ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the foundations of project management as a method, and outlines the emergence of careers in project management in the sector. The project life cycle— initiate, plan, implement and close— is a model that explains the normal progression of projects to completion. In the health and community sectors, there is a need to distinguish projects from programs or services. Projects are one-off activities with an end result. A program, on the other hand, is usually a service, intervention or set of activities that aims to meet a health or social care need. The objective of using a project management method is to ensure projects are successful, through the use of tools and techniques that enable projects to progress in effective, disciplined and reliable ways. A project management method is essentially an approach that can be used to help conceptualise and understand the tasks of managing a project to success, and how and when to use project management tools.
