We are all managers!

The definition of the word ‘manager’ evolved across centuries and around the world. It may differ depending on age, geographic location, culture, and personal experience of the person formulating the definition. To have a better understanding, let’s take a closer look at the etymology of the word ‘manager’.

Manage + -er

We can clearly observe that this noun comes from verb manage, which actually gives us an even broader point of view. To manage means: to be in charge of someone/something, to handle or control, to handle with skill, to succeed at an attempt or to achieve something without outside help. I’m sure we can all find ourselves somewhere in at least one of these situations. More or less, but we all manage our life.

Selected Functions of Project Management

Time management 

According to PMI Time management is defined as the third major function of project management. Time Management Function could be broken down into essentially four separate sub-functions: Planning, Scheduling, Monitoring, Control. 

We all have a lot of responsibilities on a daily basis. During the week, probably most of our time is focused on professional work. Apart from that there are plenty of additional activities:  shopping, cooking (or at least eating a meal), taking care of kids (picking up from kindergarten/ school, prepare food, help with homework, play), taking care of pets (feed, go for a walk), focusing on your needs (sport, education, hobby, relax). Without planning our time in advance – day,  week or even a month - it would be hard to complete all tasks in a timely manner, desired quality or even do it at all. Time management is also very important on our holidays. As they last only one or two weeks, we would like to use this time wisely and as much as possible. Hence, when we go for a vacation we plan it in advance. We need to schedule our trip and in the meantime monitor and control it.

Cost management

Cost management is the process of accumulating, organizing and analyzing the data that is required to make cost related decisions for the purpose of obtaining maximum financial effectiveness (PMI).

Cost management is also familiar to all of us, even if we are not aware of it, we implement some of its process levels in our daily life. Mostly, on a monthly basis we have some budget to spend - our salary. Based on how much money we have, we can plan our expenses – how much we can buy, what quality and price, only basic products or some extras. It refers to food, clothes, any accessories or needs. We also have to estimate our costs when it comes to accommodation, what kind of apartment can I afford? How much can I spend on renovation? How much will I pay for rent and utilities? The list of our expenses might be long, but for sure if we estimate our costs, expenses and control them, we are more prepared for any unexpected conditions.

Risk management

In the project context, it is the art and science of identifying, analyzing and responding to risk factors throughout the life of a project and in the best interests of its objectives (PMI). Project risk may be defined as the chance of certain occurrences adversely affecting project objectives. It is the degree of exposure to negative events, and their probable consequences.

Let us consider this based on an example. We are on holiday abroad. We have planned our time, activities and budget. We are convinced that we can finally rest and forget about the worries of everyday life. Suddenly, something has ruined our plans – we have been robbed on a beach. Unfortunately, all the money and credit cards were in the wallet that had been stolen. What can we do now? Of course we go to the police station to give a statement. However, the probability of getting our money back is negligible. What we could have done before, was to predict and prevent this from happening. It would be a good idea to split the money into smaller amounts and put it in different places. We should assess how much money we need on the beach and take with us only this amount. The rest of the money could be left in our apartment. The same with credit cards, let's take one with us and another one leave in our luggage. Of course there is always some risk – money can be stolen also from our apartment, but first - it is less likely, and second we will still have the credit card that we took with us to the beach. There are many ways to minimize the risk. We just need to identify, evaluate and try to mitigate, avoid or transfer the risk.

Nonetheless, according to risk definition (PMI) it does not have to be something negative. Risk is an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive (opportunity) or negative (threat) effect on a project's objective. So it can also be an opportunity that we can use. For example, book tickets to a museum online, instead of buying it already on holidays, at location. The possibility of booking the tickets in advance, would increase our chances for entering the museum at a convenient time for us.

Change management

Change management is “a comprehensive, cyclic and structured approach for transitioning individuals, groups and organizations from a current state to a future state with intended business benefits” (PMI).

“The Only Constant in Life Is Change ''- Heraclitus. I think there is actually a lot of truth in this statement. No matter how much effort we put to predict any circumstances, we can never be sure that we are prepared for all possible changes. Of course, It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t spend our time on planning and organization. In most cases, we are able to predict something and be prepared for that. This comes from gaining knowledge and experience. But rarely, something unexpected can happen. Another example taken from real life. We booked our holidays in advance, as we expected that the prices would grow over time. We have planned each detail. So what can go wrong?  - The COVID-19 pandemic. I think the whole world was surprised by this situation and nobody expected it. It didn’t depend on us and we had no influence on it. Some unpredictable things happen everywhere, when it comes to project management or personal life. That is why the ability to manage change is important. Back to our example, we don’t have many options to respond to this change. Most probably we will accept this change. But later on we can think if we should request reimbursement from the travel agency or just postpone our holiday trip to another possible date. The change does not have to be always driven by random events, it can be also driven by people. It’s most likely in regards to project management. Negotiating a contract with a client - we make an agreement for specific services, but during the project, it turns out that the Client needs have changed and we need to respond to this change. Evaluate possible risks and opportunities, get to know the reasons for change and effects that the change will cause on our project, organization, people, work, schedule and agreement with a Client.

Summary

Successful project management includes such phases as initiating, planning, executing, monitoring & controlling and closing. I would say we all run plenty of “projects” in our personal life. Some of them end up with success and sometimes we fail. But for sure in both cases we need constant steering, adjustment and management. That’s why it makes sense to build wise life habits. No matter what method or ideology You want to follow. It’s really valuable to think and adjust, set goals and try to achieve them. Start measuring aspects of your life. That is what all managers do.