INTRODUCTION:

The purpose of this assignment is to: • Gain a better understanding of project management. • Understand why project management is needed and how it differs from other forms of management. • Identify the relevance of project management to the business and academic world of management. • Identify the role of a project manager. • Identify the purpose or relevance of a feasibility study in the project environment. • Identify all the stakeholders and identify their needs and expectations.

Project management is seen as a rather modern discipline, however many of the greatest monuments in the world, e.g. Pyramids, Taj Mahal etc, could not have been formed without some form of project management. The art and science of project management has been used in many ways although it was not until the 20th century that businesses began to see the relevance and importance of this discipline. Its role in business began as external to the organisation, however in recent years more and more organisations have begun to use project management internally. Project management has become a vital part of many businesses and it is used in many different fields of study, from engineering, programming or IT development, research and development, product development, marketing etc. The aim of this assignment is to see how project management is defined, how it applies to the telecommunications business and how project managers and organisations can use project management to ensure stakeholders’ expectations are met.

QUESTION 1:
Explain what project management is and why it is different to other forms of management

There are a number of definitions for project management. For the purpose of this assignment 3 different texts will be used to help gain a clearer understanding of the definition of project management. The first is the prescribed text Project