What does a Project Manager do?
Most of the time a project manager is a project owner. He or she is responsible for the leadership of the project from inception to completion. The project manager leads the team and helps negotiate the multiple relationships within any project—whether with clients, team members, firm principals or any variety of partners (such as freelancers, contractors or even civic committees)—and functions as the hub of a project. With most projects, the project manager will begin work after a contract is signed or negotiated. Although a project manager can be involved in business development, he or she is usually not the person chasing deals and developing new relationships. Instead, he or she works to maintain a healthy client relationship throughout the course of the project. This often turns into a long-term business relationship, but the project manager does not usually initiate it; that’s because business development requires a very different set of skills and significant time away from the
There’s lots of discussion of late about the role of a Project Manager. Whether a Project Manager is needed in the agile world. Whether a Project Manager and Project Management is really a “directorial” role or a “coaching, personal guide?” Here’s a clear and concise definition I found while preparing for this weeks project management performance reviews on one of our NASA programs The primary function of project management is to ensure that the project is implemented to meet the established budget, schedule, safety, and performance requirements to satisfy its objectives. It takes an organized team to fulfill this function.
A project manager manages a team of people in order to get a project completed. Project managers work in every industry and are held accountable for the outcome of projects. The main duties of a project manager are planning, organizing, managing, controlling and following through on all parts of a project. Project managers start with the objective or purpose to be achieved in a particular project. Then, determined on available resources such people, equipment and budget, they plan how the project will be achieved step-by-step. Project managers usually ask for ideas and suggestions from the employees who report to them. A project manager must organize the project by deciding who will complete each step and by when. In larger organizations, the project manager may appoint team leaders to handle different project areas. These team leaders supervise a group of workers and report directly to the project manager. The ability to delegate tasks and accomplish objectives through other people is
Project Management is accomplished through the use of processes such as initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing. The project team manages the work of the projects, and the work typically involves competing demands for: scope, time, cost, risk and quality as well as stakeholders with differing needs and expectations. The Project Manager’s role is to provide visibility to the many tasks needed to execute the project, to clearly and frequently communicate the status of projects and tasks, and to work closely with the Project Sponsor to make sure the project is delivered as close to the forecasted time, budget & scope as possible. Project Management Tools and Training In addition to providing day-to-day operation and support of services and products, the staff of Information Technology Services are engaged in scores of projects to expand and improve Business Affairs support for Stanfords core teaching and research activities. The PMO provides tools, templates and other res
