Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 5

Project Management - Essay Example The conceptualisation, development and production of the aircraft took several years since the treaty between Britain and France was signed in 1962 but test flights of the Concorde could not be conducted till 1967 while scheduled flights could only be conducted in 1976 (Wikipedia, 2006). At the same time, after many years of faithful service as well as rising and falling fates, the Concorde was retired in 2003. As a product, it does present the complete lifecycle of a product going from an idea to a cultural icon to the eventual death of the product. The overall command and control for a project like Concorde would have to be handled by many individuals who are experts in their fields but one person would have the responsibility of conducted the entire project. There are several skills and competencies which one could seek when looking for a person to handle a project like Concorde of which the most important would be planning skills. However, before a discussion is made regarding the project manager’s skills and abilities, it would be logical to examine some of the primary activities involved with the project. The first activity required for the Concorde project would be to secure the required financing for the project. In historical terms, the idea and the product itself was so costly that no single company could manage to come up with the financing required for the project. In fact, Britain and France had to pool their resources before the production and prototyping process could begin (Wikipedia, 2006). A project manager here would need to be a part of the negotiations between the two countries so that s/he can guide the political process away from the technological process to create as little interference as possible. Once the financing or financial backers have been secured for the project, there is a significant cost involved in terms of time and money which concerns the mobilisation of the project. This activity is