Introduction to Importance of Project Managers
Project management is the practice of planning, initiating, executing, controlling and closing the work of a team driven by a set of operations put together to achieve specific goals at the specified time. For project management, it is essential to have a project manager. A project manager is a person in overall charge of the planning and execution of a project. Skilled project managers are indispensable to businesses implementing project-based work schedules completed by various teams. This specialty fulfills a very crucial role in numerous different companies. Role of the project manager is project management that is all about balancing the timeframe, budget and overall scope of a project as the team works to achieve its objectives. Project managers supervise every task that takes a project towards completion. So, its ultimate success or failure is dependent on the competency of the project manager. There are a number of advantages of having a project manager employed to handle projects in a company.
Importance of Project Managers
Let’s look at some of the important roles of a Project Manager.
1. Alignment
A project manager is important as s/he ensures that the deliverable is what the concerned client wants, it is in the right shape and the real value is delivered to the client. S/he makes sure that the project architectural design is rigid and fits the broader picture of the client and its strategic framework. The project manager ensures that the objectives of the final deliverable are well aligned with the strategic goals of the client. The project is aligned and re-aligned in its entire course. Therefore Alignment is counted as the importance of project managers
2. Leadership
Leadership is one of the Importance of Project managers. As a project manager brings in leadership to the project and then the entire process. If the project manager is absent then the project is like a ship without its captain- moving without any direction, control, and motive. A project manager and leadership both bring the best out of a team. S/he provides leadership, motivation, direction, and inspires the entire team to do their best work. With leadership also comes accountability and responsibility. A project manager ensures there is no confusion, no hassles in the course of the project and it is completed smoothly. S/he keeps everyone together and that each team member carries out his/her responsibility with utmost sincerity.
3. Clear Purpose
A clear purpose is an important factor of a project manager that ensures there is proper planning in order to execute the project efficiently and the final goals are achieved. In the absence of a project manager, one can find the team working without any direction. They do not know what they are doing, do not have a purpose, work on vague project goals, no proper co-ordination and they are not sure what are they supposed to do. Project managers make the projects under them time-bound and make the functioning feasible by breaking the project into smaller chunks where every team member is given each chunk. A good project manager needs to have the vision to adopt such an approach.
4. Achievable Objectives
Effective project managers negotiate achievable deadlines with the client, team, and management. Generally, the urgency of a certain delivery leads to compromising the necessary process and the quality of the final project goal. Most of the tasks take longer than anticipated. A good project manager is able to analyze and balance the required timeline with all the available resources and come up with a realistic schedule. A good project manager plans a flawless process, with realistic deadlines, that enables everyone in the team to work within limitations, and not unjustifiable expectations.
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5. Quality
When a team works on any project for any client then the first thing expected out of them is quality. If the project quality has been compromised, the team, and particularly, the project manager is answerable to the client, stakeholders, and the management as s/he is the one responsible and accountable for the project. It will not just lead to dissatisfaction of the client but also losing out on business and the business is not limited and restricted to the concerned client but also other clients. This is because of word of mouth which plays an important role in establishing a firm and its professionalism.
6. Managing Risk Involved
A project manager helps to avoid risk against various hassles that come in the way of project completion. S/he takes all the possible project risks head on and does not avoid them because managing risk is the importance of project managers. The client, stakeholders, and management are also informed about the risk and crisis involved. An efficient and pro-active project manager analyzes the project well and notes down all the anticipated risks and issues beforehand. This allows time to resolve them before they become hindrances in the way of successful project completion.
7. Expertise on the Subject
A project manager is an expert in his area and knows every aspect of project management very well. S/he can handle crisis situation very well too. A project manager observes the project process meticulously and keeps it moving smoothly and swiftly. Any risk or hindrance is known to him/her in advance and s/he devises a plan to tackle it head-on as there is the time in hand to resolve it.
8. Continuous Supervision
A project manager continuously tracks a project on a daily basis and maintains status que. S/he constantly reports to the client and ensures a favorable outcome. If the outcome is not as desired, then s/he learns from it and improvises upon it.
9. Meticulousness
Just like it is very important to keep your house in order, it is also very important to keep the project process in order. When things at home are in order any discrepancy can be easily noticed. Similarly, when the project process is in order any lacuna in the project can be immediately spotted.
10. Learning at the End
The outcome of the project or any event is not measured by the efforts put in. It can be both favorable and unfavorable. If it is favorable then the project is a success and we can follow the same process in the near future. But if it is not then it is a failure and we need to modify the process for future projects.
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