2. The project manager

Someone needs to be in charge of the project and be responsible for its success.

The project manager monitors and co-ordinates every aspect of the project from concept to delivery. They ensure that everyone works together and that resources such as money, time and equipment are used efficiently.

Here is a closer look at some of the things that the project manager will do:

 

Manage staff within the team

The project manager needs to manage all the usual issues of employees \ staff. Time worked, performance targets agreed and monitored, overtime approved, holidays etc.

Project Planning and Timing

A well planned project has a definite beginning and end. And along the way various key 'milestones' are set. Each milestone reviews progress and decisions are made for the next stage.

This is such a common requirement that sophisticated project planning tools are available

* Project planning software to lay out the tasks on a time line
* Gantt charts to visualise the project plan
* Critical path analysis to help spot potential bottlenecks

Allocation of resources - a resource is anything that the project needs to complete the project. For example time, money, staff, offices, equipment are all resources that need careful attention.
Co-ordinates problem solving

Most projects come across unexpected hiccups, it is the role of the project manager to co-ordinate efforts to solve the issue. This will involve taking staff off what they were doing to tackle the problem then the manager needs to see the impact this will have on the project in terms of timing and budget.
Managing the budget

The project manager is usually in charge of the overall budget. It is their task to ensure that the budget is spent wisely and that it does not over-run.
One way of monitoring this is to set out a spending plan along the project time-line, then any unexpected over-spend is quickly spotted.
Documenting and Process

A key part of SLC is good documentation. It is the responsibility of the project manager to ensure that high quality documentation is written, on time, and delivered to the client.

Certain processes may also be mandatory. For example company quality procedures, Health & Safety procedures and so on that staff need to work within.
Single point of contact

Most clients will want to only contact a single person to get feedback on the project or to propose changes. This is one of the roles of the Project Manager.

 

challenge see if you can find out one extra fact on this topic that we haven't already told you

Click on this link: Project Manager