How to become a good IT Project Manager: five key factors to success

The definition of an "outstanding" IT project manager is not static. As economic and commercial factors change, the role of the project manager is adjusted to meet new requirements and meet new challenges.

In addition to common confusions, there is also a view that different people have different views on project managers in the Organization. For employers, good project managers should be able to complete projects on time and within budget. For project team members, excellent project managers should create and maintain a pleasant daily work environment (rather than facing one crisis after another ).

Many articles describe the capabilities of the Project Manager. Some articles focus on "art" and "science" in project management, and some articles describe the differences between "leaders" and "managers. They all come to the conclusion that a successful project manager should be a combination of the two. The leadership/Art requires the project manager to have strong communication, foresight and interpersonal skills, while the manager/science requires the project manager to master the specific knowledge of application methods and tools, at the same time, we must have a strong ability to analyze and solve problems.

From the perspective of senior management or from the perspective of team members, a successful project manager should have five key capabilities: persuade leaders to support the project, communicate honestly with the team, and motivate the team, follow standard methods and procedures to understand the technologies you support.

Persuade leaders to support projects

There is no doubt that the most important capability that a project manager should possess is the ability to communicate with others, whether it is to speak with an individual, a group, or everyone. The project manager must be able to clearly and clearly describe the final product and inform relevant parties, including end users, about the benefits that the product can offer. Generally, this requires the project manager to have one-to-one persuasion ability and be convinced by senior initiators, IT managers, chief financial officers (CFO), project team members, and suppliers, to take specific actions or support some new processes to achieve future goals. Without the ability to persuade, people cannot determine the final result, have doubts about the project manager's instructions, spend a lot of time on internal discussions, and finally make decisions.

Communicate honestly with team members

A successful project manager must have good listening skills, show a focused look, and commend and praise the project team members. Throughout the project life cycle, unexpected conditions will occur, resulting in changes to the product scope, schedule, and cost, seriously affecting the success or failure of the project. The project manager must actively listen to others to discuss their concerns. This will not only win the respect of the team, but also learn the symptoms of the problem in the early stages to prevent the problem from happening. When listening to others' statements and communicating with others, the project manager should show attention to what individuals or teams are experiencing. This is important to understand the overall environment and repeat the personal concerns of team members so that they can understand what you will consider.

Incentive team

One of the more important skills that a project manager should possess is to motivate its employees, to appreciate and praise those who have achieved their goals, and to achieve the most effective incentive effect. People want to feel their importance. If employees know that they will be appreciated in front of their colleagues, they are generally willing to spend time to complete the task.

Adhere to standard methodology and procedures

To lead the team, the project manager must understand, observe and strengthen the project management methodology and organizational processes. PMBOK guide and SDLC published by the Project Management Association (PMI) the methodology and organizational policies of the project will be more smooth and rapid.

The project manager is also responsible for ensuring that all members of the project team understand and follow the standard process. If each project manager uses his/her own method, the team members will waste time and effort to learn the working methods of other project managers. Similarly, if a subordinate has no skills, the Project Manager cannot trust the Status Report submitted by the subordinate. Without a standard process, the Project Manager cannot identify the critical path, which is a very unfavorable factor for allocating resources for the coming project stage.

Understand the technologies you support

The project manager who understands the science and technology (hardware or software) being applied in the project is more advantageous than the project manager who does not know. There are many purification commentators in the project management field who believe that a good project manager can manage everything. However, there are many IT project managers who cannot control the project, because their technical leaders provide incorrect estimates, cause of project failures, or purchase unnecessary software. The cause of this situation is that the technical background of the project manager is weak and the difference cannot be understood.

This does not mean that the project manager should be a technical expert-but should have sufficient knowledge to understand and ask the technical personnel's needs so that the estimation can be correctly estimated. Knowledge of science and technology and solid communication skills enable it project managers to explain technical issues to non-technical members, so as to win more respect from technical personnel.

The IT project manager will build credibility in the project team and help deliver high-quality products within the budget, effectively promote end products to user groups and senior management.