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Project management focuses on planning and organizing a project and its resources. This includes identifying and managing the lifecycle to be used, applying it to the user-centered design process, formulating the project team, and efficiently guiding the team through all phases until project completion.<\/p>\n
Through proper project management, you can assure that the purpose\/vision and goals of the project are maintained, all while supporting the audiences\u2019 tasks and objectives.\u00a0 Additionally, you avoid risks and effectively and efficiently use your available resources.\u00a0 It also helps the team members to understand their responsibilities, the deliverables expected, and the schedule everyone needs to follow to complete the project on time and within budget.<\/p>\n
The Project Management Institute (PMI) has identified nine areas of knowledge within project management:<\/p>\n
Depending on your project needs, the size of your team and the roles needed<\/a> may vary.\u00a0 Keep in mind that members on your team may fulfill one role or may fulfill many.\u00a0<\/p>\n Regardless of the size of the team, it\u2019s important to identify how the team will communicate and collaborate with one another.\u00a0 This includes discussing upfront:<\/p>\n Projects are typically broken down into phases.\u00a0 Each phase outlines the work that needs to be done and who is involved.\u00a0 Generally, in order for a phase to be considered complete, specific deliverables need to have been completed and handed off.\u00a0 Some project teams, however, do choose to implement fast tracking, which is when phases are overlapped.\u00a0<\/p>\n A lifecycle defines the beginning and end of the project; it represents all of the phases together.\u00a0 When defining the project\u2019s life cycle, the first phase is noted as Step 0.\u00a0 It usually captures the visioning and conceptualizing of the project.\u00a0 According to the Project Management Institute, most life cycles have four or five phases but some may have more.\u00a0<\/p>\n The most common lifecycle approaches are Waterfall and Agile., Regardless of the approach you choose, you will need to incorporate user-centered design (UCD) best practices and methods.\u00a0 At a high-level, the UCD process<\/a>\u00a0includes the following steps: planning, collecting and analyzing data, writing content, designing and developing prototypes of the system, and testing.<\/p>\n When defining your project, it is important to come up with a project plan<\/a> that the team agrees to upfront so that it can serve as a reference point throughout the project. Make sure when outlining your plan, that throughout it you note how you plan to include user-centered design best practices and methodologies. Most project plans outline:<\/p>\n At the end of the project plan, depending on your team\u2019s needs, you may choose to include a charter agreement. A charter agreement is typically a one page document that has the sponsor of the project sign off that they agree to the work to be done as outlined by the team in the project plan. Remember, however, that successful teams understand upfront that things happen and that they\u2019ll need to adapt. The project plan establishes the baseline for how you assume the project will happen and then provides information about the process for taking changes into account, should they arise.<\/p>\n Schedules are an important part of project management because they help you measure your progress as the project moves along.\u00a0 They also help to outline how each team member\u2019s part fits into the overall picture and demonstrate the dependencies.<\/p>\n Schedules reflect the life cycle broken down into specific deliverables and touch points.\u00a0 It defines what needs to be done and who is the point of contact responsible for the work.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n
Project Phases, Life Cycles, and Incorporating User-Centered Design Principles<\/h2>\n
Project Plan and Charter Agreement<\/h2>\n
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Creating a Schedule<\/h2>\n
Resources and References<\/h2>\n
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