Engagements and projects within engagements are unique undertakings. Consequently,
they all involve a degree of uncertainty. Project processes are performed
by people and generally fall into major categories. A process can be defined as a
series of actions bringing about a result. At a minimum, project phases should
include some variation of the Phases of Start-up, Execute and Run-down. Collectively,
the engagement and project phases are known as the engagement and
project life cycle. It’s obvious that information technology is used as a concrete
tool to reduce some of the potential problems generated by fragmentation typical
of projects management (Processes and Process Interactions). Within the Project
Management method, roles and responsibilities could be described at the activity
level using a table—as in Avient—that show who is Responsible, Accountable,
Consulted, Informed, who Verifies, and who must approve with a formal Sign-off.
There are many ramifications to the decision. If treated as the first phase of a larger
engagement, different decisions are made regarding staffing, leadership, infrastructure,
and even work location, than would occur if were perceived as a standalone
smaller project. The Project Manager is driven by events that occur during
the on-going management of the project. These events trigger a series of stages,
which aim to produce a number of deliverables, through a series of activities.
When an event occurs, the Project Manager selects the appropriate event in the
method and reviews the associated stages and activities to decide on what is
necessary to respond to the event; the use of IT can improve: coordination and
collaboration leading to better communication practices. The combination of
software has proven to be a very powerful enabler and allows instant communications
and project visibility for all stakeholders.