1. Roles and Responsibilities of a Project Manager
Roles and Responsibilities of a Project Manager
Lecture 14
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2.
Learning Objectives
Explain the job description of an IT project manager.
Identify the skills required for a project manager.
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3. Roles and Responsibilities of a Project Manager
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

4. Roles of a Project Manager - 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 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

5. Roles of a Project Manager - Process Responsibilities
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.
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6. Roles of a Project Manager - People Responsibilities
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.

7. Roles of a Project Manager - People Responsibilities
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. 
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8. Role of a Project Manager - 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. 

9. Fifteen Project Management Job Functions*
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
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10. Suggested Skills for Project Managers
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
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11. Suggested Skills for a Project Manager
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
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12. Most Significant Characteristics of Effective and Ineffective Project Managers
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
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13. Suggestions for Improving Project Communications
Suggestions for Improving Project Communications
Manage conflicts effectively
Develop better communication skills
Run effective meetings
Use effectively
Use templates for project communications
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14. Importance of Good Communications
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
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15. Important Skills for Project Execution
Important Skills for Project Execution
General management skills like leadership, communication, and political skills
Product skills and knowledge
Use of specialized tools and techniques
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16. Keys to Managing People
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
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17.
References
“Information Technology Project Management”, Kathy Schwalbe, sixth Edition, THOMSON Course Technology
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