To manage a project, you first need to understand what constitutes a project. After all, if you're in charge you should have a firm grasp of what you are in charge of. Let's take a look at some of the key components of a project:

• A project needs a specific goal. You don't just get together, do some work, and see what happens. Well, maybe you do, but that is why project management is needed!

• A project has a time frame. Projects have a beginning and an end, they do not continue endlessly.

• A project has a final outcome or result. For better or for worse, each project produces results.

• A project has a budget and requires resources. Resources may include skilled individuals, reference materials, special equipment, information systems, or other tools of the trade.

• A project requires a plan of action defining what needs to be done, when, and by whom. Plans, procedures, schedules, software programs, and various systems for tracking the work that is being done may all be necessary to keep your project on course.

• Projects can be evaluated on their own. Apart from other tasks and chores you may perform at your job or in your daily routine, a project stands on its own to be evaluated by one person or by many people. Political campaigns are, in essence, projects put before many people — the voters.

As a project manager, you need to put all of the pieces together. Call it a puzzle, a battle plan, a mission, or whatever — you are the person who is responsible for the end result. It is up to you, as project manager, to see that the project is completed on time and on budget and achieves the anticipated results.

Good project managers are able to look at the big picture. They know what needs to be done and can assemble and motivate a team to complete the vision. They can also determine the shortcomings — or potential shortcomings — that must be dealt with to keep a project on track. A project manager may also determine that a project is simply impossible to complete.

Successful professional project managers can make a great deal of money by pulling together all of the pieces of the project puzzle for large-scale, often complicated, undertakings. Even if you're not planning on a career in project management, these skills will be helpful in many aspects of your business and personal life.