1.12: Project Management Basics

Project Management Basics

The Context for Risk: Projects, People, and Priorities

Before we dive deep into risk tools and scenario planning, it’s important to understand where risk lives—and why it matters—in the larger world of project management. Risk is not a side activity. It is woven into every decision, every delay, every tradeoff, and every moment of misalignment in a project.

This section provides a quick but meaningful orientation to project management fundamentals. Whether you're already familiar with concepts like “scope” and “stakeholders” or this is your first time hearing them, what follows will give you a shared vocabulary and mental model for thinking like a project professional.

What Is a Project?

A project is a temporary effort undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. It is not routine work or a recurring operation—it has a beginning, an end, a defined objective, and constraints.

Examples of projects include:

• Building a health dashboard for diabetic patients (like SMDC)
• Redesigning a website for accessibility
• Launching a new product feature
• Conducting a feasibility study for solar panels on campus
• Organizing a professional conference

Every project is shaped by three key features:

1. Uniqueness – No two projects are identical, even if they look similar. The context always changes.
2. Constraints – Projects are bound by limitations: time, money, people, tools, and competing goals.
3. Uncertainty – Because projects are novel, they come with unknowns. This is where risk lives.

The Five Pillars of Project Success

Throughout this course, we will frequently reference the five foundational pillars of project management:

1. Scope – What will be delivered (and what won’t)?
2. Time – When must it be done?
3. Cost – What resources (budget, people, tools) are required?
4. Quality – What standards must be met? What defines success or failure?
5. Team – Who is doing the work? Are the right people involved, aligned, and supported?

These pillars are in constant tension. A change in one affects the others:

• If you add more features (scope), the timeline may stretch (time), and the cost may increase.
• If a team member leaves mid-project (team), the quality of output or timing might suffer.
• If cost is fixed, you may have to reduce scope or delay delivery.

Risk management exists to protect and rebalance these pillars—to help project teams anticipate threats, design controls, and make tradeoffs intentionally rather than reactively.

Who’s Involved in a Project?

Most projects involve a mix of the following roles. Understanding them will help you assess where risks are likely to emerge, and whose needs must be considered:

• Project Manager (PM) – Responsible for planning, monitoring, and delivering the project on time, on scope, and on budget. Coordinates people, timelines, and communications.
• Sponsor – The executive or entity funding and supporting the project. They may set strategic goals and make final approvals.
• Team Members – The people doing the work—designers, engineers, researchers, analysts, writers, testers.
• Stakeholders – Anyone affected by the project’s outcome: users, partners, regulators, clients, community members, etc.
• Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) – Specialists who provide technical, regulatory, or field-specific expertise.
• Users/Clients – The end recipients of the product or service. Their satisfaction is often the most important measure of success.

Every one of these roles brings different priorities, assumptions, and risk tolerances. Effective risk managers learn to communicate across these perspectives and design solutions that align with what matters most to each stakeholder group.

The Project Lifecycle

Every project follows a basic lifecycle. While terminology may vary, most frameworks include five key phases:

1. Initiation – The project is proposed, scoped, and approved. Key stakeholders are identified. Feasibility and value are assessed.
2. Planning – The project team defines what will be done, by whom, when, and with what resources. This is where risk planning begins.
3. Execution – The team begins to do the work—coding, building, designing, testing, facilitating. Coordination and communication are critical.
4. Monitoring & Control – The project is continuously measured against its plan. Adjustments are made to time, cost, or scope. Risks are tracked and responded to here.
5. Closing – The final deliverables are completed and handed off. The team documents lessons learned and formally ends the project.

Risk is present in every phase—but it is most preventable during planning, and most expensive during execution or closing. This is why proactive risk management is a core part of every successful project.

What Does Risk Look Like in Projects?

Project risks come in many forms. They are not only technical. They may include:

• A team member unexpectedly leaving
• A software bug causing patient data to be exposed
• A partner pulling out of a contract at the last minute
• A stakeholder refusing to approve a decision they had previously agreed to
• Regulatory guidance changing mid-project
• An untested device causing real harm

Good risk managers don't panic when things go wrong. They design projects to expect risks, reduce their likelihood, and minimize their impact when they occur. This course will train you in how to do that.

Your Job in This Practicum

You are not expected to become a certified project manager in this course. But you are expected to:

• Understand how risk affects all parts of a project
• Use professional vocabulary to describe issues, tradeoffs, and recommendations
• Read memos, project charters, and milestone briefings as if you were a working team member
• Document your decisions in a way that supports accountability and team alignment
• Anticipate what could go wrong, and help others make better decisions because of it

Even if you never become a full-time PM, you will likely lead projects, coordinate teams, or manage deadlines in your career. These foundations will help you approach every project with more clarity, confidence, and control.