DEFINITION OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT 1. A set of related tasks which have a specific goal. 2.

A network of inter-related activities that are planned and then executed in a certain sequence to create a unique product or service within a specific time frame. SCOPES OF PM 1.Planning 2.Organizing 3.Leading 4.Controlling 5.Supervising 6.Implementing 7.Coordinating Title Role Project Manager The person responsible for developing, in conjunction with the Project Sponsor, a definition of the project. The Project Manager then ensures that the project is delivered on time, to budget and to the required quality standard (within agreed specifications). He/she ensures the project is effectively resourced and manages relationships with a wide range of groups (including all project contributors). The Project Manager is also responsible for managing the work of consultants, allocating and utilizing resources in an efficient manner and maintaining a cooperative, motivated and successful team. Responsibilities 1. Managing and leading the project team. 2. Recruiting project staff and consultants. 3. Managing co-ordination of the partners and working groups engaged in project work. 4. Detailed project planning and control including: 5. Developing and maintaining a detailed project plan. 6. Managing project deliverables in line with the project plan. 7. Recording and managing project issues and escalating where necessary. 8. Resolving cross-functional issues at project level. 9. Managing project scope and change control and escalating issues where necessary. 10. Monitoring project progress and performance. 11. Providing status reports to the project sponsor. 12. Managing project training within the defined budget. 13. Liaises with, and updates progress to, project board/senior management. 14. Managing project evaluation and dissemination activities.

15. Managing consultancy input within the defined budget. 16. Final approval of the design specification. 17. Working closely with users to ensure the project meets business needs. 18. Definition and management of the User Acceptance Testing programme. 19. Identifying user training needs and devising and managing user training programmes. A project manager is the person who has the overall responsibility for the successful initiation, planning, design, execution, monitoring, controlling and closure of a project. The job title is used in construction, petrochemical, architecture, information technology and many different industries that produce products and services. The project manager must have a combination of skills including an ability to ask penetrating questions, detect unstated assumptions and resolve conflicts, as well as more general management skills. PROJECT MANAGER AND RISKS Key among his or her duties is the recognition that risk directly impacts the likelihood of success and that this risk must be both formally and informally measured throughout the lifetime of the project. Risks arise from uncertainty, and the successful project manager is the one who focuses on this as the main concern. Most of the issues that impact a project arise in one-way or another from risk. A good project manager can lessen risk significantly, often by adhering to a policy of open communication, ensuring every significant participant has an opportunity to express opinions and concerns. PROJECT MANAGER AND DECISION MAKING It follows that a project manager is one who is responsible for making decisions both large and small, in such a way that risk is controlled and uncertainty minimised. Every decision taken by the project manager should be taken in such a way that it directly benefits the project. PROJECT MANAGER AND project management software Project managers use project management software, such as Microsoft Project, to organise their tasks and workforce. These software packages allow project managers to produce reports and charts in a few minutes, compared with the several hours it can take if they do it by hand.

How to Become a Project Manager Whatever the specialist area of your organization, it is important to understand the difference here:

Specialists use their skills and experience to create specialist products (deliverables). These products can be anything from hardware, software, roads, documents, service delivery, aircraft, buildings, carpentry, and HR guidelines, the list is endless. Project managers on the other hand, need general management skills, along with a knack for problem solving. Project managers are there to plan and manage the work NOT to do it!

1. Be a Leader and a Manager Leaders share and communicate a common vision (of some future state); they gain agreement and establish the forward direction. They motivate others. Managers are results driven and focus on getting work done against agreed requirements. A good project manager will constantly switch from a leader to a manager as situations require. 2. Be a Team Builder and a Team Leader Because projects are often cross-functional in that they use people who may not have worked together before. It is up to the project manager to set the "tone" of the team, and to lead them through the various team development phases to the point where they perform as a team. Often, the team individuals have their own line manager, and so the project manager has no implied authority - yet still needs to motivate the individual. This is particularly true in a "Matrix" organisation 3. Be a Problem Solver This is a skill that can be learned, it just needs a little "detective" work up-front! You will want to first identify the possible "causes" that lead to the problem "symptom." Now, causes can come from a variety of sources, some are:

Interpersonal problems Internal sources External sources Technical sources Management sources Communication Opinions or perceptions

The next step having found the root causes is to analyse possible options and alternatives, and determine the best course of action to take. Take care to agree what "best" really means here!

4. Be a Negotiator and Influencer Negotiation is working together with other people with the intention of coming to a joint agreement. It doesn't have to be the eye-ball-to-eye-ball power struggle you may be thinking of! For example getting one of the team to work late to meet a deadline when they would prefer to go to the ball game. For this you need to have some influencing skills. Influencing is getting events to happen by convincing the other person that your way is the better way - even if it's not what they want. Influencing power is the ability to get people to do things they would not do otherwise. 5. Be an Excellent Communicator Being a communicator means recognising that it's a two-way street. Information comes into the project and information goes out of the project. A good way of summarising this is that all communications on your project should be clear and complete. As a project manager you will have to deal with both written and oral communications. Some examples are documents, meetings, reviews, reports, and assessments. A good mental guideline is "who needs this information, who gathers and delivers it, when or how often do they need it, and in what form will I give it to them." 6. Be a Good Organizer Let's just think of the aspects you will need to organize; project filing including all documentation, contracts, e-mails, memo's, reviews, meetings, specialist documents, requirements and specifications, reports, changes, issues, risks, etc. It's almost impossible to stay organized without having time management skills, so add this to your list! 7. Be a Competent and Consistent Planner The skill of planning can't be underestimated, and neither can estimating! There are known and logical steps in creating plans. As a project manager you will certainly own the project plan, but there may be others depending upon the project. Examples are, stage plans, exception plans, team plans, hand-over plans, benefit realisation plans, etc. Don't worry if you haven't heard of some of these as they may not be necessary, just be aware that planning should become second nature to you. Two aspects need to be mentioned here: 1. Plans are always documents, don't fall into the trap of thinking that, for example, a Gantt chart is not a plan - its only a schedule diagram. 2. Successful projects are delivered by successful teams. Always use the team to help create the plan unless, rarely, there is a good reason why not, such as commercial confidentiality, or contractual conditions.

8. Set-up and Manage Budgets At the heart of this is the skill of estimating, particularly cost estimates. The project manager will nearly always need certain knowledge of financial techniques and systems along with accounting principles. Part of the project plan will be something called the spend plan. This will show the planned spend against a timescale. The project manager will want to get involved in purchasing, quoting, reconciling invoices, timesheets, labour costs, etc. The project manager then needs to establish what has actually happened as opposed to what was planned and to forecast the expected final costs. Normally accounting and project management tools will help, but remember the garbage in = garbage out rule! Well, that just about summarizes the main areas. If you are new to project management, don't be too bamboozled by all this, there are well understood methodologies, tools, guidelines, and procedures to help you on your way to developing the important life-skill of project management. A Process Approach to Managing Projects In racing car driving, activities follow a tried and tested sequence. Any attempt to shortcut the process will most likely lead to a crashed car and a lost race. The same is true for managing projects. There is a sequence that needs to be followed if the project is to be successful. This sequence and a short description of each phase in the project management process are described here. Project Management Phases

Initiate In this first project management phase, the preliminary work is done to clarify the problem or opportunity and how a solution would look. All interested parties are consulted and the project scope what is in and what is out is clarified as well as initial costings and timelines. Plan Here, more work is done to determine whether the proposed project will be of real benefit to the organization. If it is, the project is approved and more detailed planning starts. Business benefits, project objectives, requirements, governance, scope and project management

methodology is agreed. The Project Manager draws up the detailed project schedule and task and budget allocations. Execute This is where the nuts and bolts work actually gets done. Project stakeholders are interviewed to ascertain the detailed requirements, possible solutions are discussed and one decided upon. Next, the solution is designed, built and finally implemented. Project management activities in this phase also include managing the project budget and schedule, reporting project progress, communicating with stakeholders and responding to project risks, issues and proposed changes. Evaluate The purpose of this final phase is to determine whether the project was a success and what learnings can be gleaned and applied to future projects. Project evaluation is typically conducted in order to answer three questions. Firstly, did the project deliver on time, within budget and to scope and quality requirements? Secondly, were project stakeholders and project team members satisfied with the project? Thirdly, did the project achieve the envisaged business benefits?