There are many theories, methods, research, examples and communities in the project management field.
Work management is often overlooked. It is often forgotten about or hard to understand.
This is about to change.
This article will explain what work management is and how it differs to traditional project management. It will also discuss which management solution best suits your company’s specific needs.
Operation Management vs Project Management
Project management, by definition, is the “application knowledge, skills and tools to project activities in order to meet project requirements.”
Let’s take a look to the definition of project as used by the Association for Project Management.
A project is a unique, temporary endeavor that is undertaken to achieve set objectives. These objectives could be expressed in terms of outputs or outcomes, or even benefits. A project is considered successful if it meets the agreed acceptance criteria and within the agreed budget and timeframe.
A project is short-term, unique and ad-hoc. It has a clear goal that defines its success. Teams are temporary and have complementary skills.
Operations management is the opposite of project management. Here’s the definition of operations management from the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge).
Operations is an organizational function that performs the ongoing execution of activities that produce the identical product or provide a repetitive product Operations are permanent endeavors with repetitive outputs. Resources are assigned to basically the same tasks according to the standards established in a product’s life cycle.
Operations management is, in other words, a continuous process where work is repetitive and success is based upon achieving growth. Teams in operations management share the same skill sets and are more consistent over time.
The most important difference between project management and operations management is how intense the organization experiences change. Operations management is more dynamic and often causes abrupt, innovative changes. Project management can be disruptive.
We now have a clear understanding of what project management is and what it isn’t, we can move on to what work management is.
What is work management?
Work management refers to managing the work of individuals and teams, whether it is within the scope or related to organizational operations.
It can also be used to apply some core principles of project administration outside of the scope of the project management.
Projects are about collaboration and teamwork, while work management is done at an individual level. Some people handle inquiries via email, while others create their own to-do list.
Although the field of project management is rich in software and methodologies, there is very little information about work management or teamwork management.
While methods and processes are commonly used in work management, collaboration is often overlooked. Teams should be empowered with tools that share the best qualities of project management software.
Workflow structure
Gartner, the world’s most respected information technology research and advisory firm; defines work management as:
Work management software products and services are a collection of software products that use workflow structure to move information and to interact with business processes and the human worker processes that create the information. Work management can streamline and transform critical business processes, thereby improving results and performance.
Translation: Work management software is software that organizes the execution of tasks (tasks) as well as the flow of information (internal communications), in order to improve performance.
The workflow structure