What does a project manager do?

The project manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of activities throughout the project lifecycle.

• Initiates projects, including identifying and analyzing preliminary business needs, budget considerations, time and resource estimates and defining the project scope and objectives.
• Provides direction and structure for the project, establishing clear and precise goals and objectives.
• Defines project tasks, time and resource estimates and builds the project plan.
• Identifies the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of project team members.
• Builds and maintains the project team. Manages the work effort. Tracks progress against the plan.
• Controls the project budget and schedule, costs and changes, and deals effectively with project problems.
• Tracks project issues. Evaluates project results, reports progress and closes the project.
• Resolves team and project conflicts

On Your Last Project…

1. Did your organization begin by setting and defining project objectives, budget, timeline, available resources, shortfall consequences, outcome standards, level of organizational priority and support? Were project end users asked to describe:

i. best project result?
ii. minimum acceptable result?
iii. training required to implement the project result?

2. Were project participants asked about:

i. resources required for the project?
ii. existing methods, products, services or technologies to simplify or accelerate the project?
iii. aspects most difficult or prone to schedule or cost overruns?

3. Were necessary project resources and their timing clearly defined?

4. Were contingency plans developed for anticipated problems?

5. Was there clear, unambiguous and frequent communication with project participants, end users and resource providers?

6. Was there a plan and support for training, documentation, follow-through and results measurement?

7. Was a post-project summary written including lessons learned during the project?

Beware of the overly optimistic schedule

• Reduces schedule accuracy
• Provides faulty assumptions for related planning such as staffing level, training, testing, etc.
• Increases the chance the project will run without a plan, as projects tend to run free-form when they have serious schedule problems.
• Increases error — short schedules reduce time for defining requirements and design, often resulting in extra redesign and rework in the end.
• Diverts project managers from moving the project forward to playing schedule politics and explaining missed deadlines.
• Erodes faith in the project manager and project team.
• Dampens creativity — pressure cookers are not the right environment for creative thought. People under extreme pressure will not usually find the best solutions.
• Results in excessive overtime reducing time for needed professional development.
• Promotes hopelessness — people can be motivated by slightly optimistic schedules but will not commit to achieve schedules that are out of reach.
• Burns people out, to the detriment of follow-up projects.