Within a company, various processes and tasks are carried out where all its collaborators are involved. To verify that these processes are done correctly, following the steps that are planned day by day, one or more people are needed to monitor the teams, this is basically the job of a Project Manager.
Where does this position come from? According to what was reported on the Active Collab portal, “In the late 1980s, Microsoft was launching an ambitious project and ran into a problem: there were too many players involved. There were teams from marketing, engineering, and the commercial area, and no one knew how to coordinate them all."
They go on to say “Then Microsoft came up with what was then an ingenious solution. They chose a person to take over who would be given significant authority to organize and coordinate their new project. Once Microsoft appointed a dedicated leader, everything went smoothly and the teams were much happier with their workflow. The end result of this new strategy was Excel. Eventually, Microsoft made this new role a staple for all of its projects. This is how the project manager, or Project Manager, was born”.
Key responsibilities of a Project Manager
The Rock Agency defines a Project Manager as a “main character in the planning, execution, monitoring, control, and closure of projects. They are expected to deliver a project on time, on budget, and on time while keeping everyone informed and happy.”
Among its main responsibilities are:
Planning of activities and organization of resources
A project needs to be well planned so that it can meet the completion and delivery deadlines, the Project manager is responsible for this by defining the scope of the project and determining the resources needed to complete it. Once you have this defined, create a plan to execute and monitor, always keeping in mind the unpredictable nature of a project so that you can make the necessary adjustments along the way.
Organize the team
The Project manager is in charge of creating clear and simple plans that allow their team to reach their maximum potential and thus fulfill the project, they completely avoid creating elaborate spreadsheets, and long checklists, also reducing bureaucracy and focus on guiding the team to the final goal.
Have control of time
In a project, the time that the team takes to complete it is essential for its success, a Project manager must ensure that the estimated days and hours are met. They know how to set realistic deadlines and communicate them consistently to the team, always making sure that tasks are completed within their hours.
A project manager must:
- Define activity
- Sequence activity
- Estimate the duration of the activity.
- Develop a schedule
- Keep a schedule
The project budget
Good project managers know how to keep a project within its stated budget. Even if a project meets a client's expectations and is delivered on time, it will still be a failure if it goes over budget. Good project managers frequently review the budget and plan ahead to avoid massive budget overruns.
Ensure customer satisfaction
Although the roles to organize, manage and lead within the company of a Project manager are necessary for internal projects, the client is also in their hands. You must ensure complete customer satisfaction, pending answering any questions that may arise and resolving communication problems.
Risk analysis
In Active Collab they point out “The larger the project, the more likely it is that there will be obstacles and pitfalls that were not part of the initial plan. Setbacks are inevitable, but good project managers know how to meticulously and almost intuitively identify and assess potential risks before the project begins. They know how to avoid risks or at least minimize their impact.”
Monitoring and follow-up
After planning the project, appointing the team in charge, budgeting, and organizing the time, a good project manager must always be aware of the entire process. At all times of the day, you must monitor, verify that everything is being done according to plan, and solve any problems or doubts that may arise along the way.
Reports and documentation
To finish a project, a good Project manager must offer the CEO of the company a detailed report with everything that was done, in addition to the necessary documentation. He must inform if all the requirements of the project were met, level of customer satisfaction, history, who participated, and aspects to improve in the future.
This is how the role that a project manager must play in a company can be summarized: he is the person in charge of ensuring that all projects are fully carried out. He must be organized, proactive and have excellent communication skills.
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