Role of the Project Manager

What does a project manager do?

They are responsible for the planning, organizing and directing the completion of specific projects for an organization. This is all done while also ensuring that these projects are on time, on budget, and within scope (Miller, 2019).

Project managers oversee complex projects from inception to completion. This allows them to shape an organizations trajectory, which in turn, helps to reduce costs, maximize company efficiencies, and increase revenue (Miller, 2019). A project managers exact duties will differ when it comes to their specific industry, organization and certain projects they are overseeing.

All project managers will share a commonality in their responsibilities when it comes to the "project life cycle".

Project life cycle

The project life cycle is broken up into four phases: initiation, planning, execution and closure.

Initiation

Starting off the project life cycle is identifying a business need, problem or opportunity and then brainstorming ways in which your tea will be able to meet this need, solve the problem or take hold of an opportunity (Lucidchart, 2021). Its during this stage where the project objective and feasibility is identified as well as note any major deliverables.

Steps within the initiation phase are as follows:

· Carrying out a feasibility study. This will help you to identify the primary problem that will be solved by your project and the solution you propose in order to solve it.

· Identifying scope. This step will define the size of your project.

· Identifying deliverable's. This is defining the product or service that is being provided.

· Identifying project stakeholders. This step involves identifying those affected by the project and what their needs might be.

· Developing a business case. This is done by using the previously mentioned steps in order to compare potential costs and benefits, determining whether is moves forward or not.

· Developing a statement of work. This documents the projects objectives, scope, and deliverable 's that you have previously identified.

(Lucidchart, 2021)

Planning

This is the next phase after initiation and is carried out once the project is approved to move forward. During this phase you will deconstruct the project into smaller tasks, build your team and prepare a schedule detailing the completion of assignments (Lucidchart, 2021).

Steps involved in the planning phase:

· Creating a project plan. This plan should highlight the project timeline, phases of the project, tasks to be performed and any constraints that may be present.

· Creating workflow diagrams. These helps in being able to visualize the processes involved, ensuring that team members clearly understand their role in a project.

· Estimating budget and creating a financial plan. Using cost estimates will help to determine how much to spend on the project while also getting a return on investment.

· Gather resources. Do this by gathering people from internal and external talent pools in order to build a functional team for this project.

· Anticipate any risks and potential roadblocks to the overall quality of the project.

Execution

This phase is where all the planning and preparation is put into action. At this phase, a project manager will aim to keep work on track, organize team members, manage timelines, and ensure that the work is done according to the original plan.

Steps involved in the execution phase:

· Creating tasks and organizing workflows. This is important for ensuring the team is staying on track while also not being overworked.

· Team briefings. Providing the necessary guidance on how tasks should be completed and organizing any process-related training where necessary.

· Managing budget. Monitoring spending and keeping the project on track.

Closure

This stage is where you and your team provide the final deliverable 's, release project resources, and determine the success of the project.

It is here where the project manager needs to:

· Analyse the performance of the project. This would include whether goals were met and if the initial problem was solved.

· Analyse team performance. This can look like assessing whether or not they met their goals along with reaching deadlines on time.

· Documenting project closure. Ensuring that the project has been fully completed and reports have been sent to all key stakeholders.

· Conducting reviews. This takes the form of conducting a final analysis of the project.

· Reviewing all budget spending, used or unused.

(Lucidchart, 2021)

References

Lucidchart, 2021. 4 Phases of the project management life cycle. [Online] Available at: https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/the-4-phases-of-the-project-management-life-cycle [Accessed 11 October 2021].

Miller, K., 2019. What Does a Project Manager Do? Roles and Responsibilities. [Online] Available at: https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/project-manager-responsibilities/ [Accessed 11 October 2021].