Queensland Stay On Your Feet® - Project management
A project management approach to falls prevention in older people provides a systematic and structured framework for each crucial stage - planning/development, implementation and evaluation.
What is a project?
A project is a temporary series of activities undertaken to create a unique product/service or achieve a specific goal or end result that brings about a beneficial change or added value [55, 56].
A project:
What is project management?
Project management is the process of defining a project’s requirements, planing the tasks and ensuring the project is implemented and finalised so that it is completed to key elements such as:
- to the quality specification
- on time
- within the cost or budget [55].
The process of project management is very similar to a standard problem solving approach [56].
The steps in project management include:
What does project management include?
Project management skills include the following:
- clear articulation of the project, based the research evidence - what works
- development and clarification of the project including scope, goals and deliverables - goals, objectives and strategies
- establishment of a mutually agreed governance structure that clearly identifies how the project will operate including how decisions will be made, the reporting relationships and roles/responsibilities of the project team
- identification of project resources including human, capital and intellectual requirements and the monitoring of budget expenditure
- stakeholder analysis through consultation, obtaining input from all key stakeholders to build effective partnerships and to assist to build an ongoing commitment to the project for sustainability
- development of a written plan that clearly outlines the work to be completed and specifies what is to be completed, how it will be completed, by what time frame and by who (often referred to as a work breakdown structure)
- from the beginning, proactive identification and analysis of potential project risks and opportunities, with appropriate management plans such as an issues register
- development and implementation of a comprehensive communication strategy to ensure the timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination and archiving of project related information
- design of clear, simple, measurable and reliable performance indicators that cover process, impact and outcome measures. These need to be determined at the beginning of the project and used throughout the project to inform decision making, monitor progress and flag desired and/or unexpected outcomes/outputs - evaluation and monitoring
There are a plethora of project management templates including electronic programs, as well as a range of other supportive resources.