Gido, Clements, and Clements (2014) describe project knowledge areas as the specific guidelines which assist the project manager in the process of implementing a given project. The project manager endeavors to produce a successful project. However, to realize this goal, the manager is expected to create schedules, control costs, monitor activities, implement changes to the project and lead the various stakeholders involved in executing the task. Knowledge areas, therefore, help the manager to organize and classify the skills and knowledge necessary in the different stages of project development. Moreover, knowledge areas help in describing the knowledge and skills that the manager may need in the process of implementing the project plan. It is worth noting that project management knowledge areas do not occur in a linear manner.
Project integration management entails the project manager getting their arms around the project. This area is characterized by understanding the project charter, scope, targets and the tasks that are involved. Furthermore, this is the point when the project team under the stewardship of the project manager assesses the current issues happening in the organization and determines how the new project can fit in the firm’s goals. Project scope management, on the other hand, deals with the contents of the project. The scope must also ensure that all the crucial processes in the project are available to make the endeavor successful. At this point, extra processes that are not useful to the project can be removed to create a lean procedure.
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On the same note, project time management helps the team to carry out the project implementation within the stipulated time. The project manager is also obliged to describe the roles to the project team. The team, therefore, develops a timeline to guide their activities. Project cost management, however, entails the estimations of the projects and instituting controls to check against unnecessary expenditure. The costs can cover areas like human resources, facilities, and materials to use. The project manager should ensure the implementation of the project does not exceed the available funds. Moreover, after developing the project budget, the manager can be responsible for its management and control.
Project quality management helps to make sure that the project product meets the desires of the customers in terms of quality (Kerzner and Kerzner, 2017). This requires the manager defining the quality in relation to the customers’ expectations thus help in determining the quality of the finished project. Project human resources management, on the other hand, deals with the hiring people with the right skills to execute the project. Further, this area helps the project manager to manage the team by helping in developing the project. The identified people might have to undergo training to equip them with the necessary skills to carry out the project.
Project communications management is also integral in helping the various players in the project to understand the specifics of the project. This helps to eradicate cases of confusion arising from lack of knowledge regarding the task. Project risk management can also help to determine the risk that the project is likely to face and which may hamper the realization of set goals. As a result, a project procurement manager helps in ensuring that manger procures the materials and services that are only needed in the process. This eliminates the occurrences of unnecessary spending. In the same vein, project stakeholder management refers to an area that determines the players involved in the project implementation process. In such instances where companies are involved, the players, in this case, may include the management, project team, quality assurance team as well as customers.
In summary, understanding the above project knowledge areas helps project managers to deliver quality products within the agreed time. It is worth remembering that the project manager may be required to revisit the knowledge areas from time to time while managing the process of implementation. The knowledge areas, significantly, help in keeping the process of executing the project plan within the budget borders.
References
Gido, J., Clements, J., & Clements, J. (2014). Successful project management. Nelson Education.
Kerzner, H., &Kerzner, H. R. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
