Roles and Responsibilities of a Project Manager www.hndit.com Roles and Responsibilities of a Project Manager Lecture 14 2/25/2019

www.hndit.com Learning Objectives Explain the job description of an IT project manager. Identify the skills required for a project manager. 2/25/2019

Roles and Responsibilities of a Project Manager www.hndit.com Roles and Responsibilities of a Project Manager Project issues Disseminating project information Mitigating project risk Quality Managing scope Metrics Managing the overall work plan Implementing standard processes Establishing leadership skills Setting expectations Team building Communicator skills Process Responsibilities The project manager normally is responsible for defining and planning the project. This results in the completion of a Project Definition and a project workplan. Once the project starts, the project manager must successfully manage and control the work, including: Identifying, tracking managing and resolving project issues Proactively disseminating project information to all stakeholders Identifying, managing and mitigating project risk Ensuring that the solution is of acceptable quality Proactively managing scope to ensure that only what was agreed to is delivered, unless changes are approved through scope management Defining and collecting metrics to give a sense for how the project is progressing and whether the deliverables produced are acceptable Managing the overall workplan to ensure work is assigned and completed on time and within budget To manage the project management processes, a person should be well organized, have great follow-up skills, be process oriented, be able to multi-task, have a logical thought process, be able to determine root causes, have good analytical ability, be a good estimator and budget manager, and have good self-discipline. People Responsibilities In addition to process skills, a project manager must have good people management skills. This includes: Having the discipline and general management skills to make sure that people follow the standard processes and procedures Establishing leadership skills to get the team to willingly follow your direction. Leadership is about communicating a vision and getting the team to accept it and strive to get there with you. Setting reasonable, challenging and clear expectations for people, and holding them accountable for meeting the expectations. This includes providing good performance feedback to team members Team building skills so that the people work together well, and feel motivated to work hard for the sake of the project and their other team members. The larger your team and the longer the project, the more important it is to have good team-building skills. Proactive verbal and written communicator skills, including good, active listening skills.  Multiple Roles Depending on the size and complexity of the project, the project manager may take on other responsibilities in addition to managing the work. For instance, the project manager may assist with gathering business requirements. Or they may help design a database management system or they may write some of the project documentation. Project management is a particular role that a person fills, even if the person who is the project manager is working in other roles as well.  Process Responsibilities People Responsibilities

Roles of a Project Manager - Process Responsibilities www.hndit.com The project manager normally is responsible for defining and planning the project. This results in the completion of a Project Definition and a project work plan. Once the project starts, the project manager must successfully manage and control the work, including: Identifying, tracking managing and resolving project issues Proactively disseminating project information to all stakeholders Identifying, managing and mitigating project risk Ensuring that the solution is of acceptable quality

Roles of a Project Manager - Process Responsibilities www.hndit.com Roles of a Project Manager - Process Responsibilities Proactively managing scope to ensure that only what was agreed to is delivered, unless changes are approved through scope management Defining and collecting metrics to give a sense for how the project is progressing and whether the deliverables produced are acceptable Managing the overall workplan to ensure work is assigned and completed on time and within budget To manage the project management processes, a person should be well organized, have great follow-up skills, be process oriented, be able to multi-task, have a logical thought process, be able to determine root causes, have good analytical ability, be a good estimator and budget manager, and have good self-discipline. 2/25/2019

Roles of a Project Manager - People Responsibilities www.hndit.com Roles of a Project Manager - People Responsibilities In addition to process skills, a project manager must have good people management skills. This includes: Having the discipline and general management skills to make sure that people follow the standard processes and procedures Establishing leadership skills to get the team to willingly follow your direction. Leadership is about communicating a vision and getting the team to accept it and strive to get there with you.

Roles of a Project Manager - People Responsibilities www.hndit.com Roles of a Project Manager - People Responsibilities Setting reasonable, challenging and clear expectations for people, and holding them accountable for meeting the expectations. This includes providing good performance feedback to team members Team building skills so that the people work together well, and feel motivated to work hard for the sake of the project and their other team members. The larger your team and the longer the project, the more important it is to have good team-building skills. Proactive verbal and written communicator skills, including good, active listening skills.  2/25/2019

Role of a Project Manager - Multiple Roles www.hndit.com Depending on the size and complexity of the project, the project manager may take on other responsibilities in addition to managing the work. For instance, the project manager may assist with gathering business requirements. Or they may help design a database management system or they may write some of the project documentation. Project management is a particular role that a person fills, even if the person who is the project manager is working in other roles as well. 

Fifteen Project Management Job Functions* www.hndit.com Identify and evaluate risks Prepare contingency plan Identify interdependencies Identify and track critical milestones Participate in project phase review Secure needed resources Manage the change control process Report project status Define scope of project Identify stakeholders, decision-makers, and escalation procedures Develop detailed task list (work breakdown structures) Estimate time requirements Develop initial project management flow chart Identify required resources and budget Evaluate project requirements *Northwest Center for Emerging Technologies, "Building a Foundation for Tomorrow: Skills Standards for Information Technology,"Belleview, WA, 1999 2/25/2019

Suggested Skills for Project Managers www.hndit.com Project managers need a wide variety of skills They should be comfortable with change, understand the organizations they work in and with, and be able to lead teams to accomplish project goals Project managers need both “hard” and “soft” skills. Hard skills include product knowledge and knowing how to use various project management tools and techniques, and soft skills include being able to work with various types of people 2/25/2019

Suggested Skills for a Project Manager www.hndit.com Communication skills: listening, persuading Organizational skills: planning, goal-setting, analyzing Team Building skills: empathy, motivation, esprit de corps Leadership skills: set examples, be energetic, have vision (big picture), delegate, be positive Coping skills: flexibility, creativity, patience, persistence Technological skills: experience, project knowledge 2/25/2019

Most Significant Characteristics of Effective and Ineffective Project Managers www.hndit.com Effective Project Managers Ineffective Project Managers Lead by example Are visionaries Are technically competent Are decisive Are good communicators Are good motivators Stand up to upper management when necessary Support team members Encourage new ideas Set bad examples Are not self-assured Lack technical expertise Are poor communicators Are poor motivators 2/25/2019

Suggestions for Improving Project Communications www.hndit.com Suggestions for Improving Project Communications Manage conflicts effectively Develop better communication skills Run effective meetings Use e-mail effectively Use templates for project communications 2/25/2019

Importance of Good Communications www.hndit.com The greatest threat to many projects is a failure to communicate Our culture does not portray IT professionals as being good communicators Research shows that IT professionals must be able to communicate effectively to succeed in their positions Strong verbal skills are a key factor in career advancement for IT professionals 2/25/2019

Important Skills for Project Execution www.hndit.com Important Skills for Project Execution General management skills like leadership, communication, and political skills Product skills and knowledge Use of specialized tools and techniques 2/25/2019

Keys to Managing People www.hndit.com Psychologists and management theorists have devoted much research and thought to the field of managing people at work Important areas related to project management include motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic) influence and power effectiveness 2/25/2019

www.hndit.com References “Information Technology Project Management”, Kathy Schwalbe, sixth Edition, THOMSON Course Technology 2/25/2019