Role of a Project Manager - Case Study Example

Role of a Project Manager Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Project Management 3 Characteristics of the projects and Project Managers 4 Role of a Project manager in project success 5 Responsibilities of Project Managers 7 Role of the Project Manager 9 Task Needs 9 Team Needs 9 Individual Needs 10 Skills for Project Manager 10 Conclusion 11 Bibliography 11 Introduction A project is a temporary activity for achieving some specific goals. Organizations carry out business activities in the form of projects, which are managed through project management. Project management is a collection of different but interrelated activities and is an important activity of almost every organization since, almost every organization is concerned in some kind of project management. In this scenario, an organization hires a project manager who is responsible to perform functions and tasks that lie in his expertise or job specifications. A project manager is an individual who has the general responsibility for the successful planning, initiation, execution as well as closure of a project. A project manager is a person who is responsible for carrying out all the tasks and operations that are included in project management. Thus, the project success as well as failure centralizes on the project manager’s shoulders (Haughey, 2009). This paper presents a detailed analysis of roles and responsibilities that a project manager carries out. The purpose of this research is to analyze the impact of project manager’s performance on a project. This paper will also outline some examples of bad project management. Project Management Project management is a systematic way to scheduling and managing project activities and resources from beginning to end. Additionally, these project activities are divided into five phases, first phase is initiation, second is planning, third phase is executing, fourth is controlling, and last phase is completion or termination of the project. In addition, these phases of project management can be used in approximately any kind of project, since their purpose is to organize the different processes of project development (TechTarget, 2008).The fundamental reason for starting a project is to achieve particular objectives. In other words, the purpose for managing the processes as a project is to put attention on the jobs and control for the accomplishment of the objectives on small group or an individual. Additionally, a project is normally a temporary endeavor encompassing a lot of interconnected operations or processes, assigned a considerable cost, and continuing for few weeks or, months, or years. However, the management of a project is a complex and challenging task and the roles of project managers vary with the project requirements (Turban et al., 2005, p.309; Meredith & Mantel, 2006, p.13). Characteristics of the projects and Project Managers The role of a project manager changes with the nature projects. Since, every project has unique nature, and a project manager has slight knowledge or past experience in the area so in this situation a project manager has to understand the project and plan according to project’s requirements. Additionally, majority projects involve various outsiders, which is complicated to manage. In this scenario a project manager has to perform like a communicator and he has to satisfy each stakeholder by understanding his expectation. Sometimes, a lot of interconnected processes or phases can make changes in planning and scheduling complicated. In this scenario a project manager performs like a planner. He has to deal with these issues and manage them effectively to run the project without losing the project worth. Moreover, many projects involve greater risk however also greater profit. In this scenario a project manager performs like a risk analyzer. He has to analyze risks and benefits for the project implementation. Thus, role of a project manager changes with the projects (Turban et al., 2005, p.309; Meredith & Mantel, 2006, p.13). Role of a Project manager in project success Successful project management cannot ensure the successful completion of a project. On the other hand, ineffective project management normally causes project failure in many forms, such as the project is completed but not on time, the project has taken too much cost as compared to its actual cost, the completed project is not according to requirements or standards, and poor quality or some requirements missing in the completed project as well various other bad outcomes (Sommerville, 2004, p.115; Anderson, 1992; Goodwin, 1993; Lock, 1996). A project manager plays a major role from beginning to end of a project. However, the basic duties of a project manager include planning and scheduling project development. Additionally, a project manager manages the project activities to make certain that they are performed according to established standards and examine movement to confirm that the project is completed within budget and resources and in time. Moreover, organizations need project managers for the reason that organizations’ projects are always dependent on organizational schedule constraints and resources. In this scenario, project managers responsibility is to make certain that the project addresses these constraints and provides project that adds value to the organizations’ achievements (Sommerville, 2004, p.115; Anderson, 1992; Goodwin, 1993; Lock, 1996). (Levine, 2009) discuss an example of a bad project management; in this example Jill is a client of ABC Software Development Company. She is not happy with the result of her most recent software project. Since, her team developed a deliverable that was not according to the level that she was expecting. Thus, she discussed this matter with the project team that she was expecting something superior, but the project team replied, “The completed work is according to your requirements”. On the other hand, Jill definitely discussed the goals and requirements for the project; thus, it was the responsibility of the project manager to provide the quality work to Jill, which she desired. In this scenario, it was responsibility of the project manager to clearly define the project goals and requirements according to Jill’s outlines, since, without obvious objectives a project will definitely be unsuccessful. However, project managers can adopt and implement project management strategy to deal with these challenges. Furthermore, by making use of cautious planning methods, project managers can minimize project risk (Levine, 2009). Here is another example of bad scheduling. James is disappointed when he came to know that he was not successful in scheduling the project activities effectively so his team is weeks behind on a project that was due yesterday. However, his customer was agreed to extend the deadline by three months. Thus, his team worked in due course at least three times a week to meet and deliver the work on new deadline. But a lot of absences and mistakes plague James’s project. At last, the customer left his company and chosen a different direction. The reason of this project failure is that, James was flexible regardng deadlines and allowed the customer to discuss and adjust timing on the project, so his project was unsuccessful. In conclusion, for the project managers, it is essential to set and up hold a practical schedule and follow it strictly. And don’t change it again and again (Levine, 2009). According to (Brath, 2008), a project manager is responsible for choosing and applying the techniques and ways to successfully and professionally make use of the human and nonhuman resources to achieve project goals. The role of the project manager encompasses planning every phase of the project management to confirm all the processes collaborate and work together, from planning and resources to management of all the personnel and stakeholders concerned as well as synchronization between all actors from local departments to people at project location. All these elements are as essential as collaboration between phases of the definite project. Furthermore, if a project manager does not follow these guidelines then a project might be failed. In this scenario, (Brath, 2008) discuss a famous example of ‘Boston’s Big Dig’ project, which is a jumbo project intended to redirect traffic by using a 3.5-mile tunnel below the city. However, because of ineffective project management for cost, time, and planning, this project became the most costly highway project in the U.S. The planned expenditure for the whole project was almost $2.6 billion. But, up till now, the government has spent more than $14.79 billion on this project as well as the project has taken almost twenty years to design and build (Brath, 2008). This project would have been successfully completed within time and budget if the project manager would have managed it in a successful manner and made use of personnel having required skills and experience. Responsibilities of Project Managers A project manager carries out the same activities of tasks as other managers. For instance, a project manager is responsible for project planning, scheduling, motivating, and controlling. Additionally, a project manager is responsible for applying all the phases of project management into a project. However, project managers supervise impermanent, one time operations and processes, to finish a fixed life project. In contrast with functional managers, who capture predefined activities or processes, project managers develop a project team and manage communication with team members (Gray & Larson, 2006, p.7; Kerzner, 2006, p.12). It is the responsibility of a project manager to offer guidelines, synchronization, and effective communication to his project team, which is normally a group of permanent and temporary employees allocated to build up the deliverables of the project all of who assist in attaining the project goals (Marios Alexandrou, 2010). In addition, a project manager is responsible for working with different categories of outsiders for instance, suppliers, vendors, contractors, clients etc. Furthermore, a project manager is eventually responsible for project performance (good or bad) (Gray & Larson, 2006, p.7; Kerzner, 2006, p.12). It is the responsibility of project managers to decide what as well as how activities and operations should be carried out rather than only systemize predefined operations. Additionally, the project managers are responsible for overcoming the issues and challenges taking place at any phase of the project development as well supervise the termination of their action when the project is finished. In this scenario, a project manager should use a various troupes of roles to achieve the project goals. Since, they are directly attached with the clients thus it is also responsibility of project managers to control the tension between clients requirements and what is possible and practical. Additionally, the project managers are responsible for making certain that suitable substitutes are offered between the cost, time, and project quality requirements. However, in contrast with functional counterpart, project managers normally do not posses higher technical skills or background to make such kind of decisions. On the other hand, they are responsible for organizing the accomplishment of the project by selecting or assigning the appropriate personnel, in right situation, to deal with the right issues and challenges and make the appropriate decisions (Gray & Larson, 2006, p.7; Kerzner, 2006, p.12; Field & Keller, 2007, p.179). Moreover, according to (Bista, 2010), a project manager is responsible for carrying out all the phases and activities included in project management, as well as responsible for making sure project goals are achieved (Bista, 2010): Role of the Project Manager According to (Bista, 2010), a project manager’s role in a project is to fulfill three sets of needs, first set is task needs, second set is team needs, and third set is individual needs: Image1: Role of a project Manager: Source (Bista, 2010) Task Needs To fulfill this set of needs a project manager has to perform various activities such as, creating tasks, planning and scheduling tasks, achieving team goals, assigning resources, assigning responsibilities to team members, managing and determining project quality, managing and determining project progress, and determining performance etc. Team Needs To fulfill this set of needs a project manager has to perform a number of team related activities such as, hiring secondary leaders, developing and maintaining team courage, establishing and maintaining standards and regulation, providing guidance and training to the team member, building a platform to improve communication with the team members, and building ways to enhance the skills of team members. Individual Needs To fulfill this set of needs a project manager has to perform several individual work activities such as, offer the effective effort, manage team members’ expectations and task needs, manage associates’ needs and individual needs, admire others’ good work and give rewards, and facilitate other team associates in their personal troubles. Skills for Project Manager To complete a project effectively a project manager must possess a number of project management related skills and qualities such as, legal and technical know-how, leadership quality to manage activities, progress, and change, contractual knowledge to deal with project stakeholders, abilities to assess choices and effective decision making, abilities to determine and manage required corrective actions, ability to determine budget risk as well as its management, effective communication skills, negotiation skills, ability to create WBS (Work Breakdown Structures) as well as project plans, abilities and skills to evaluate and manage risk as well as approaches to minimize it, and ability to motivate team members towards the achievement of project objectives, In brief, a project manager has many responsibilities all through the project development i.e. project opening, planning, controlling, and executing for management as well as to the project team members. Additionally, a project manager should be able to guide his project as a bigger picture and be dependable for the project. Thus, to deal with and manage so many activities and challenges, a project manager must be dedicated, knowledgeable, faithful, and flexible, since his roles remains in the center of the project and failure and victory depend on the project managers abilities (Goodwin, 1993; Bista, 2010; Kerzner, 2006). Conclusion Project management encompasses a lot of activities and phases. All these phases are interrelated with each other and the successful completion of one stage ensures effective completion of next stage. A project manager is a main player who plays significant role throughout the project development. A project manager can make a project successful or failure. This paper has presented a detailed analysis of roles and responsibilities of project managers. This paper has also discussed some examples of bad project management and reasons of their failures. After that I have suggested solutions for those problems. In the last, this paper has summarized all the minor and major roles and responsibilities that a project manager can perform. Bibliography Anderson, S.D., 1992. Project quality and project managers. International Journal of Project Management, 10(3), pp.138-44. Bista, B., 2010. Project Manager: Roles and Skills. [Online] Available at: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/project-manager-roles-skills.html [Accessed 09 April 2010]. Brath, E., 2008. Project Manager: Managing the World, One Project at a Time. Certification Magazine, 10(2), pp.26-29. Field, M. & Keller, L., 2007. Project Management. Thomson Learning. Goodwin, R.S.C., 1993. Skills Required of Effective Project Managers. Journal of Management and Engineering, 9(3), pp.217-26. Gray, C. & Larson, E., 2006. Project Management, The Managerial Process. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. guidebook, 2009. Project Management. [Online] Available at: http://guidebook.dcma.mil/79/evhelp/pmgr.htm [Accessed 10 April 2010]. Haughey, D., 2009. The Role of the Project Manager. [Online] Available at: http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-role-of-the-project-manager.html [Accessed 10 April 2010]. hubpages, 2009. Project Manager Role. [Online] Available at: http://hubpages.com/hub/Project-Manager-Role [Accessed 10 April 2010]. Kerzner, H., 2006. Project management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. 10th ed. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Levine, R., 2009. Real-Life Project Management Strategies that Fail and How to Prevent Project Failure. [Online] Available at: http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/11640.aspx [Accessed 10 April 2010]. Lock, D., 1996. Project Management, 6th edition. New York: Wiley. Marios Alexandrou, 2010. Project Team Definition. [Online] Available at: http://www.mariosalexandrou.com/definition/project-team.asp [Accessed 10 April 2010]. 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