Considered by many management guru's and practitioners alike, the role and function of a Project Manager can be identified and understood as an essential facilitator and implementer of the short and long term aspects of a given business's strategy.

In addition a Project Manager has the dual role of facilitating the goals and objectives of an organisation whilst also managing the Human Resource issues of the different members of a Project team to coordinate efforts effectively to maximise the overall desired outcome.

Considered by many management guru's and practitioners alike, the role and function of a Project Manager can be identified and understood as an essential facilitator and implementer of the short and long term aspects of a given business strategy.

The discipline of a Project Manager is not only coordinate and implement resources and manage assignments and tasks, the role also carries that important task of managing, understanding and auditing the resource requirements of a given organisation in relation to its target objectives and goals. Furthermore, a Project Manager has the additional role of optimising current resources within an organisation in relation to a variety of situations to find an appropriate solution to a given task a hand.

In essence, Project Management is a set of principles, practices, and techniques applied to lead project teams and to control a given project schedule, the implicated costs and performance risks. In addition, to identify tasks and how they will be achieved and to quantify the resources needed to ultimately lead to the end result of a delighted customer.

The Managerial Process (Principles of a Project Manger)

A Project Manager not only has to understand and develop their own competence and that of their team members, but to also understand and analyse the logistical and resource issues of the company.

1 Understand what business the company is in

2 Be aware of the customers requirements and expectations

3 Prepare an appropriate plan to coordinate ideas

4 Develop a team to implement the tasks at hand

5 Understand how to track the progress of a project

6 Use Baseline controls to measure the cost and time associated with a task at hand

7 Keep a diary of important notes to enable them to put into perspective the project

8 Test each element of a Project before implementing any drastic decisions

9 Keep the end user in mind and their expectations

10 Be pro-active and relentless in implementing tasks

How to Make a Project Successful

1. Definition – What the project is and what the end user would like to accomplish by undertaking the project at hand.

2. Planning – Define all the project requirements. (Allocation of all the resources, time management, logistical and technical considerations and human resource requirements)

3. Execution – Build up and develop a team that will carry out the project and implement tasks accordingly.

4. Control – In order for a Project to be successfully implemented, a Project Manager, has to plan and reflect on the progress of the assignments at hand and monitor the progress and performance accordingly.

5 Closure – To analyse the effectiveness of a Project and whether it produced the desired outcome. The Project Manager and the relevant stakeholders involved must evaluate the outcomes with the initial targeted goal, to assess the successfulness of the Project.

Skills Required to be a Successful Project Manager

- Ability to effectively assess the strengths / weaknesses of team members and to use their competences accordingly to complete the project at hand

- Understand the strengths / limitations of the company and its resources

- Successful implementation of effective time management techniques to coordinate resources effectively

- An Essential element of a Project Manager is the ability to use their initiative and creativity

- Excellent communication: both managerial and interpersonal (this is an essential quality required as a Project Manager. The Project Manager must be in a position of authority to take leadership of their colleagues while simultaneously be approachable to handle any personnel issues that might arise from team members in the project.)

- Developed negotiation skills and assessment abilities, to be able to deal with any situation that might arise from the team members and management in an assigned task.

- Understand how to manage and implement a variety of decisions to maximise the effectiveness of a given project

- Ability to work independently and team orientated collaboratively

- Experience in Team management is essential and the ability to be adaptable to situational requirements

- Ability to effectively prioritise and execute tasks and manage deadlines

Ultimately a Project Manger has the dual role of facilitating the goals and objectives of an organisation whilst also managing the Human Resource issues of the different members of a Project team to coordinate efforts effectively to maximise the overall desired outcome.

A Project Manager must therefore incorporate a range of communication and managerial techniques combined with a strong sense of leadership and shared objectives and vision to successfully lead a Project.