Role of the Project Manager

The project manager's role in a nutshell is the overall responsibility for the successful planning, execution, monitoring, control and closure of a project.

Project Managers Need Leadership Skills

If you are a project manager you really need leadership skills! Today's project managers must have leadership skills in order to effectively perform their roles in the organisation and stand out from the crowd. Something must make you distinct from the others, especially if you are currently job searching or worried about your job security given the current economic climate.

What Makes a Successful Project Manager?

As companies turn to project based work to help make and keep their organisations competitive and profitable, the need for skilled project leaders will continue to increase. Regardless of your particular work management methodology or business project management software, do you take time to foster the following skills and attributes?

Improving Project Success Rates with Better Leadership

Factual and anecdotal evidence confirms that IT investments are inherently risky. On average, about 70% of all IT related projects fail to meet their on-time, on-budget objectives or to produce the expected business results. In one KPMG survey, 67% of the companies who participated said that their programme/project management function was in need of improvement. Why? A number of leading factors for project failure were suggested by the survey, including the "usual suspects": unreasonable project timelines, poorly defined requirements, poor scope management, and unclear project objectives. Granted, all of these factors can play a role in project success. But are they the cause or project failure, or just a symptom of some larger issue?

Four Keys To Successful Project Management

One question I get asked a lot is, "what does it take to be a successful project manager?" It's as if there's a secret recipe for being successful in the field of project management. Some would argue that nothing but experience counts; others favour formal training and certifications. Perhaps the best answer is to have a balance of both real-world experience and training.

The ABC's of Project Management for Project Managers

This article covers 7 ABC's of Project Management. Derived from the competencies of project managers, this article reviews areas that make project managers successful in their vocation. As a contributor and reviewer of the PMBOK Guide Fourth Edition, Bill Thom feels that it is our responsibility as Project Managers to learn and share with each other in a manner that will assist in project success.

The Ideal Project Manager Specification

Successful project management is a combination of approximately 20% hard skills and 80% soft skills. The hard skills relate to the actual processes, procedures, tools and techniques comprising planning, organising, monitoring and controlling, while the soft skills relate to the project managers attitudes and behaviours. In addition, I believe that a truly excellent project manager must become a master of paradox. This article provides a specification of the hard and soft skill along with a listing of the attitudes and behaviours required of a great project manager.

So You Want to Be a Project Manager - Part 2: Getting the Skills You Need

In my last article we learned the 6 key skills required to be a successful project manager, and why those are more important than qualifications. In this article, I look at how you can acquire, learn or improve these skills, in order to become a more successful project manager.

So You Want to Be a Project Manager

You've worked on a project, and you think you'd like to have a try out at doing the project management role. It doesn't look too hard, or maybe it just looks exciting. So what does it take to become a project manager? What skills do you need?

The Seven Deadly Sins of Leadership

Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed, Sloth. You either recognise these as the seven deadly sins or as themes for prime-time television. Nonetheless, you were probably taught as a child that these are bad and you shouldn't do them. For purposes of this article, do as you were taught and think bad when you commit these similar sins in the workplace.

10 Rules of Highly Successful Project Management

A successful project manager is one who can envision the entire project from start to finish, and have the prowess to realise this vision. To keep pace with business and IT, project managers need to make their management practices more flexible.

The Role of Project Managers

From a textbook perspective, the role of a project manager is quite easy to describe. A project manager is one, who looks into the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to describe, organise, oversee and control the various project processes. Having said that, the roles and responsibilities of a project manager differ from company to company. It is important to understand what role a particular project manager will play in a certain company or organisation.

The Role of the Project Manager

A project manager is the person who has the overall responsibility for the successful planning and execution of a project. He/she must possess a combination of skills including an ability to ask penetrating questions, detect unstated assumptions and resolve interpersonal conflicts as well as more systematic management skills.

Top 10 Qualities of an Excellent Manager

An excellent manager taps into talents and resources in order to support and bring out the best in others. An outstanding manager evokes possibility in others.

Project Leader, Manager, or Monitor?

During years of software development projects it's striking how different project managers are. This article looks and the differences between project leaders, project managers and project monitors. Here's the question: What type of project manager do you need to have for the best outcome on a software development project?

Leadership for Programme and Project Managers

Effective management is not just about being able to apply budgetary constraints or running projects to time. In fact, 70% of businesses fail to achieve their desired goals and the causes for failure are usually lack of strong leadership, lack of team skills, and lack of stakeholder engagement. These more subtle skills can have a huge effect on successful outcomes.

The Hardest Word in the Project Management Vocabulary

For project managers "no" is often the toughest word in the English language to deploy. We often prefer the classic PM strategy of "Yes, but..." as the softer, kinder, gentler alternative. "No" sounds harsh. Uncooperative. It sounds reticent and recalcitrant. It sounds negative. And yet, for many of us, the time has come as professionals to set "yes, but..." aside and venture into the world of "no."

Successful Projects Are Led Not Managed

More and more in today's environment Project Managers are being judged on how well they operate within, and adhere, to standard practices and disciplines. This is all very well, but let us stand back and think for a moment. If I were to challenge any one of you to think of someone you respect, who consistently delivers projects on time, who always gets called on when things get tough. I am sure that you could name that person without knowing how well they work within the practices and disciplines of your company.

The Top Five Project Management Traits to Master "the How"

In project management, we tend to focus on the method. And there is no shortage of methods (Six Sigma, Scrum, Waterfall). The method is the what of project management and is often at the core of an effectively run project. But the method can only take your project so far.

If The Lord of the Rings Was a Project

Let's assume for a moment that the great quest in The Lord of the Rings was a project. Now that's not as odd as it might sound. Just think of the criteria. They had a clear goal and purpose. They had a team of people with defined (if unspoken) roles. All of the team needed to work together to achieve the goal. There was a definite time constraint in terms of when the goal needed to be achieved.

The Next Generation Project Manager

Are you tired being an average project manager, working on average projects, being passed over for promotion, and getting an average performance review? You need to understand something right now. There are new challenges and expectations today that require every project manager to evolve to the next level. If you do not take action now, you will be left behind.

How to Become a Project Manager

If you are new to project management don't be bamboozled by all the jargon. Managing a project is just another branch of business management. There are well understood methodologies, tools, guidelines, and procedures to help you on your way to developing the important life-skill of project management. This article sets out the key skills needed to become a competent project manager.

Top Seven Questions for Starting Projects More Effectively

We are all project managers. Some of us manage projects like vacations or reunions, while others run implementations of new software systems, consolidation divisions of companies, launch new products, or build buildings. While the scale changes for different kinds of projects, and complexity changes as more people are affected and involved; at the core there are questions you can answer to help get any project off to a better start.

Good Project Managers are Hard to Find!

This week, I have had a number of clients ask me if I have project managers available to manage urgent projects. Companies want to expand and move forward but the lack of project managers (PM's) is holding them back.

Five Ways to Turn Small Projects into Professional Success

Yes, there have always been projects. But never before has it been so important for every person to be able to lead, manage or participate in projects of all sizes. Here are five things you can do today to excel with small team or personal projects.

Legitimising the Project Manager Role

This article is dedicated to a better understanding of what a project manager is and what a project manager does. Just as important, we will also be talking about what a project manager isn't.

Project Managers, Trackers and Hybrids

Scott Berkun has some very interesting insights about the distinction between project managers, in the traditional sense and definition of the term, and project trackers, who may have the title of project manager, but essentially only gather actuals and create reports for sponsors and management without actually leading project teams during execution. Scott also provides a handy set of questions that can help one determine exactly what role a project manager is playing on projects.

The Difference Between Really Effective Project Managers and Those Who Muddle Through

Project management is what project managers do, not what project management software or a methodology does. No software exists that will deliver a project on time and on budget all by itself. No matter how "good" the software or methodology, it is only as good as the people using it.

How To Get Your Project Approved

What do you do when you have a great idea? You know how to save your company a ton of money or you've thought of a way to really improve a product. The problem is that you know that you have a great idea, but no-one else does. And you can't convert this idea into reality by yourself. You need resources. You need money. You feel that you need permission. What do you do?

Establishing Your Project Management Authority

It's been a tough climb to your project management position. How do you establish your authority and inspire respect? What must be done to influence project results and growth and make your stay long and productive?

7 Habits of Brilliant Project Managers

Project management is a tough role. You often find yourself being pulled between keeping users, subordinates, team members and senior people happy. Given these demands, what do the best project managers do that makes them stand out from the crowd?

Five Goals of Every Project

Project goals keep the focus on what is most important. However, on some teams these primary goals are lost in their meeting's activities. Make sure each meeting is structured so as to move the project forward. Even if the progress is only inches rather than by huge leaps, the team must be pushing the project forward as quickly, safely, and reasonably as possible.

Project Leader or Project Manager, Which One Are You?

With the increased attention given to "leadership" in today's business community, one could argue for the simple substitution of the expression project management with project leadership. Rightly so, since in some literature, the role of leader or manager is used interchangeably. Yukl (2006) uses the terms leader, manager and boss interchangeably to indicate people who are in positions in which they are expected to perform the role of leadership. Leadership in this context is used loosely to cover management as well. In order to answer this question adequately, we look at some definitions of leadership and management.

6 Key Tips For Running Effective Project Meetings

As a manager or leader, chances are that you will be given responsibility for a project at some time in your career. It could be a new computer system implementation, building a new facility, introducing a new piece of equipment or a new product or service. How can you excel in this area?

Ten New Rules for Project Managers

These ten ideas will help improve your projects. Are these ten rules the top ten? You decide. But don't take too long. Share these rules with your team. Your team members are sure to help you carry them out.

Project Management Confidence

If you have been doing project management for a while, your confidence has probably gotten an occasional shaking. And the resulting lack of confidence hurts you, but it also hurts your team members who need you to be confident and not self-conscious. You're their leader after all, and they want you to have a strong plan, vision, self-esteem and the confidence to lead.

Project Management Excellence

Project management excellence goes beyond producing project charters, detailed schedules and colourful status reports. Today's project managers must acquire the skills necessary to combat a myriad of modern challenges. Factors such as downsizing, merger mania, restricted finances, an accelerated business pace, a multidisciplinary world, rising competition and seemingly ceaseless change, acting singly and in concert, demand much more.

Be a Smart Project Manager

The key to being a smart project manager is to remember how you are going to manage your project, to know what to do if it does not work, and to win and keep the support of all of the project stakeholders.

Manage Your Project On Time Every Time

An introduction to some of the most important best practices which will enable you to plan and manage your projects on time and within budget.

Managing Small Projects

Project management best practices can easily be applied on small projects to enable you to plan and manage your project successfully. This article looks at how to apply these practices without creating too much paperwork or overhead.

Project Management Success with the Top 7 Best Practices

Whether planning your wedding, developing a new website or building your dream house by the sea you need to employ project management techniques to help you succeed. This article summarises 7 key project management best practices to help you achieve project success.

Intelligent Disobedience: The Difference Between Good and Great Project Managers

Intelligent disobedience requires taking risks, creativity, flexibility and perseverance. Following this approach can have significant benefits in project management terms and can make the difference between good and great project managers.

Top 10 Qualities of a Project Manager

What qualities are most important for a project leader to be effective? Over the past few years, the people at ESI International, world leaders in Project Management Training, have looked in to what makes an effective project leader. With the unique opportunity to ask some of the most talented project leaders in the world on their Project Leadership courses ESI have managed to collect a running tally on their responses.

Using Feedback as a Tool

As a project manager it is important to be able to give and receive feedback effectively. Feedback is best given on a one to one basis soon after the event that triggers its need. Here are some tips that can help.

Tips and Reminders for Project Managers

Here are some essential tips and reminders we have compiled for those new to project management or in case you need to refresh your memory.