What are the project management fundamentals every professional needs? In this first part of the Modlingua series Project Management Simplified, Ravi Kumar explains the basics of project management and the key points to consider before applying it in a translation business. Run time is about 21 minutes 30 seconds.

Summary of the talk

• What a project is. Project management turns a vision into reality. A project has a beginning and an end, a scope of work, a level of performance and quality, and a cost. Projects are temporary and each one is unique, so quality is the main factor across time, cost and scope.
• What project management means. It is the use of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to manage resources, cost, time and scope, with quality control, so that stakeholders' needs are met.
• Why companies use it. To define the project and what has been agreed with the customer, estimate cost and schedule, allocate the right resources, assess risks and failures (with a backup plan), and keep up planned communication with the team.
• The key questions. Why are you doing it, what is the success criteria, who will do it, when, how, and at what cost? Answering these gives a blueprint for the project.
• Common challenges. Inaccurate project definition, scope that is not tightly controlled, poor visibility of resources and demand, changing client priorities, weak communication between stakeholders, little understanding of quality assurance, and poor documentation. His example: a project estimated at 50,000 dollars that doubles to 100,000 without a clear plan can leave a contractor in serious trouble.
• The project phases. Entry, initiating, planning, executing and closing, with monitoring and control throughout, and exit at the end. Planning covers budget, time, resources, quality, delivery and feedback. Scheduling covers phases of development, delivery, quality control, feedback and payment, and should be agreed with the client and the people doing the work.
• Closing and payment. A project is not closed until payment is received. He advises defining payment terms clearly (10, 15 or 30 days, with 60 or 90 days common in some places) and staying on good terms with the client.
• Other areas to manage. Cost, quality, human resources, communication, risk, procurement and change, with everything documented. A project charter sets out the purpose, scope, who does what and how long it will take, and project integration management ties these parts together.

He closes this part by saying the next section will apply these concepts to translation projects.

Related Modlingua videos: internship welcome and how linguists can bargain a better deal, translation quality standards explained and error control for writers and translators (Hindi).

By Ravi Kumar