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I just finished up a class or I guess you could call it a seminar on project management.  The one thing that I took away from it was that the instructor was persistent on making a plan.  He said, "Plan the work and Work the Plan".  What he meant by this was, before you start any project you must have a plan in place for what you want to accomplish. This is what helps you indentify the scope of the project. If you work this plan or scope and do not deviate from it then theoretically the project should succeed.

Before a project is declared there is usually a feasibility studied done to determine what the ROI (return on investment) will be. Also how long will the project take if management decides to do it. This task require several key players.  These players some times consist of engineers, managers, and the people that will  work on the project day to day. If the study shows a good ROI then the managers start to build a team to define the scope and budget of the project.

1.     Seek critical mass

When selecting a vendor, look for one that has "critical mass" in the area you're seeking. Critical mass is the point at which there is enough of something that it becomes self-sustaining. If you’re hiring a SharePoint consultant, make sure the guy that you’re getting isn’t their only SharePoint consultant.

Many times vendors will try to buy their way into the market. They try to gain market share or the ability to perform a kind of service to see if the market makes sense for them. While the initial price may be enticing, what are you going to do if they decide not to stay in the market? The costs of changing to a new vendor and finding the right new vendor may quickly outweigh any small cost advantage that you gained by working with someone buying their way in.

2.   Get what you expect (pay for)

There are two ways that you can find yourself in a bind when it comes to getting what you expect. First, you'll find that the vendor replaces the people that they listed in the proposal with others. Sometimes this is innocent enough. The person they proposed was swallowed up into another deal before you could get all of your contractual steps out of the way. Other times they include resumes of folks who are never available for your project at all. They are folks who are already fully engaged other places. They do this to get your agreement that they have the right people for your project which they may have. The question becomes whether you can get those right people to work on your projects or not.

This happens not only with personnel but also with products or material.  When time comes to deliver material the vendor could find a less expensive or less quality material to pass off as the original.

3.   Select strategic

Because of the importance of selecting the right vendor and the potential costs and risks of the wrong decision, it’s critical to find long-term fits. The vendor you select must be interested enough in your organization and the things you’re doing to be willing to work with you as you learn and grow. That means that you should be large enough of a customer to them to command their attention. If you spread out your work with several vendors and don’t really develop any repeatable pattern of work, they won’t really become a partner in helping you reach your goals, because you’re not helping them reach theirs. Conversely, it’s risky for both of you to represent too much (say more than 50%) of the vendor’s income. It makes them too vulnerable to temporary project delays on your end.

Once a company decides on the scope of the project they will need to identify the suppliers they will use to supply materials and products for the project. This is where the vendor selection process is important. Usually a bid list is created of all the vendors that will be invited top to bid. Then the list of material and products and specs on the material are disturbed to the vendors. This material list is what the company has designed to best fit the project. The vendors will present to the company their best fit for this design with the best price and/or delivery of the material.  

Project management is carefully planned and organized efforts to accomplish a specific one-time effort, for example, construct a building. 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. It also includes implementing the project plan, along with careful controls to stay on the "critical path", that is, to ensure the plan is being managed according to plan. Project management usually follows major phases, including feasibility study, project planning, implementation, evaluation and support/maintenance.