There are many types of positions available in the world of technology. Apart from being a programmer, UI designer, and UX researcher, there is also a position called project managers who plays a vital role in making an application or website.
The project managers is someone who must understand the description and objectives of the project.
Then, what are the duties and responsibilities of project managers? In this article, you will learn what project managers is and what skills need to be prepared to become project managers. Come on, see more!
A Closer Look of A Project Manager
A project manager is responsible for implementing a project management strategy so that the goals or targets of a project are achieved.
In a more straightforward sense, the project managers is the leader of a project. So, the project managers plays a significant role in maintaining the stability of the project.
Therefore, you must ensure the project managers you choose can be relied upon to manage the project as best as possible.
Imagine if you hired a project manager with expertise in construction but were positioned to lead an information technology-based project. Most likely, the project will not run optimally.
Another illustration, imagine if the project managers you appoint needs more leadership, business analysis, and other technical skills. Of course, it is difficult for the project to achieve the expected target.
Project Manager Duties
There are several essential project managers tasks, from planning, resource allocation, and risk mitigation, to making various reports for stakeholders.
Each company may determine a project manager’s job desk that varies outside of these essential tasks. This time, we will discuss the vital tasks of a project manager. Come on, see the review below!
1. Create a Project Plan
Detailed plans are essential in project management. Project managers needs to make a detailed plan, starting from determining the budget, scope of work, timeline, and resources, to achieving the main targets.
2. Share The Workload
The success of a project manager must be connected to team collaboration. So, good project managers will place team members with capabilities that match the project’s needs.
In executing a project, the project managers must ensure that members’ duties and responsibilities are clearly divided to prevent misunderstandings.
When the project starts running, the project managers also needs to monitor the project’s progress and the team members’ performance so that they are always on track.
3. Facilitate An Effective Communication
The following job desk project managers is to ensure effective communication. Communication must be clear and compelling so all team members can understand it.
In addition, effective communication is also essential to increase the productivity and morale of team members.
In this case, communication can include task lists, schedules, and work times that the team needs to know and adhere to.
4. Build A Vision
The project managers must have a clear vision and the skills to understand the big picture of the project being worked on.
The idea must be conveyed to the entire team, so they know how vital their role is in achieving the project’s final outcome.
The team must be aware of the workload and try to make maximum efforts to realize the vision that has been conveyed.
In building this shared vision, a project manager must also have qualified communication skills so that the picture conveyed can be accepted by all parties.
5. Make A Budget Calculation
Before the project starts, the project owner and project managers must determine the budget needed to run the project. This needs to be a concern because budget calculations are often missed.
As a result, the risk of cost overruns increases, especially when conditions surrounding a project change unpredictably.
Therefore, the project managers needs to carefully monitor the use of the budget and ensure that the calculation of the estimated budget is correct.
6. Make Plan B
The project managers role and duties lie in the project planning process and preparing a backup plan if there are unexpected problems or problems.
This means that the project managers must understand the basics of risk management and change management. At the very least, you should know the following:
- How to organize additional resources (e.g. when a team member gets sick in the middle of a project).
- How to manage time under challenging circumstances.
- Have an alternative plan to keep the project running as intended
Project Manager’s Day-to-Day Tasks
After knowing the many tasks of project managers, what is daily life like as project managers? What do they actually do in carrying out their daily tasks? Are all these responsibilities carried out in one day simultaneously?
Of course, the above project managers duties will depend on the phase of the project. If the project is in the planning stage, the task is also related to project planning.
Some of the project managers daily responsibilities could include any of the following:
- Meet with leadership to decide on project scope.
- Coordinate with the finance team to increase the budget.
- Create an outline for the project charter.
- Make an assessment report on the risks that might arise.
- Updating the project calendar if there is a shift in the timeline.
- Hold a post-mortem meeting to evaluate and provide feedback.
- Generate daily reports and progress to be submitted to the project team.
- Ensuring the workload of team members is by their skills and abilities.
The project manager’s role and duties lie in the project planning process and preparing a backup plan if there are unexpected problems or problems.
This means that the project managers must understand the basics of risk management and change management. At the very least, you should know the following:
1. How to organize additional resources (e.g. when a team member gets sick in the middle of a project).
2. How to manage time under challenging circumstances.
3. Have an alternative plan to keep the project running as intended
Project Manager Career Path
If you want to be a Project Managers, there is a career path you need to start:
1. Project Coordinator
A project coordinator is responsible for ensuring the daily activities of each division. This task helps a project manager to make sure details are done properly
2. Associate Project Managers
If you are starting a career, find an associate project manager job vacancy. An associate project managers job is mainly to handle specific teams.
Their job descriptions are almost the same as project managers in general or less than the duties of a project manager. The team’s scope handled by an associate is smaller than that of a PM.
3. Project Manager
Several companies open job vacancies directly to become project managers without going through the associate stage.
Of course, the level and specifications are higher than being an associate. Examples of specifications that are mainly applied, namely a minimum of education or work experience.
A project manager has the whole duty to control and ensure that the project is booming according to the targets conveyed by stakeholders.
4. Project Director
The following project manager’s career path is project director. The difference with project managers at the previous level is the number of projects handled.
The project director will be responsible for several projects at once. Apart from that, it is undoubtedly seen from their work experience he has longer than a novice PM.