Project Management: Duties of a Project Manager - Essay Example

Project management: Duties of a project manager A project is defined by Phillips as a temporary assignment or endeavour that is usually undertaken to achieve a specific organizational objective or create a specific product or service. Projects are also undertaken to streamline existing resources, procedure s and opportunities in a bid to constrain the goals or parameters associated with that particular entity. Many times, the tasks of initiating, planning and executing the project requires the constitution of temporary organizations that are characterized by a core project team and one or many working or support teams. Further, a project is highly resource intensive. In this context, a project life cycle denotes a logical sequence of activities that are employed to realize all goals and objectives associated with the project. Irrespective of the complexity or scope of the project, it must undergo several sequential stages during its lifetime. The project life cycle comprises four main stages (Kerzner, 2009): A project commences formally with the initiation stage or birth phase wherein all major requirements, critical success factors and the required outcomes are clearly identified and elaborated upon. The planning phase primarily comprises the decomposition of the project into simpler tasks or segments that can be achieved individually with an adequate amount of interaction and coordination amongst them. This is followed by the implementation or execution phase where each individual module is developed based on the outcomes and strategies outlined in the preceding stages. The project concludes with a closure or completion phase. For the purpose of the above question, the roles and activities of a project manager will be discussed within the last two stages of the project life cycle namely the implementation and completion phases. Implementation/Execution phase Haynes (2003) believes that the primary consideration for the project manager in this phase is to ensure that all major activities are executed correctly besides verifying whether proper control and monitoring is in place over all such activities. The implementation stage is the point where the planned solution is brought into existence to realize the specific requirements outlined under the problems being solved or purposes being realized. For example, in the case of systems and product development, an elaborate design identifying and accommodating all the major requirements is developed. The convergence between this design and the actual product being developed is evaluated through testing, constructing prototypes and by gathering reviews from major stakeholders. During the latter stages of this phase, there is a heavy effort among members of the project organization to begin planning for final activities like production, testing, maintenance and support. These subsequent activities also require considerable planning on a constant basis to take account of ongoing changes to the final outcomes and the supporting environment. Some of the most common project management techniques employed within this phase include scorecards, milestone reviews and business plans (Gray, 2005). Murch (2001) says that any activity initiated by the project manager must provide additional focus towards the three core dimensions of achieving project success which are delivering the project on time, maintaining an acceptable level of quality and completing all necessary tasks within the allocated budget. A project manager’s activities also extend towards managing the team and sustaining their focus towards the achievement of stipulated goals. Communication Given the fact that projects are finite initiatives with limited amount of resources available, the project manager (henceforth referred to as PM in short) has the constant responsibility to maintain effective communication with team members (Bitz, 2001). This generally involves a two-way process and may take place through regular meetings or through normal modes of communication such as email and shared portals. Team members are required to apprise the PM about the progress of their duties on a constant basis and seek directions on how to proceed further. In modern day projects, teams prefer electronic communication through email and chat that facilitate the storage of all communication for subsequent retrieval and analysis (Pinkerton, 2003). Such communication is crucial for the PM as it helps them perceive and transmit the sense of urgency and dedication to the team members. Thus communication is vital for the PM to engage with team members, many of whom may have several additional responsibilities apart from those required under the project (Healy, 2008). In such cases, the PM is supposed to maintain their attention upon the delivery schedule and approaching deadlines. Regular checks on status, periodic meetings and sending reminders are important tools for communication available to the PM throughout the duration of the project. Adhering to proven standards One of the basic tendencies of end users is to compare the performance of the new project to existing products and benchmarks. Such users and anyone acquainted with the specifications of the project will be in a good position to analyze how the end product works. Prior to initiating the implementation phase, it is of utmost importance that the PM verify whether the project is slated to proceed along a proven and time tested life cycle. Besides, there is also the primary requirement to verify whether proper standards and best practices are incorporated into the project plans. Often, PMs do not have enough knowledge of such professional standards or relevant experience in such analysis (Bitz, 2001). In many cases, PMs are dictated by the limited time available and have the tendency to ignore such compliance issues. It is of utmost importance that the PM evaluate if the project supports the maintenance of quality, which will eventually reduce the amount of error resolution and rework necessary. Thus, while PMs are traditionally encouraged to resort to short cuts due to pressures on budget and time, the onus is on the PM to decide upon the best life cycle that suits the overall requirement. Completion/Closure phase This is the final phase of a project wherein the project manager must strive to develop the project to its proper completion. All outcomes are analyzed, verified and scrutinized through a formal review report that details all parameters and considerations required for final approval by the end user or the client (Pinkerton, 2003). A project manager also devotes efforts towards comparing the initial requirements with those demonstrated by the final product using weighted critical measurements besides acknowledging the contributions of team members through appropriate recognition and compiling a list of lessons learnt during the project. Clear overview While the implementation phase is certainly the stage where all thoughts and strategies materialize, the project manager must ensure that all required activities and deliverables have been visualized and communicated to the team members in proper detail. Without any proper understanding of what they are working on, team members may, at the maximum, succeed in delivering their responsibilities in terms of implementation, but have often faced issues when it comes to the closure stage. Heerkens (2007) points out this discrepancy using the example of a software project where most team members (developers) do write the code necessary to fulfil their respective modules. However, they face many issues when it comes to providing maintenance and support or debugging the systems. In fact, he elaborates that the biggest problems arise during the closure phase itself in situations that require direct interfacing with the end user. Such instances often lead to a mismatch in communication wherein the developer is unable to understand the exact functions of the overall system while the end user is not concerned with the internal details and workflow of the software (Healy, 2008). Thus, providing at least the basic functional details of the project or module being developed is necessary for team members for long term benefit to all stakeholders and the project in general. Moore (2005) argues that the project manager can facilitate this early incubation of functional knowledge by working towards a tangible and holistic picture of the final deliverables and ensures that they are understood by all people involved. Apart from helping maintain focus along the same direction, this approach aids the project manager in avoiding vague descriptions under all circumstances. Evolution of the project Often, project managers do not allocate enough time towards planning and estimation and these result in excessive and unnecessary rework during the ultimate phases of the project. This approach has led companies to miss deadlines and has also overshot estimated budgets by several times, leading to frustration and mistrust on the part of the customer. Thus, a project manager must ensure the gradual evolution of all deliverables through a series of successive approximations (Ahuja, 2006). This is a risk mitigation tactic wherein any development is carried out in little steps which are corroborated subsequently through reviews and approvals. This strategy will therefore enable a controlled evolution of the project and minimize the risks for the project manager. Any such evolution can only conclude with formal approval and any accompanying signoff by the customer or other key stakeholders. Such approvals can sometimes be fast paced when all parameters and requirements of the systems may even go unchecked to result in rework at later periods. Instead, Moore (2005) advises that project managers incorporate a points-based approval system based on the successive approach described above. Anyone who has the authority to approve or reject a project milestone must be engaged to do so as the project is being built or developed. Requisite points to every such step that has been accomplished must be awarded based on the progress and evaluated appropriately. This requires the project manager to liaise constantly with such entities and determine the approval criterion beforehand. Research by Lock (2007) has shown that deliverables achieved through the project that are based on a thoroughly documented specification are more likely to ensure project success. However, this is not the case in most projects unless the process is of a highly critical nature to the business or caters to very important and demanding customers. Often, project managers tend to overlook the need for documentation and manuals and instead restrict themselves and their team to internal documents and tools used primarily for project monitoring and control. However, Lewis (2007) stresses that the success of the project is highly correlated with a detailed analysis of the requirements and expectations of the project deliverables. The most important reason that prompts project managers to overlook critical details such as documentation is the lack of time and adequate resources to do things right. According to Cleland (2006), many managers have often expressed that they seemed to have sufficient time to execute the project over, but would often think whether they had the time to get things done correctly in the first place. This puts forth the basic necessity to provide sufficient time to managers to plan and execute their actions and strategies. In fact, Ahuja (2006) believes that the onus lies with the manager to fight for the required time by demonstrating to all stakeholders of such a necessity and how such additional time can be beneficial to the project in the long run. In other situations, project managers also cite the lack of relevant authority and control over the project parameters to bring about their intended changes. Often, project managers are caught up amidst a vertical organizational hierarchy where they need prior approval from seniors for initiating any decision (Bee, 2009). This not only consumes time but also suppresses the natural evolution of the project and curbs the creativity and motivation of the manager to deliver effectively. In such cases, the project manager must be accorded with an equivalent authority that can provide the powers to acquire and direct resources, request coordination and make binding decisions that ultimately accelerate the pace of the project. Role of stakeholders Most stakeholders and sponsors of projects demand the power to approve and scrutinize project deliverables either in parts or whole. Together with this authority comes the opportunity to act as an active participant from the very early stages of the project. In fact, project managers must include all concerned stakeholders at every phase of the project including the implementation stage (Bee, 2009). This not only helps in the definition of deliverables, but also facilitates any major modifications or adjustments that may be necessary to realize those deliverables. Without such proper oversight, project managers would be confined to using their own vision on planning and designing the project which may not converge with the opinions and expectations of the customer. Besides, protracted engagement with the customer is one of the best ways to develop the salesman within the project manager. Many a times, projects can be sold and resold. The saleability of the project is crucial is important to ensure the commitment of the stakeholders and enhance revenues. In such situations, the project manager is the best person who is most accustomed with the functionalities and specifics of the project and is in the best position to market it to potential customers (Bitz, 2001). Thus, the role of a project manager extends beyond the traditional realm of management of the project and its resources and assumes wider and significant roles. Q2. The project plan is a key document in project management. You are required to identify the main contents of a project plan and discuss how these contents should be generated according to project management good practice. You should specifically highlight the roles of different stakeholders and of computer packages in helping to generate a project plan. According to Lewis(2007), any project management initiative, apart from being driven by the project schedule, is extremely dependent on an established project plan. The project plan is an approved and formal document that establishes the scope of the project across its extent, execution and control. Mostly, the project plan is a detailed description of all such specifications and is usually comprised of several sub-plans for handling various aspects of the project. The primary objective of the project plan is to facilitate a smooth approach that can be used by the project manager and the team in realizing the project in totality within the stipulated guidelines and constraints. Thus, an effective project plan, if properly implemented, will allow the team to achieve all goals at every phase of the project. In simpler words, the project plan is an elaborate document that describes how all the works related to the project will be done and monitored (Cleland, 2006). A project plan is not restricted to be devised and used by project managers and other stakeholders who have no prior experience in any project management initiative. In fact, a project plan is the most effective method for even experienced project managers as it provides a reflective base using which managers are in a very good position to develop and assess their decisions. A project plan will therefore cover the following requirements (Heerken, 2007): The tasks that need to be completed How every task will be done The duration required for every such task or phase The stakeholders involved with the realization of every task The cost associated with each task in the project A good project management plan, as described under the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) PMBOK, has the following components that must be developed through good practices (Phillip, 2010). Scope management plan: this phase defines all the processes that are necessary to ensure the proper inclusion of all required tasks and no other additional jobs that waste the available resources or reduce their proper and efficient utilization. Cost management plan: determines the criteria and defines a plan to plan, provide and control the funding, budgeting, controlling and reporting aspects of a project’s financial requirements. Staffing plan: caters to the efficiency and issues pertaining to the human resources aligned with the project. Risk management: Covers the three aspects of identifying all risks that can hamper the progress at different stages, monitoring and evaluating their extent of impact and adopting risk mitigation procedures to contain and eliminate their potential impact on the project. Quality management plan: identifies all quality parameters that must be attained by the project deliverables and provides a strategic overview to achieving them. Schedule management plan: as described previously, schedule is one of the core components as well as a major constraint that the project manager has to endure with. A schedule plan can best be devised by establishing the format and defining the various criteria necessary to develop and control the schedule associated with each phase of the project. Communication plan: serves as one of the most crucial components of the project plan by defining the extent and mode of communication between the various stakeholders. Communication is important for feedback and timely knowledge of progress among all stakeholders and must also be a highly coordinated operation (Kerzner, 2009). This is most often achieved through emails and electronic platforms in modern projects that provide both for instant communication and historical review of past messages for analysis. Process improvement plan: segregates the useful and necessary components from the wastes and unnecessary parts or practices associated with the project. Various methods such as lean management and value stream mapping are often employed especially in manufacturing and construction projects. The scope of the project can be defined by listing all the deliverables, their respective details that need to be achieved to deem every such deliverable a success and to define the boundaries of the project (such as the time, budget and manpower available at hand). Thus, the best way to define scope is to define and control all those are required for the project completion and exclude those that do not conform to this category (Haynes, 2003). A schedule plan can best be devised by establishing the format and defining the various criteria necessary to develop and control the schedule associated with each phase of the project. Developing a project plan must not be regarded as a task is only undertaken at the beginning of the project. In fact, chances are that no project manager will be in a position to achieve all objective or visualize every aspect of the project during the earlier phases. Working on a project is a constant learning process and project managers are required to involve more things as they become more involved and informed about it. For this purpose, the use of software is highly effective as it helps managers make any changes instantly without relying on the traditional paper based approach (Gray, 2005). This not only facilitates reviews of past changes and states of the project, but also allows the electronic content to be accessible to all stakeholders. Thus, using software in project management provides real time coordination and incorporates any concurrent changes and advancements with relative ease. Many tools such as Gantt charts, graphs, workflows and critical paths that are common under project management are now available in software packages like Microsoft Visio that can be used with relative ease in managing massive and complex projects (Murch, 2001). Q3. Identify and compare the different organisational structures which can be used in project management. One of the most widely studied concepts under project management are the different organizational structures. While the number of such organizational structures is numerous, many lack the characteristics that can encompass all expectations of project management theory. The basic necessity for organizational structures is to enable proper teamwork, enhance efficiency, improve quality and maximize resource utilization in a manner that can achieve project completion on time and within budget. Modern project management classifies organizational structures along three distinct lines – functional, project and matrix (Lock, 2007). Amongst these three types, the functional organization is the oldest although it remains the most successful structure ever used. This technique is most effective when enforced for regular work functions together with maintaining the standards and quality of work. Under functional organizations, projects can be assigned into two different ways. The first involves the assignment of the project to a particular functional manager who can thereafter engage other departments for their respective roles and contributions (Bitz, 2001). Otherwise, projects can also move across different departments wherein every such section will complete its portion of the tasks and then pass it on to the next department in the chain. However, functional organization is not very effective when it comes to organizing complex projects. In fact, this type has been criticized for being deficient in terms of proper employee recognition, lack of motivation, discrepancies in measurement and reward in terms of performance etc. Besides, functional organization is also known for its lack of adequate accountability on the part of individual department managers (Pinkerton, 2003). The project organization, as the name suggests, is a special structure commissioned to realize projects. Under this approach, complex projects are implemented through special focus an isolation of unique work. Project organization is a temporary arrangement and disbands once the project is completed (Healy, 2008). However, this method is effective in pooling dedicated resources and ensuring their availability for the entire duration of the project. Despite this enhanced focus, project organization suffers from the inefficiency in the appropriate transfer of technology along with the use of resources. Further, the constitution of a new team for the project takes time to achieve cohesion, which ultimately dissolves with the project’s completion. As the project is supplied with dedicated resources, primary inefficiency occurs due to the improper utilization of employees during certain phases of the project (Moore, 2005). The matrix organization was devised based on the flaws associated with both the functional and project organizations. It first came into prominence in the 1970s and combined some of the best features of the two earlier methods. In fact, the matrix organization is capable of operating efficiently even for coordinating multiple projects simultaneously. Functional managers under this technique monitor the staffing, training, operation and monitoring of the project staff (Ahuja, 2006). Individual employees specializing in different functions are allotted one or more projects and are supervised to ensure that they accomplish all objectives through proper resource efficiency. In spite of avoiding most of the problems and flaws related to other organizational structures, the Matrix organization does possess some deficiencies. Functional specialists working on multiple projects have to report to two or more managers that can sometimes result in conflict and ambiguity (Bee, 2009). Such issues can be overcome through proper communication and coordination among the managers concerned. However, all the three forms of organizational structures continue to be used given their relative effectiveness over all other techniques. The type of organizational structure must be chosen depending on the nature and type of the project along with the goals and objectives that must be achieved. References 1. Ahuja, 2006. Project management: techniques in planning and controlling construction projects. London: Routledge. 2. Bee, 2009. Project management: the people challenge. CIPD Publishing. 3. Bitz, 2001. Project management: how to plan and manage successful projects. AMACOM. 4. Cleland, 2006. Project management: strategic design and implementation. New York: McGraw Hill. 5. Gray, 2005. Project Management. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. 6. Haynes, 2003. Project management: practical tools for success. Boston: Cengage Learning. 7. Healy, 2008. Project management: getting the job done on time and in budget. London: Butterworth-Heinemann. 8. Heerkens, 2007. Project Management: 24 Steps to Help You Master Any Project. New York; McGraw Hill. 9. Kerzner, 2009. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. Chicago: John Wiley. 10. Lewis, 2007. Fundamentals of project management. AMACOM. 11. Lock, 2007. Project management. London: Gower publishing. 12. Moore, 2005. Project management: designing effective organisational structures in construction. London: Blackwell. 13. Murch, 2001. Project management: best practices for IT professionals. New York: Prentice Hall. 14. Phillips, 2010. IT Project Management: On Track from Start to Finish. London: Routledge. 15. Pinkerton, 2003. Project management: achieving project bottom-line success. McGraw Hill. Read More