Project Management
Whether you're managing product brand development or just planning a strategic product launch, project management is critical to ensuring that your projects are implemented correctly and on time.

Project management includes developing a project plan, which includes defining project goals and objectives, specifying
tasks or how goals will be achieved, what resources are need, and associating budgets and timelines for completion.

Process for a Strategic Project Launch Includes:
-Idea/Strategy Generation (Ideation & Development)
-Opportunity Assessment (Study/Analysis/Exploratory)
-Prototype/Product/Menu/Systems Development (Invention)
-Creative Development (Innovation)
-Marketing Development (Planning & Implementation)
-Market Testing (Evaluation & Optimization)
-Expansion (Execution)

Projects need to be perform ed and delivered under certain constraints. Traditionally, these constraints have been listed as "scope," "time," and "cost" These are also referred to as the "Project Management Triangle," where each side represents a constraint. One side of the triangle cannot be changed without affecting the others. A further refinement of the constraints separates product "quality" or "performance" from scope, and turns quality into a fourth constraint.

The discipline of project management is about providing the tools and techniques that enable the project team to organize their work to meet these constraints.

Time
For analytical purposes, the time required to produce a deliverable is estimated using several techniques. One method is to identify tasks needed to produce the deliverables documented in a work breakdown structure or WBS. The work effort for each task is estimated and those estimates are rolled up into the final deliverable estimate.

Cost
Cost to develop a project depends on several variables including: resource costs, labor rates, material rates, risk management, Earned value management, plant (buildings, machines, etc.), equipment, cost escalation, indirect costs, and profit. But beyond this basic accounting approach to fixed and variable costs, the economic cost that must be considered includes worker skill and productivity which is calculated by va riation to project cost estimates.

Scope
Requirements specified to achieve the end result. The overall definition of what the project is supposed to accomplish and a specific description of what the end result should be or accomplish. A major component of scope is the quality of the final product. The amount of time put into individual tasks determines the overall quality of the project.

Project management is composed of several different types of activities such as:

• Analysis and design of objectives and events
• Planning the work according to the objectives
• Assessing and controlling risk (or Risk Management)
• Estimating resources
• Allocation of resources
• Organizing the work
• Acquiring human and material resources
• Assigning tasks
• Directing activities
• Controlling project execution
• Tracking and reporting progress (Management information system)
• Analyzing the results based on the facts achieved
• Defining the products of the project
• Forecasting future trends in the project
• Quality Management
• Issues management
• Issue solving
• Defect prevention
• Identifying, managing & controlling changes
• Project closure (and project debrief)
• Communicating to stakeholders
• Increasing / decreasing a company's workers
• Project management tools include
• Financial tools
• Cause and effect charts
• Online Project Health Check tool (Ph-Check tool)
• PERT charts
• Gantt charts
• Event Chain Diagrams
• RACI diagram
• Run charts
• Project Cycle Optimization (PCO) Participatory Impact Pathways Analysis (An approach for developing common understanding and consensus amongst project participants and stakeholders as to how the project will achieve its goal)