The technology and Training Department of General Motors believes that "project management is the wave of the future ". Indeed, since the middle of 1990s, with the disappearance of a large number of middle-level managers in Western enterprises, project management has become increasingly popular. Domestic enterprises, especially IT enterprises, have become increasingly popular in terms of project-based operation, however, today's organizations do not have sufficient qualified project managers with project management skills. Most project managers have never received the corresponding project management training, so they are put on the project manager's position and assume the responsibilities of the project manager. In order to enable the project manager to carry out his/her work proactively, in a forward-looking and efficient manner, let's talk about the responsibilities and skills that the project manager should possess.
I. Responsibilities of the Project Manager
In general, the project manager should ensure that the project scope is successfully completed within the budget and the project objectives are achieved to satisfy the customer (based on different sources of the project, the customer can be an internal department or management, or an external enterprise or organization ). Therefore, the basic responsibilities of a Project Manager are to lead the project's planning, organization, and control work to achieve the project objectives and evaluate the project members' performance.
1. Clarify the project objectives
Before carrying out a project plan, we must clarify the project objectives and customer expectations. On the one hand, we must ensure the consistency between the project objectives and the enterprise's business objectives. On the other hand, we must clarify the scope of the project with the customer and reach consensus, this should usually be clarified before the project contract is signed and confirmed again at the project kickoff meeting.
The project manager should also ensure that the project objectives are understood by every Member to establish the common mission and vision of the project team, encourage and help project members to associate their project work with their personal career plans.
2. Develop a project plan
According to a survey of successful overseas project managers, he/she regards the plan as the primary factor for project success. The project manager should be responsible for formulating the project plan, and the project team members should participate in the formulation, set up the project milestones, and break down the objectives. Here, project members (at least core project members) are necessary to participate in the Project Plan, which makes the plan more practical and easy to be universally recognized, in the implementation phase, the resistance can be reduced, and Members can invest more to achieve the goal as planned. Generally, the plan should be reviewed and approved by superiors and customers.
3. Establish an information system for project management
Establish manual or electronic information systems based on the IT application level of the enterprise, and ensure that every member can correctly understand the importance of timely information exchange, and skillfully use these systems, ensure that information about the project's actual process is obtained and communicated in a timely manner. Information exchange targets include project team members, project managers, resource managers (for Matrix organizations), superior leaders, project steering committees, and relevant customer leaders and members.
4. Establish and/or implement the Project Management System
The project manager is also responsible for establishing and/or implementing the project management system, including the management of project expenses, communications, documents, etc. These systems are the common working principles of members in the project process, it must be effectively implemented.
5. Organization of project resources
The main purpose of the Organization is to obtain appropriate resources for the implementation of the project plan, and determine the allocation of resources to ensure the efficient use of resources. Resources mainly include personnel, facilities, sites, and funds. Due to project costs and resource availability restrictions, resources are usually constraints of projects. Generally, when formulating project implementation plans, appropriate resource plans should be developed in combination to ensure the successful implementation of projects under resource constraints.
The project manager is responsible for assigning tasks to project members and clarifying their work scope and responsibilities. It is worth promoting to require responsible members to make a written commitment to the project manager regarding the specific scope and responsibilities. Such a personal commitment is conducive to project promotion and member assessment, effectively transfer the pressure on the project, and encourage members to actively invest in the project. At the same time, the project manager should grant members the corresponding power.
6. Construction of the project team
Team building: it is a continuous process to organize a group of personnel to achieve the project goal. This is the common responsibility of the project manager and the project members, and the project manager should play an important role in it. The project manager should create conditions to ensure that project members can communicate frequently and create a good working atmosphere, such: arrange for members to work in the same office area, support team activities, and hold non-project team meetings.
7. Project Control
In the project process, changes and conflicts are inevitable. The project manager should use the project management information system to monitor the project process against the project plan, keep abreast of the latest project information, and detect problems and take corrective measures as soon as possible, enables the project to be implemented as planned.
Short meetings in the project process are tools that should be well utilized. The project manager can check the project work through regular meetings, communicate with each other in a timely manner, and obtain suggestions.
8. member assessment
The project manager is also responsible for assessing project team members. The assessment indicators should be quantitative and qualitative, and should be quantitative. If a project member signs a letter of commitment with the project manager, the indicators in the letter of commitment can be used as the basis, including the timely completion rate, cost, quality rate, work attitude, and team spirit of the project task.
9. Others
According to the specific situation of the enterprise, the project manager's responsibilities can also include personnel training, the introduction and promotion of advanced project management tools, and the optimization of project management processes.
2. Skills of the Project Manager
The project manager is a key factor for project success. Only by having the corresponding project management skills can the project manager fully play its role.
1. Leadership
To put it simply, the leader's work is done by others, and the project manager needs to achieve the goal through the project team.
First, the project manager should understand how to authorize and assign responsibilities, adopt participation and consultative leadership, and give full play to the guiding and coaching roles, so that Members can give full play to their initiative within the scope of their responsibilities, complete the project independently;
Secondly, the project manager should be good at incentives. Project managers usually do not have much power to motivate members in material aspects. Therefore, non-material incentives are particularly important. For example, by taking advantage of the uniqueness of the project, the opportunity for project members to accept the challenge can often be a great incentive for outstanding project members. In addition, the project members should be recognized in a timely manner for their achievements. Timely is very important, and it is best to praise in public, for example, to make positive comments to the project team or specific members in front of superior leaders or customers.
Third, the project manager should set an example for the members to show a positive attitude and become a model and a source of confidence for the team.
2. Communication Skills
Effective communication ensures the smooth development of the project. During the project process, the project manager should maintain regular communication with the team, subcontractors, clients, and superiors through multiple channels, keep abreast of the project process, problems, and suggestions. Communication can be verbal or written, such as interviews, phone calls, emails, meetings, etc. In the communication process, the project manager should be good at asking questions and be able to listen effectively, so that he can often think about problems from the perspective of the other party.
3. interpersonal skills
Good interpersonal relationships facilitate project coordination and avoid rigid operations. Coordination is needed at any time, mainly from within the project and the customer. It may be due to resource configuration problems or project scope adjustments. Interpersonal Communication needs to start from 1.1 drops, and often occurs outside of the project work, the project manager needs to take an active and enthusiastic attitude.
4. Ability to cope with pressure
The characteristics of the project determine that the project work process is unpredictable. The project manager must be prepared to cope with the pressure or conflict at any time. In the event of pressure or conflict, the most important thing is to stay calm and avoid project troubles. The project manager should appear in front of the team and superiors or customers as happy as they are to solve the problem.
If the project is successful, the Project Manager cannot be overwhelmed. Therefore, it is suggested that the project manager should exercise regularly to relax and maintain strong energy.
5. develop employees' abilities
An Outstanding Project Manager attaches great importance to the cultivation of project members, improves the abilities of employees through the project process, and promotes the self-development of employees. The project manager should help members clarify their career and skill development directions, assign appropriate jobs, and encourage learning and communication.
6. time management skills
When you need to process more than two tasks in the same time period, time management is necessary. Project managers often need to deal with several or even dozens of tasks at the same time. It can be seen that effective time management is extremely important. The project manager not only needs to manage his/her own time, but also needs to establish time use agreements with relevant departments and personnel to minimize unexpected time occupation.
In short, qualified project managers are not only highly aware of their responsibilities, but also have full project management skills and are able to actively engage in project work. As described in the following section, he or she is not waiting for a problem to happen, ......
Some people make things happen;
Some people let things happen;
Some people doubt what happened;
The Project Manager leads the project team to achieve the goal by prompting things to happen.
From: http://www.leadge.com/publish/html/14723.html
