Project Management is a vital skill to have in this fast-paced, chaotic business environment. Without adequate control and coordination, even the best plans - left unchecked - can get a business in trouble. Project management techniques can be used even for the everyday simple tasks in business. The web is an excellent source for good FREE advice on Project Management. Without a good sense of direction and a good map for reference, many businesses never get out of the chaos.

Project Management is all about managing chaos successfully.

Let's first define what a Project Manager does - they manage projects.

A project is a unique one-time event that has a budget (usually), a delivery date/time frame and requires resources (both money and people). A project can be tangible or intangible, large or small, simple or complex.

Now that we know what Project Managers are suppose to do, how do they do it…

Project Management can be broken down into two major phases: Planning and Control.

The Planning Phase is the backbone of a successful project. There are four basic steps:

1. Determining what needs to be done - the end goal
2. How it needs to be done - what are the steps to reach that goal
3. When does it need to be done - what is the time frame available
4. Finally, who and what needs to do it - what resources are needed to reach the goal

There are two schools of thought concerning planning.

"Poor Planning leads to Poor Performance"

The four P's are the traditional approach to project management. The other is…

"All the planning is done…there is nothing more to do."

General Eisenhower on the eve of Operation Overlord - June 05, 1944

Under General Eisenhower's theory of Project Management, all the planning in the world can't help once the project starts. This is the theory of chaos.

Ideally the successful Project Management practices a combination of the two theories. This is the theory of Traditional Chaos…

"Good planning will mitigate the chaos after the project starts."

Once a strategy has been thought out and the planning phase has been finalized, the Control Phase starts.

The Control phase is the active management of the project. This involves estimating the resource usage, money expenditures, and progress made and forecasting any changes. The Control phase is when a good Planning phase will be advantageous - mitigating the chaos.

Project Management can also broken down into two scopes - Strategic and Tactical.

Strategic project management is the pre-plan planning and high level control over a project.

Tactical project management is the day to day planning and control of a project.

There are several excellent resources out on the web for the Small Business Project Manager to use to grasp success out of chaos.

Strategic Project Management web sites - These offer sound advice on broad Project Management issues:

http://www.sba.gov - This is the gold mine of information for the Small Business Project Manager. The Small Business Administration has advice and information on all facets of running, financing and setting up a small business. With out a solid business plan in place, good Project Management won't matter.

http://www.morebusiness.com - This is another great site for strategic issues concerning project management. Sample business plans, proposals, financing options, and all the other Project Management needs for the Small Business.

http://www.member.aol.com./projmgtguy/index.html - This site by Mr. Greer is an excellent starting place for the novice Project Manager. The site has links to other PM sites and offers information and thoughts on PM techniques, as well as offering PM services.

Tactical Project Management web sites - These are the day to day Project Management issues:

http://www.primavera.com - Primavera makes the world's best selling PM software. The single user version - SureTrak - is perfect for the Small Business PM. SureTrak can easily mange resources usage, cost expenditures, and progress made and a whole lot more. All for around $300.00

http://www.microsoft.com/project/ - The other major PM tool. Microsoft Project is easy to use and can also track resources, costs, progress, etc. Project 98 also costs around $300.00

Good advice web sites - These web sites give good, short, clear concise insights to the PM.

http://www.spottydog.u-net.com - This consulting company in England offers a great guide called Project Management Milestones.

http://www.triple-m.com/mmmcomm.htm - These are the ten commandment of Project Management. Great reference guide to keep the PM focused!

http://pscinfo.pscni.nasa.gov/online/msfc/project_mgmt/100_Rules.html - These are the 100 rules of Project Management as per NASA. The thought processes and patterns developed over the history of the space program are very, very practical - EVEN for small businesses!