Project Manager

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY

Project Manager Definition

 TRULY EFFECTIVE PROJECT

MANAGERS are not easy to find.
Although many people have the
potential to become successful project
managers, a person must first
understand the duties of a project
manager before he or she can be
sufficiently effective in that role.
 Responsibility

 Theproject manager has the single most important

position on a project and has the overall
responsibility for its success. This position comes
with a tremendous responsibility, accountability,
ownership and authority.
 Because of the criticality of this role, project
managers must be carefully selected, trained, and
nurtured to give them every opportunity to be
successful. Let's look at a short list of the more
 Roles

 Has Full Responsibility and Accountability for the Project. The

project manager, fully accountable for the outcome
of the project, is the glue that holds the project
together. The project manager leads the project
with passion, as if it was his or her own business.
Lessons Learned From Recent Projects. The project
 Applies
manager studies the lessons learned from prior
projects and applies the most important lessons to
the new project.
 Roles

 AdoptsProject Management Best Practices. The project manager,

not management, is responsible for defining, teaching,
and enforcing the use of good project management
practices.
 Manages to Project Priorities; Performs Risk Management. The
project manager understands that the No. 1 problem
on all projects is that the most important problems are
not being worked to a swift closure; therefore, most of
the project manager's time each day is dedicated to
addressing the project's top three-to-five priorities.
 Roles

 CommunicatesProject Status Upward and to the Client. No

significant project status leaves the boundaries of
the project without project manager approval.
 DrivesDecision-Making to Lowest Level Possible. The project
manager drives ownership of decisions to the level
where the accountability of the decision must lie. A
key result is that project members, with proper
training and coaching, will almost always rise to the
expectations placed on them.
 Roles

Project Roles and Responsibilities. The project manager is

 Defines
ultimately responsible for ensuring that project
members understand what is expected of them and
what they should expect from one another.
 Leadsthe Project Planning Activities. The project manager
directs the creation, approval, and ongoing change
control of the project plan.
 “Project manager” is a job for those who want to make
a difference.
 Roles

Project Tracking. The No. 1 reason for tracking a project is to

 Performs
discover potential problems before they occur. The project
manager applies this proactive approach in routinely tracking the
project members’ progress against their project commitments.
 Neal Whitten, PMP, president of The Neal Whitten Group (
www.nealwhittengroup.com), is a speaker, trainer, consultant
and author. His books include Becoming an Indispensable Employee in a
Disposable World. Comments on this column should be directed
to editorial@pmi.org.
 Roles

 Promotes Good Working Relationships. The project manager serves as a role model in
promoting good working relationships across a project.
 Makes Things Happen. You don't have to be the smartest, most knowledgeable person
on the project to be the project manager. You do, however, have to have the
knowledge, skills and experience to be able to recognize when problems surface or
potential problems are looming. You must be able to articulate those problems,
bring the right people together to solve those problems and know when the
problem has been properly addressed and closed—all this with the proper sense of
urgency that the problem requires.
 Roles

 Promotes Client Involvement. The project manager recognizes that project

success is directly related to satisfying the client; therefore, client
involvement is essential to ensure that the right product is built.
 Encourages and Supports Escalations. The project manager establishes a
project culture where escalations to resolve “stagnant” problems
are viewed as good business and not viewed as being personal.
 Enforces Effective Change Control. The project manager ensures that scope
creep, communications, and quality are carefully managed.
 Mentors Project Members. The project manager is a teacher and a helper.
 The Project Team Leader

 The project team leader is the front runner of the project.

 He/she liaises with other team members in generating and developing
a good project plan
 PLAN that is capable of achieving progression criteria with the use of
proven methods
 in the shortest time possible without much expense.
What Are the Responsibilities of a Project
Manager?

 Plan and Develop the Project Idea. Every project starts as an idea. ...
 Create and Lead Your Dream Team. ...
 Monitor Project Progress and Set Deadlines. ...
 Solve Issues That Arise. ...
 Manage the Money. ...
 Ensure Stakeholder Satisfaction. ...
 Evaluate Project Performance.
 Project leaders make plans, while project managers
solve problems.
 Project leaders are strategists.
 Through their inspiring attitude, they help generate long-
term plans and ideas that stimulate the people involved in
the project to achieve their goals.
 Project managers have an outline for what they need to
do.