A very warm welcome!

Welcome to the Project Management Consultants UK official site where you will find a multitude of insightful and useful texts, diagrams, templates and working methodologies. The site is built around business management in general but more specifically around project management. It is very difficult to separate the two in a practical context. The project management information is generally divided into two areas. The first is the soft side of project management such as building trust within your team, management style, team building and improving communication. The second is the hard side of project management dealing more with everyday tools such as open issue lists, timing plans (Gantt Charts) and risk calculators (including our very own unique way of utilising FTA methodology to asses risk at the start of a project).

Basic Philosophy of Project Management Consultants UK

The product lifecycle is examined taking the reader through the Concept, Planning, Execution and Termination phases. The project lifecycle provides an excellent framework to base our discussions on. It is advisable to think of the project lifecycle as an entity with a hard core centre (i.e. the project plan and open issue list) and a soft wooly covering (i.e. relationships within teams, building trust and enhanced belonging). Note that the hard and soft sides are not mutually exclusive but instead enrich the fundamental building blocks for project success.

Measurement of project success is discussed. For example, how definitions and scope should be stated at the start along with clear measurable performance indicators. The crucial point about any project success is to understand that every project is different – every project is unique – no two teams are the same, every set of stakeholders has different ideas, needs and levels of satisfaction. Every good project manager knows that understanding these unique aspects puts him or her in a strong position from the start.

Therefore if we take advantage of the hard tools available and utilising these tools effectively is an excellent way to manage any size project. Furthermore understanding that the Project Managers role in “Balance and Delivery” is at the heart of a successful project is more important than any work breakdown structure or ten page Microsoft project plan. The texts contained here attempt to promote a very philosophical view of Project Management. In fact about 70% of the text is focussed on the soft side of Project Management.

Another important progression from the above is to understand how relationship building leads to trust, which in turns leads to good communication. Conclusively good communication within a small or large team must be the ultimate goal given that all the risk management and project planning we will ever do or see is lost the second a test fails, the specification changes or a delivery is last. Sure we can ask “what if” at the risk assessment stages but when a project manager and the project team hit the ground running they need to react quickly and effectively to hurdles thrown in their path. Good communication is the only way to survive and the only source of real continued project momentum.

The influence of stakeholders plays a significant role in project management. So firstly understanding who these people are is critical. Many Project Managers forget that stakeholders extend to the far reaches of all organisations involved – this includes internal (our own organisations), direct external (customers and suppliers) and also indirect external (government, regulatory bodies and action groups).

Finally
Developing this site Project Management Consultants UK have attempted to give it a warm, friendly, informative but firm personality. Therefore to nurture its personality a ‘fun’ section is added emphasising the need for humour and overall perspective in all areas of business planning and project management. Project Managers get a cruel rap across the knuckles in the joke section but it's all in good jest! We hope you enjoy the sites content and welcome any feedback you may have.

One Project Management Specialist comments "This is undoubtedly the best free online resource for the complex world of Project Management that I have come across. This site covers both the hard and soft side of Project Management with some great reports and template downloads. Every aspect of business is covered - Champion!" ..... Tim Williams BEng(Hons), MBA, I•Balloon Limited

© Project Management Consultants UK - 2008 2009