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What are the Project Manager Roles and Responsibilities?

Project Manager – How was the role created?

It was during the creation of Microsoft Excel, the role ‘Project Manager” was created

During the late eighties, Microsoft was attempting to create something to the equivalent to that of the Lots spreadsheet, which was popular at that point in time. The project turned out to be chaotic as too many departments gt involved without any proper coordination. It proved to be an innovative and ideal solution as the team engaged seamlessly and the final product was launched as Excel.

The ingenious role created was the project manager.

The basic principles in project management have continued to be the same: manage scope, schedule costs resources,  activities, and tasks.

The role of a project manager has evolved.  There are different approaches to project management and project managers should be skilled and familiar with the project management system.

The project manager is responsible for leading and managing project teams leading to the successful delivery of the project. But before that, is a project manager really required?

Is the Project Manager really needed?

Time-bound and cost-bound projects require a project manager to plan, track, monitor, evaluate and work out the roadmap for successful closure and handover. 

Does your project need a project manager? 89% of high performing organizations with large and demanding projects require a reliable project manager proficient in project management. The business has necessitated the need for  Project Leader with strong leadership skills to consistently maintain efficiency and productivity.

From a small setup where a handful of projects are handled by one project manager to MNCs who hire domain specialists and verticals heads as project managers, it has become evident that Project manager is indispensable to project management and becomes an integral part of the business. The biggest challenge is to find a project manager with the right vision, skills, and knowledge to plan, coordinate, and deliver projects on schedule and within budget.

Let's take a look at key project manager roles and responsibilities.

Responsibilities of a Project Manager.

A Project which has a definite start and end with specific goals to achieve needs the direction and leadership of a Project Manager. Project Managers are the bridge between top management and project delivery team as they make sure the scope of the project is clear, monitors and reports regularly on the progress of the project that is in line with the defined cost, schedule, and quality. Therefore, Project Managers are accountable for all the tasks that are within the project right from inception till the completion.

They are expected to perform the following key tasks

Project Initiation

Project managers assess the proposed scope with a defined timeline, Budget and expected quality by engaging all relevant stakeholders to ensure that the expected outcome of the project is clear with the given timeline and cost. Project Manager performs the below activities to ensure the same

1. Evaluate project/business requirements
2. Identify the required assets and resources
3. Determine dependencies / Make assumptions if any
4. Assess the Risks / Issues if any
5. Estimate Costs & Efforts

Preparation of  Project Plan

A project plan is a strategic document that specifies goals, team, timing, and deliverables. It also establishes the scope and defines the objectives as in time, cost, quality, benefits realization which has to be monitored and assessed during regular intervals for a successful project outcome. 

1. Define the Scope, Goals, and Deliverables
2. Project Key Stakeholder’s expectations and any cost/time-bound implications
3. Definition of Project Organization
4. Cost and Time Estimations
5. Define the Tasks with required Resource Plan
6. Definition of intermediate milestones (With respect to Deliverables, Cost, Schedule & Quality)
7. Communication Plan
8. Success Criteria against each milestoneCommunication of  Project Plan

Once the project plan is formulated, the next step is to communicate the same to all relevant stakeholders and Project Team. This is to clearly set the right expectations for everyone involved in the project.

1. Kick-off the project with all stakeholders to bring all in the same the expectations
2. Follow the communication plan from hereon for reporting

The workspace creation

The project teams can be managed locally on-site, or it can be a virtual setup connecting the teams spread globally, It requires the team to enabled with the right tools and channels for communication in order to get the work done.

1. Prepare or procure necessary resources, systems, and tools
2. Provide access to and ensure the availability of relevant tools and resources

Creation of the team to complete the project

People are the heart of a project. Treat people right and your project is halfway done.

1. Clarify tasks and roles
2. Promote collaboration/relationship-building
3. Recognize the achievements and appreciate (Set the standards for recognition)
4. Monitor/Review the Risks, Issues, Assumptions, and Dependencies regularly

Execution of the project plan

When the team is on the same page, clear about all the parameters, the project team can begin the task of execution

1. Monitor the Project Plan
2. Resolve any blockers, Dependencies
3. Review the Plan regularly and assess Scope, Cost, Schedule

Evaluation  of the project’s progress

Project managers can utilize tools Using tools such as Microsoft Project to gain a high-level drilled-down view of every task of the project. Monitoring is helpful to mitigate risks, enhance gains, and make everyone involved stay focused.

1. Conflicts resolution
2. Address the open issues and risks
3. Recognize achievement and reward
4. Keep all stakeholders updated with regular reports

Close the project

Successful Closure ends on a congratulatory note. The celebrations aside, the takeaways must be recorded as lessons learned from the projects, especially handling of scope, identification of risk, allocation of resources, stretching of budget, slippage in the schedule, missed milestones, cost overrun – there could be instances in some phases during the course of development

1. Thank the team for their contribution and highlight teamwork
2. Congratulate the team for a job well done
3. Spend time on the lessons that can be learned especially the loopholes.

Recommend action items to be worked on so as to avert recurrence of mistakes in future projects and also create awareness of any shortcomings suffered during the course of project development.

What makes a good Project Manager?

A matrix of technical, business, and leadership skills is critical to the making of a good project manager, and in which soft skills are a key aspect of leadership. Good business acumen with an entrepreneurial mindset to draw the big picture is one trait that makes a project manager outstanding. It is the influence wielded by the project manager to inspire the team to go far and beyond the call of duty that makes the project manager as a huge asset. That’s how project managers earn the trust of the team, and the progress of development wins the confidence of the stakeholders not throughout the project and futuristic engagements as well.  The managerial skills, soft skills, technical skills, seamless transition of knowledge and information, effective combination to all stakeholders involved at a regular and required time are the combination of the most competent project manager. Project managers need the technical knowledge to assign tasks and managerial skills to get the tasks done and soft skills to keep the team motivated at all times.

It is imperative for a project manager to deliver everything signed off as in-scope, on time, within budget with the quality at benchmarked standards.

A good project manager aims to exceed the stakeholder’s expectations and strives to tie the project to its business goals. 

Good project managers use communication as a cornerstone by keeping the stakeholders updated about the project’s progress right from kick-off to closure. Communicating the actual status – even in case of missed milestone or some slippage in schedule with proactive plans to bring the project on track is the hallmark of effective communication expected in a good project manager.

some of the qualities that make for a good project manager are an eye for detail, a sense of anticipation, an appetite for risk coupled with risk management capabilities, the ability to draw the big picture, excellent communication skills, resourcefulness, ability to think on their feet, attitude to achieve, critical thinking and the talent to lead the team from front.

The Project Management Institute attributed self-assessment and re-evaluation can make a huge difference in the reshaping of a successful project manager successful.

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