everyone understand what the project goal is and how it will be achieved.
Core Components of Project Management
There are four core components of project management to understand:
Project Charter
The project charter is an essential document that lays the foundation for a successful project. This outlines the key aspects of a project plan from project objectives and scope to stakeholders and overall framework. According to ProjectManager.com the project charter, “Helps guarantee clarity, alignment, and accountability to contribute to its success.”
Project Plan
The project plan defines the overall strategy for executing a project, including essential elements of a project schedule like goals, timelines, deliverables, risk assessment, stakeholders, and resources. Project planning helps all team members and stakeholders understand processes, responsibilities, and goals.
Project Budget
The project budget is vital in tracking expenses and keeping the project on budget. This is one of the most crucial elements in the successful delivery of a project. The project budget, “Consists of direct and indirect costs, fixed and variable costs, revenue, and contingencies,” According to ProjectManager.com.
Stakeholders and Teams
Occasionally, project managers are in charge of assembling their own project team. This team may include a project coordinator, project sponsor, business analyst, and individual subject matter experts (SMEs) like software engineers, copywriters, graphic designers, and more. Project stakeholders include a broad scope of people, taking on many different shapes and sizes in the form of internal team members and external customers, suppliers, government entities, and more.
The Project Management Life Cycle
The project management framework, no matter what kind of project you’re planning, always includes the same process—this is called the project management life cycle and it comprises a beginning, middle, and an end. There are five key stages of the project management life cycle, all contributing to efficient project execution and timely delivery. Here is a brief overview of all the stages in order:
- Initiation
Initiation is the first phase of the project management life cycle. In this phase, a project manager is responsible for defining the project, developing a business case for it, and getting it approved by stakeholders. In the opinion of Wrike, during this time, “The project manager should have a high-level understanding of the project’s purpose, goals, requirements, and risks.”
- Planning
The planning phase is when project managers create a project roadmap where all team members can follow along. The project roadmap outlines project progress through goals and deliverables based on requirements laid out by the customer or organization. Wrike suggests that, during this time, project managers should develop a project plan, create a resource plan, define performance measures, build out workflows, and more.
- Execution
This is where the planning ends and the heavy lifting begins. At this point, all stakeholders and team members should know who is responsible for what, what they are doing and why, which communication channels and tools are to be used, and more.
- Monitoring and Control
This phase works in tandem with the execution phase—think of two roads running parallel heading in the same direction. If there are roadblocks, or if one car is moving in the opposite direction of another, project managers will help guide traffic so that all drivers are traveling smoothly in the same direction. During this time, project managers are responsible for resource management, risk management, updating the project schedule, and conducting project status meetings.
- Closing
Although the bulk of the work is done for the team as a whole at this stage, the project closure phase is where critical elements of being a project manager are showcased. This is the wrap-up phase, a time for project managers to take inventory, tie up any loose ends, and deliver the finished project to clients and stakeholders. After the hand-off, project managers will typically host a post-mortem with the team to discuss success stories as well as learning opportunities.
Project Management Methodologies
Understanding project management methodologies is crucial in learning project management basics. Adobe defines a project management methodology as, “A set of tools and guidelines that help you organize projects in a way that optimizes efficiency and performance.” So, what methodologies are out there? Among the sea of popular methodologies, here are the top three you should know, with their most effective usage.
- Waterfall
The traditional, more rigid, Waterfall method adopts a linear approach to project management. In this method, project management phases “cascade” into the next, creating a dependency of phases—meaning one phase cannot begin until the previous has been completed. Because this project management methodology is focused on team collaboration (one phase cannot be initiated without its predecessor), Adobe says this is, “Best suited for large teams working on big projects involving multiple clients and stakeholders.”
- Agile
Conversely, Agile project management is a much more fluid approach than Waterfall. Agile project management is a principle that centers around agility, speed, collaboration, and iterative processes. Creative teams, such as marketing, may benefit most from this principle. To showcase the flexibility of this method, you’ll often see teams using a hybrid approach, combining Agile with other principles like Kanban and Scrum. In our 10-week Project Management Certificate Course at Arizona, in collaboration with Ziplines Education, we teach you the key principles of Agile project management and how to create an Agile project plan in Jira using both a Kanban and Scrum approach. Speaking of which…
- Kanban
For visual learners, the most effective project management method utilizes Kanban boards and cards to plan, schedule, and track work. This is an organized visual representation of project progress. Adobe claims, “Agile teams frequently use the Kanban framework to track project progress and avoid bottlenecks.” Although you’ll typically see this method used by teams in manufacturing or software development, it can really be used by any team—especially those that have a remote or hybrid work environment.
- Scrum
As an effective project management framework, “The essence of Scrum is a self-organizing team delivering customer value in a time-boxed period called a Sprint,” according to Amazon. This framework highlights adaptability and change as well as self-management as the team as a whole works towards a common goal. Just as Kanban is used along with Agile principles, so is Scrum.
Tools and Software in Project Management
Tools and software used in project management is crucial to a team’s overall project success. Let’s take a look at the popular project management software and collaboration tools that project management teams rely on.
Project Management Software:
- Microsoft Project: A powerful yet flexible and simple project management tool created by Microsoft to help plan projects, track project progress, and deliver multiple projects—from small, one-time projects to larger initiatives.
- Asana: A project management tool that is best used to manage company-wide objectives, plans, and strategies. Asana is primarily used to automate cross-departmental workflows.
- Trello: This Kanban-style app is a visual work management tool primarily used for collaborative teams to ideate, manage tasks, and track project progress.
Project Management Collaboration Tools:
- Slack: Used for team communication and project management, Slack is one of the most commonly used collaboration and project management tools in the U.S. According to Slack’s internal data usage analysis, “80% of the Fortune 100 use Slack Connect to work with partners and customers.”
- Zoom: If you’re not already familiar with Zoom, it’s one of the leading communication technology companies in the country. Zoom offers a secure video conferencing platform that’s widely used by virtual project teams in a myriad of professions.
- Jira: Primarily used for bug and issue tracking, as well as Agile project management, Jira is utilized on a global scale. Project managers use this software development tool to track, manage, and release projects. Our Project Management Certificate Course at Arizona, in collaboration with Ziplines Education, will prepare you for the Jira Software Essentials exam so you can get certified and show off your agile framework skills on your resume.
Key Skills for Effective Project Management
- Leadership and Communication: Project management skills include an unparalleled aptitude for leadership and communication. As a project manager, you’ll oversee diverse teams of SMEs (subject matter experts). As such, you’ll be responsible for implementing your leadership skills to not only keep your team on track but also to keep them motivated to hit timeline goals. When struggles or disagreements arise, you’ll be the one to mediate and resolve conflicts between colleagues while inspiring teamwork and collaboration. Plus, since you will be the main overseer of projects, you’ll be communicating cross-functionally with your team, stakeholders, customers, and more. Throughout the lifecycle of a project, you’ll be relaying important instructions to team members and reporting on progress to project stakeholders.
- Risk and Change Management: Pragmatic project managers are not only in charge of managing teams and project outcomes, they also have a responsibility to identify and manage project risks. This is used as a preventative measure so project managers can avoid disruption in workflow and ensure a project remains on track to meet its goal. Risks are anything that could impact your project budget, timeline, or performance. Change management relates to a large-scale change—like implementing a new software or system into an established work environment. Project managers use their communication skills and project management methodology chops to minimize disruption is productivity—making sure that all employees and stakeholders are prepared for, and trained in, this new system or software.
- Time and Resource Management: Time and resource management are key indicators of project performance. As a project manager, if you are unable to balance priorities, the team will suffer and the project goal will most likely not be met. Your team will be relying on you to make sure they’re keeping up with their deadlines, so you’ll need extremely refined proficiency in time management when managing a project from end to end. This is where project management software comes in; it’s in your best interest to utilize all tools and their unique functions that support your team and project goal.
Project Management Certification and Training
- Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification: Administered by PMI, this project management certification acknowledges that you have taken the steps, put in the hours, and exceeded expectations to become a certified project manager. Upon completion, you’ll be able to enhance your credibility as a certified project manager—demonstrating your expertise in project leadership, risk management, project management methodologies, and more, to future employers.
- The Arizona Project Management and PMP® Exam Preparation course equips you with the essential project management skills, tools, and experience you need so you can feel confident and prepared for the PMP® exam.
- PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®: Also administered by PMI, this certification showcases your Agile project management expertise, including Scrum, Lean, and Kanban project management.
- PRINCE2 training courses: PRINCE2® (Projects IN Controlled Environments) is an internationally recognized, process-based methodology that utilizes a controlled and organized start, middle, and end for project life cycles. The PRINCE2 training consists of two pieces, starting at the foundational level and building up to the “practitioner” level.
- PRINCE2 also offers a PRINCE2 Agile® certification. This combines the framework of PRINCE2 with the flexibility of Agile methodologies.
The University of Arizona’s Continuing and Professional Education offers a 10-week Project Management Certificate Course, in collaboration with Ziplines Education, that features flexible, on-demand learning. Build and develop an effective project management plan using essential tools like Jira, Microsoft Project, and more. This mentor-led course gives you the hands-on experience you need to develop a Project Management Playbook to present to future employers.
Conclusion: The Path to Successful Project Management
That about sums up the fundamentals of project management. From the core components of a successful project to the key skills, software, and trainings you’ll need to become a successful project manager, you should have a better idea of what project managers do and the incredible value they bring to any organization.
Take the Next Step in Your Project Management Journey
The University of Arizona Continuing and Professional Education Project Management Certificate course, in collaboration with Ziplines Education, equips you with the project management basics and fundamental knowledge you need to be successful in this ever-changing field. Our personalized mentorship and flexible learning style will support you wherever you are in your journey toward becoming a project manager. If you’re looking for more training options to choose from, you can also read our beginner’s guide to project management training programs here.
As a reminder, a career in project management really translates to a lifetime of learning, tweaking, expanding, and refining skills. You’re well on the way to the career of your dreams. Earn a high-paying salary and feel valued in your work—enroll in a training program today and explore a fulfilling career in project management.
