What Are the 12 Principles of Project Management?

In project management, it is essential that people responsible for leading a project follow the set guidelines that involve long-running principles created by experts. These are project management principles that ensure the overall quality and delivery of the project.

These principles come together to create a globally recognized framework that helps project managers make informed data-driven decisions, encourage effective teamwork, and ultimately lead toward project success.

So, let’s explore the basic principles of project management and understand how to effectively implement them as project managers.

12 Principles of Project Management

The Project Management Institute (PMI) created twelve principles of project management that are part of the PMBOK guide. Let’s review each principle to fully comprehend it and its areas of application.

1. Have well-defined project goals and objectives

One of the most important principles of project management is having a purpose before starting the project. This principle teaches that having a purpose before starting the project is crucial for its success.

Before planning a project, establish long and short-term goals. Well-defined goals and objectives give direction to your project, keep stakeholders aligned and serve as benchmarks for measuring success.

2. Define your deliverables

Every project will have one or multiple tangible outputs. Defining them in the beginning helps a project manager set clear expectations. This involves creating an outline of what the project will produce, its specifications and completion deadlines. By doing so, project managers ensure that everyone in the project is aware of their responsibilities and aligned with the overall objective.

3. Work to create and maintain organisational alignment

A project is a group task, and it will include different people from different departments and positions. Along with the working team, sometimes there are also the stakeholders who wish to give their input. So, it is the job of the project manager to ensure that all the parties have clear communication. They often do this by holding regular meetings, managing expectations and addressing concerns whenever they arrive. Acquiring a PMP certification can further help you enhance this skill.

4. Have clear team roles and responsibilities

Creating a well-structured team that follows clearly defined roles and responsibilities helps avoid unnecessary complications and chances of delays. It is essential that the project manager clearly explains how each team member is contributing towards the project and delegate their assigned tasks to them. This fosters ownership, reduces confusion and optimises team performance.

5. Create a strategy for initiation and execution

Even if work is delegated and responsibilities are explained, things can still go haywire if there is no fixed strategy that the team is following. Hence, a project manager needs to outline the project’s lifecycle, from initiation (defining the scope and securing resources) to execution (implementing the plan and managing tasks).

6. Know your numbers; do careful budgeting and scheduling

Every project is allotted limited time and resources. It is the responsibility of the project manager to carefully budget the financial resources to avoid overspending. Plus, they need to set a realistic timeline to keep things on track without burning out the team members. This principle also emphasises the need to create a financial plan so that potential risks can be identified and avoided.

Thanks to technology, you can now use various project management tools to make these tasks less daunting.

7. Identify priorities and milestones ahead of time

In large-scale projects, the chances of two or more teams working simultaneously are high. However, not all tasks within a project are equal. The project manager is responsible for identifying urgent and critical tasks and prioritising them. Setting clear milestones ensures that the most important tasks are completed on time and within budget while complying with quality parameters.

8. Establish a means of accountability and responsibility

Each member of the team needs to be accountable for the tasks they are given. So, the project manager should clearly communicate these to each member. They should understand who is accountable for specific deliverables and tasks. This ensures that everyone is equally invested in the project and giving their best.

9. Create a communication plan

In addition to communicating with individual team members, the project manager must ensure that clear internal communication is being practised among all involved parties. This involves outlining a communication plan detailing how information will be shared among stakeholders, team members and clients. The plan should cover communication frequency, channels and protocols to ensure that everyone stays informed with the latest updates and information.

10. Be transparent

We often hear, “Transparency is the Key.” Being open builds trust and encourages open communication, which is crucial for solving problems and managing unexpected issues in a project, leading to success.

11. Do a risk assessment

It is equally important to assess the potential risks while planning the project outline. Hence, project managers must conduct a thorough risk assessment to anticipate anything that could possibly go wrong. Post this assessment, an insightful mitigation strategy would also be required to nip any potential risks.

12. Monitor and measure progress

Projects are dynamic and require continuous adaptation to evolving trends and emerging needs. Ongoing monitoring is essential to identify and implement necessary changes. Based on emerging circumstances, the project manager may need to restructure plans in order to accomplish the team’s ultimate goal. With consistent monitoring, you can track key performance indicators (KPIs), conduct regular meetings, avoid risks and gather feedback from stakeholders to ensure project success.

Check out this elaborate project management tutorial to understand the additional nitty-gritty of project management.

Conclusion

By following all the core principles of project management mentioned here, aspiring and seasoned project managers can construct a strong foundation for project success. Always remember, core principles are not rigid– they compose a flexible framework, which is subject to change based on the specific needs of each project.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1.   What is the first principle of project management?

The first principle of project management demands the responsible entity to set well-defined objectives and goals.

2.   What are the 12 principles of project management?

Here’s what 12 principles of project management look like:

1. Having well-defined goals and objectives
2. Defining deliverables
3. Creating and maintaining organisational alignment
4. Having clear team roles and responsibilities
5. Creating a strategy for initiation and execution
6. Effective budgeting and scheduling
7. Identifying priorities and milestones
8. Establishing accountability and responsibility
9. Creating a communication plan
10. Being transparent
11. Conducting a risk assessment
12. Monitoring and measuring progress

3. How many principles are there in PMP?

PMP includes a total of twelve core principles of project management.

4. What are the 4 basics of project management?

The four foundational elements of project management include:

• Scope (defining the project’s deliverables and what’s excluded)
• Time (creating a realistic schedule for project completion)
• Cost (developing a financial plan that outlines project expenses)
• Quality (ensuring the project deliverables meet the required standards).

5. What is the 100% rule in project management?

The 100% rule being one of the basic principles of Work Breakdown Structure, guarantees in-depth coverage of each element of any project by breaking it into comprehensive sections. Simply put, this rule states that the sum of work at lower levels must equal the total work at higher levels. This helps prevent overlooking important tasks or including unnecessary ones.