What Exactly Does A Project Manager Do?

by Startacus Admin

Don't let the job title confuse you - here is the lowdown on some of the key tasks that a Project Manager generally undertakes, no matter what the sector...

‘Project management’ is a term often slung around in business settings, no matter what field you might be working in. What, then, are the actual tasks of a project manager? This quick guide should help demystify the project management role. Project management includes a truly diverse set of tasks and requires nimble thinking, patience, and great knowledge of business strategy and interpersonal relationship management. 

Planning

Project managers have a hand in the planning of the project that they head up. They need to work in collaboration with executives to construct plans that can actually be achieved. One of the reasons that an experienced project manager is so valuable to a company is that they have the ability to quickly assess the feasibility of a task. Having a project manager sitting in on strategic planning meetings can be great for generating worthwhile feedback.

Coordination

Perhaps the most daunting task assigned to project managers is the coordination of all project elements. This includes matching team members with tasks, balancing budget use, and ensuring that all people working on the project are in communication with each other. 

This task has been made a great deal less stressful in recent years with the proliferation of project management apps. These apps are essentially centralized control hubs: allowing a project manager to monitor and coordinate all elements of a plan in one place. 

A well-coordinated project is the hallmark of a good manager. The skillset needed to properly coordinate every element of a plan is a rather wide one. You can’t learn it overnight. 

Risk Management

Risk analysis and management are very important. Project managers need to ensure that every step is taken to avoid unpleasant surprises from scarpering their plans. 

Risk management usually follows a four-step process. 

Risk Identification

Identifying the possible sources of future issues.

Risk Evaluation

Working out how likely an issue is to occur and how much of an impact it will have on the project.

Risk Handling

Developing mechanisms to reduce risks

Risk Controlling

Ongoing reporting and monitoring of potential pitfalls. 

Goal Setting

Setting goals is one of the key tasks of the project manager. After all, the completion of a project can only be achieved if team members know what tasks they need to complete. Setting goals can be a challenge. Most project managers set goals by adhering to the SMART principles.

S – Make Goals Specific

Vague goals can confuse planning and stop team members from collaborating effectively. 

M – Make Goals Measurable

Progress needs to have some kind of monitoring. Project managers need to define how measurements of success will be made. 

A – Make Goals Attainable

Unrealistic goals serve only to pave the way for failure.

R – Make Goals Relevant

Keeping goals relevant to the long-term strategy of the parent organization is crucial.

T – Keep Goals Time Based 

Keeping time limits on goals helps to motivate team members and allows a project manager to deliver a roadmap to their organization.

 

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Published on: 27th April 2021