Project management involves extensive communication between the project manager and ordering customer to ensure the project goals are clearly defined and agreed upon. A successful project goes through different phases with clear deliverables, including an initiation phase to document the goal and plan, and a definition phase to create a detailed project plan. The project goal should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound). Effective project planning includes identifying tasks, timelines, dependencies, resources, and risks to create a work breakdown structure and milestones for tracking progress.