Have you heard of the 4P’s of project management ? Essentially, this refers to four critically important elements of project management. Embracing these elements in

your project can help your team meet its goals and objectives. The four P’s are :

1. People

2. Product

3. Process

4. Project

Now, let’s go over the four P’s of project management.

People

Identifying the roles people play in almost any given project is the first step to a successful project. People are the primary resource on every project, and a well-managed team can greatly increase the chances for success. Some of the different

roles people play in project management includes project manager, project team members, sponsors, stakeholders, business analysts and information technology developers.

Product

As the name implies, this is the deliverable of the project. The project manager should define the product scope to ensure a successful outcome, control “scope creep”; as well as technical hurdles that he or she may encounter.

With that said, the product does not necessarily need to be restricted to software; project management can be applied to all industries with software development being one of the key elements. The product of a project can also be something that is intangible; such as moving a company to a new headquarters or setting up a new company as a registered legal entity to commence trading activities on day one.

Process

The third P of project management is Process. Project managers and team members should have a methodology and plan that outlines their approach. Without a clearly defined process, team members will not know what to do and when to carry out project activities. However, this problem can be avoided through comprehensive early stage process planning. Using the right process will increase the project execution success rate that meets its original goals and objectives.

Project

The fourth and final P of project management is Project. This is where the project manager’s roles and responsibilities come into play. He or she must guide team members to achieve the project’s goals and objectives. The project manager must delegate tasks, help team members when needed, and ultimately strive to accomplish all requirements set forth in the project scope.

Hopefully, this gives you a better understanding of the four P’s of project management. To recap, it consists of People, Product, Process and Project. Without these four elements, project planning and execution will be impacted with roadblock issues and are less likley to meet their original goals.