Project management

Any project has set goals to be achieved and to meet these goals project management has to be applied (PMI, 2005). Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet the requirements of a project. The five processes contain nine knowledge areas. The knowledge areas necessary for a project are project-specific. This paper will discuss on time, human resources and communications being the most important knowledge areas for the trade show project.
Time is very vital for the trade show because it is participation in some global show. The trade show materials have to be shipped in time to reach before the trade show, the vendor/printed has to deliver in time so that they can be shipped in time. The timing for training the staff is vital as Pat will be away on vacation; travel arrangements are essential to avoid last minute complications as shows of this magnitude attract participants from all over the world. Not all, but many activities are dependent on the previous activity, which adds importance to adhering to time schedules. Hence, time management would involve defining and sequencing the activity, estimate the duration and the resources, and develop the schedule (ITPM, n. d.).
The second most important knowledge area recognized by the PMBOK is the human resources management. Every knowledge area includes a planning area (ITPM). Most effective use of the people involved in the project has to be done. The first task is to identify the staff and assign roles, like Pat and Terry have been identified, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses. The project roles, responsibilities and reporting relationships have to be assigned (Duncan, n. d.). Staff acquisition is essential after which the team development needs to be executed. For any project to be a success team work is essential, hence acquiring, developing and managing the project team is essential. Effort and expertise of different individuals is necessary to execute the project effectively. Hence, this knowledge area also involves delegating, motivating, coaching and mentoring.
The third most important knowledge area relevant to the trade show project is communication. This involves timely and effective generation, dissemination, storage and disposition of the project information (Duncan). Since most activities are independent, communication at all levels gains importance. Everyone involved in the project must be prepared to receive and send communication in the language understood by all. Communication planning involves identifying who needs what information at what stage and how it will be conveyed to him. Since there are so many different activities involved in the trade show, communication channels have to be properly identified. Information has to be distributed in a timely manner since this is a time-critical project.
In the absence of any of these areas the trade show project would suffer as it is time-critical and totally dependent on people and effective communication. If staffing needs are not properly met, if the materials are not shipped on schedule, and if the team is not aware of who is at what stage in the project, there would be utter chaos and would reflect lack of leadership.
References:
Duncan, W. R. (1996), A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, <
egweb. mines. edu/eggn491/Information%20and%20Resources/pmbok. pdf
> 25 Aug 2006
ITPM (n. d.), The Project Management Process Groups: A case study, Ch 3,
31 Aug 2006
PMI (2005), What is a project?
01 Sept 2006