Project Management: The Art of Making Things Happen
Discover how you're already a project manager → understand the human side → master the real components → apply to your work
🚀 Welcome to the Art of Making Things Happen
After over a decade in project management, I can tell you this: project management is as simple or as complex as you make it.
Whether you're planning a house move, building a railway machine, or coordinating multiple priorities at work, you're already using project management skills. We just don't always recognise it.
🎯 What you'll discover in this journey:
- How you're already managing projects from house moves to railway machines
- The five components that work everywhere infrastructure, engineering, digital
- Experience the triple constraint through interactive real-world scenarios
- Why people skills trump processes every single time
- Common myths busted and what actually works
- Your personalized action plan to apply this week
💡 Remember: The same mindset that helps you organise your life can help you make things happen at work.
The Honest Truth About Getting Started
So, I'll be honest: at the start of my project management career, it was hard to grasp what project management really was. It felt dynamic, fast-moving, and unpredictable, and the reality on the ground didn't always match the neat textbook definitions.
The revelation that changed everything
Project management is as simple or as complex as you make it. The same mindset that helped me build an online jewellery store years ago is the same one that helped me build this platform while juggling work and personal life.
You're already doing it
What's surprised me most is how many transferable life skills the discipline brings with it. Think about everyday situations:
🏠 Planning a house move
Coordinating removal companies, managing timelines, budgeting for unexpected costs, dealing with utility transfers, keeping family stress levels down
🎉 Organising a wedding or big event
Managing guest lists, coordinating multiple vendors, staying within budget, handling last-minute changes, keeping everyone happy on the day
🌴 Planning a family holiday
Researching destinations, booking flights and hotels, creating itineraries, managing different family member expectations, dealing with flight delays
💡 Notice something? These are the exact same skills you need at work.
The same skills, different scale
Now think about a work scenario:
🚂 Building a railway machine
Engineering precision, safety standards, complex logistics, multiple specialised teams working to tight tolerances
The skills you use in your personal life transfer directly to professional project management. You're already a project manager. You just didn't call it that.
The Real-World Components That Matter
I've spent a lot of time reflecting on the projects I've worked on, from infrastructure and engineering to digital launches, and no matter the industry, effective project management always comes down to these core components:
The Five Components Cycle
Click the image to view in full size
Planning
Defining what needs to be done, by when, and by whom
Organising
Aligning people, resources, and processes
Leading
Motivating and guiding the team through uncertainty
Monitoring
Tracking progress and managing risks before they become issues
Delivering
Ensuring the end result meets the agreed objectives and creates value
💡 Notice something? You probably use all five of these in your daily life already.
What Is Project Management? The Simple Answer
The textbook definition
"The application of processes, methods, knowledge, skills and experience to achieve the project objectives."
— Association for Project Management (APM)
But what does that mean in real-world terms?
Simply put, project management is the practice of leading the work of a team to achieve specific goals within defined constraints. That usually means managing scope, time, cost, and quality, but there's a lot more to it in practice.
📚 What textbooks focus on
- Gantt charts and schedules
- Risk registers
- Process documentation
- Methodologies and frameworks
- Templates and reports
🤝 What actually matters
- Helping people work together
- Making tough decisions under pressure
- Keeping everyone focused on the goal
- Navigating uncertainty and change
- Building trust and momentum
Like building a rocket
Projects succeed when people bring their skills together. The charts and processes are just tools to help coordination happen. The real work is human work.
The Triple Constraint
Those core components don't exist in isolation. Every project lives within what's called the "triple constraint" - a fundamental balancing act between time, cost, and quality, with scope sitting right in the middle.
Think of it like a triangle: when you change one side, the others must adjust. Want it faster? You might need more resources (cost) or have to compromise on quality. Need higher quality? Expect to spend more time or budget. This is the eternal dance of project management - constantly balancing these four interconnected elements to deliver success.
Let's break down each element before we see how this plays out in real life...
⏱️ Time
When does it need to be done?
Example: Launch must happen before competitor's release
💰 Cost
What resources are available?
Example: Budget of £50k, team of 5 developers
⭐ Quality
What standards must be met?
Example: Must pass security audit, zero critical bugs
📦 Scope
What are you actually delivering?
Example: Mobile app with login, payments, and dashboard
🎮 Try It Yourself: The Triple Constraint Balancing Act
Adjust the sliders below and watch how scope must adapt when constraints change
💡 Note: Sliders start at 50% - this represents your planned baseline (what you originally committed to). Moving sliders shows what happens when reality changes.
📦 Resulting Scope
100%
Your project is perfectly balanced. Try changing the constraints above!
The Triple Constraint Model
Click the image to view in full size
Project Management Is People Management
But here's what makes project management truly meaningful: it's not the spreadsheets or schedules that define the work. It's the leadership.
Steven Bartlett got it right
"Everything the organisation produces, good or bad, originates from the minds of the members of your group of people."
In simpler terms: project outcomes come down to people.
🤝 The PM Connects Everyone
Click each role to see how a PM works with them:
The Real Work of a PM
- Building trust and momentum
- Resolving conflicts
- Managing team wellbeing
- Navigating uncertainty together
- Unlocking collective potential
Mental health matters
Here's something we don't talk about enough: managing the mental health and wellbeing of the team throughout the project journey. The pressure affects everyone, and acknowledging that is the first step to building resilient teams.
🚫 Common Project Management Myths Quiz
Let's test your understanding. For each statement, decide: is it TRUE or FALSE?
Myth 1: "Project management is just admin"
Is this statement accurate?
❌ Not quite!
This is indeed a myth. Project management is much more than admin work. It's about leading teams, making decisions, solving problems, and navigating uncertainty. The paperwork is just a small part.
✅ Exactly right!
This is a myth. Project management is much more than admin work. It's about leading teams, making decisions, solving problems, and navigating uncertainty. The paperwork is just a small part.
Myth 2: "You only need PM for big projects"
Is this statement accurate?
❌ Not quite!
This is indeed a myth. Even smaller initiatives benefit from structure and coordination. Without it, even small projects can derail. Good project management scales to any size.
✅ Exactly right!
This is a myth. Even smaller initiatives benefit from structure and coordination. Without it, even small projects can derail. Good project management scales to any size.
Myth 3: "Once the plan is set, you just follow it"
Is this statement accurate?
❌ Not quite!
This is indeed a myth. Plans change constantly. Good PM involves continuous monitoring, adapting, and responding to changes while keeping the end goal in sight. Flexibility is key.
✅ Exactly right!
This is a myth. Plans change constantly. Good PM involves continuous monitoring, adapting, and responding to changes while keeping the end goal in sight. Flexibility is key.
Myth 4: "PMs need to know everything about the subject"
Is this statement accurate?
❌ Not quite!
This is indeed a myth. While domain knowledge helps, the real skill is coordination, communication, and enabling the team's expertise to shine. You're the conductor, not every instrument.
✅ Exactly right!
This is a myth. While domain knowledge helps, the real skill is coordination, communication, and enabling the team's expertise to shine. You're the conductor, not every instrument.
The truth about project management
Project management helps people build things they didn't think were possible. And here's the thing: we're all project managers in some way.
Your reflection
The best learning happens when we connect new insights to our own experience and commit to action.
📝 Key takeaways
Tick each one as you reflect on what it means for your work: