The Role of a Project Manager

The term Project Manager is used across several industries that produce products
and provide services including construction, architecture and IT to describe so
meone who has the responsibility for the full lifecycle of a project.
The Project Manager takes the lead from initiation through planning, design, exe
cution, monitoring, controlling to project closure.
Risk Management
Key among the responsibilities of Project Manager jobs is the recognition that r
isk directly impacts the probability of the project being a success. As a result
the Project Manager must be proven to formally and informally measure risks thr
oughout the project lifecycle.
Most issues that arise throughout a project will arise (in one way or another) f
rom risk
which itself arises from uncertainty. Most successful Project Managers
are able to minimise risk by implementing and adhering to a strong belief in ope
n communication. This allows team members to express their opinions and voice an
y concerns they might have as well as unveiling any unstated assumptions.
Project Management Tools
Nowadays there are several different Project Management tools available in order
to help Project Managers organise their workforce and tasks. The most commonly
used PM tools are now software based for example, Microsoft Project, Primavera,
Basecamp, etc. These packages are designed to produce reports and charts in minu
tes that previously would have taken hours to do by hand.
Roles and Responsibilities of a Project Manager
The key responsibilities of a Project Manager are to ensure successful completio
n of a project, on time and to budget, however this involves many other stages.
Although the role of a PM will vary dramatically from industry to industry and f
rom project to project, several key activities will remain the same, for example
a Project Manager is likely to be responsible for:
Defining scope
Planning scope
Activity and resource planning
Developing schedules and timescales
Cost estimating
Budgeting
Completing documentation
Risk analysis
Risk management
Progress monitoring
Team Management
Business Partnering
Scalability and portability analysis
Quality control
Project Manager Key Skills
A good Project Manager must have a combination of key soft skills. Although Proj
ect management training is excellent, without suitable characteristics such as t
he ability to ask penetrating questions, uncover any unstated assumptions, good
conflict resolution and general management skills completing projects successful
ly will be a huge challenge. A few key soft skills are:
Team and individual leadership
Oral and written communication

Conflict resolution
Negotiation
Delegation
Coaching and mentoring