Making a Party out of Project Management: Introduction

Do you like to par-tay? Is fun with friends your jam? If so, read on! This story is all about planning a great party, but really, it’s much bigger than that. This is a story that can open up a whole new world for you, giving you the keys to the castle in the real world after the party’s over, all while you learn to set up a great time with your friends and impress everybody else around!

But first, here’s some nerdy stuff you need to know…

This story is loosely based on terms and concepts from the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) 5th Edition, with some extra terms and concepts that are also sometimes used in project management. Why base a story on the 5th edition PMBoK when the Project Management Institute (PMI) is now on the 7th edition? Because the 7th edition is broadened to accommodate a wide variety of project management frameworks, while the 5th edition focuses more specifically on waterfall. The broadening of PMBoK material is a good thing for including and acknowledging the value of other frameworks, but the goal of this story is to give you, the reader, an introduction to project management from its origin: the waterfall framework.

This story is meant to be as entertaining and relatable as possible, to help you decide if project management is a profession you want to seriously investigate further. You don’t have to wait until you’re a professional project manager to use this story! You can use it to accomplish plans you have in your life today; project management is all about having a goal, determining what’s required to reach that goal and what it will take to get there, and then taking the actions toward that goal, checking your progress every so often as you work toward that goal and readjusting when necessary to finally achieve it.

If you’re looking for a job that pays well and is secure, project management is a great way to go. This is a career field that will never be automated or outsourced, as it requires a lot of good people skills blended with good planning and technology skills. Every company always has projects to do. Project management is a career that is challenging and always offers new and interesting work, and it’s work that makes a significant difference for the world. As a project manager, you use a set of tools for a methodical, systematic approach to turn a dream into a reality, developing a new product that didn’t exist before you and your project team made it happen! This story will give you an extensive (albeit not exhaustive) outline of the terms, concepts, and tools and techniques you will want to know to get a good, practical introduction to project management.

Remember, this should be fun! You won’t be great at a career if you don’t like it. Project management is too hard to spend a career in if it’s not fun, so use this story to help you decide if you want to go further in project management, like looking for an internship or a job in the field.

Next post in the series: Making a Party out of Project Management: Chapter 1 - An Idea for a Party