Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Project Management - CH. 10 Summary

It is the responsibility of the project manager to make sure that the customer satisfied that the work scope is completed and the quality manner, within budget, and on time. The project manager has primary responsibility for providing leadership in planning, organizing, and controlling the work effort to accomplish the project objective. In terms of planning, the project manager has to clearly define the project objective and reach agreement with the customer on this objective. In terms of organizing, the project manager must secure the appropriate resources to perform the work. In terms of controlling, the project manager needs to track actual progress and compare it with planned progress.

The project manager is a key ingredient in the success of a project and needs to process a set of skills that will help the project team succeed. The project manager should be a good leader who inspires the people assigned to the project to work as a team to implement the plan and achieve the project objective successfully; be committed to the training and development of the people working on the project; be an effective communicator who interacts regularly with the project team, as well as with any subcontractors, the customer, and her /his own company's upper management; and have good interpersonal skills. It is important that the project manager developed a relationship with each person on the project team and effectively use his or her interpersonal skills to try to influence the thinking and actions of others.

An effective project manager can handle stress and has a good sense of humor. In addition, he or she is a good problem solver. Although it's easier to identify problems and to solve them, good problem-solving starts with the early identification of a problem or potential problem. Good project managers also manage their time well.

These essential skills can be developed through experience, by seeking out feedback from others, by conducting a self-evaluation and learning from your own mistakes, by interviewing effective project managers, by participating in training programs, by joining organizations, through reading, and through involvement with volunteer organizations in which the skills can be tested.

Project managers need to be good delegators. Delegation it involves empowering the project team to achieve the project objective and empowering each team member to accomplish the expected results for his or her area of responsibility. It's the act of allowing individuals to carry out assigned tasks successfully.

One other important component of the project manager's job is managing and controlling changes to minimize any negative impact on the successful compost root of the project objective. To do this successfully, the project manager, at the beginning of the project, should establish procedures regarding how changes will be documented and authorized.