People who succeed in the role of Project Manager in IT are typically those who have a background in software development, and who are skilled both in heavy, predictive methodology (like the waterfall method) and light, adaptive methodologies (like DSDM, Scrum, and Lean).
Most positions within this field will also require an understanding of the Software Development Life Cycle, application development, solicitation, physical database design and networking, and logical design. The Project Manager is the person responsible for managing the project from its inception to its execution. He is not the boss; he is the manager. The project manager must have a set of hard and soft skills.
The role of a project manager in IT
There are some requirements for this position:
- Being a leader;
- Defining other roles;
- Determining the areas of responsibility;
- Identifying the necessary skills;
- Drawing up a management plan;
- Communications management;
- Conflict Management
Required hard skills:
- Communications management;
- Knowledge of methodologies: traditional and flexible (agile);
- Management of risks;
- Micromanagement;
- Quality control and performance.
Soft skills project manager:
- Communications;
- Leadership;
- Motivation;
- Conflict management;
- Delegation;
- Making decisions.
Wrong project management styles
Lone Hero. Focused solely on the production of the result. He has a lot of work and no time to teach someone and delegate tasks. He believes that he can do better only by himself. A vacation is a punishment for him, and he doesn’t read between the lines, his subordinates are errand boys, and he is not flexible and frequently not intelligent enough.
Bureaucrat. He is aimed only at “how,” overlooking the big picture. He wants to describe each process in great detail and draw up instructions for every step. Never takes risks, and does not like change. Hires subordinates with the same worldview as his own. Does not respond to market changes and customer needs.
Pyromaniac. Idea maker. Charming, inspiring, enterprising, does not go into details. Constantly changes the plan and growth direction. Nothing comes beyond his idea. He is recruiting those who constantly agree with his opinion and support his ideas. He is not interested in an opinion contrary to his own.
Cheerleader. He is engaged only in superficial integration. Reveals other people’s problems, but only for his own mercenary needs. Dodgy, able to adapt. He never says what he thinks until he finds out what everyone around him thinks. Hires people a lot like himself — slippery fish.
Dead stump. Friendly and compliant. Does not allow changes, and opposes the development. Hires people with the same attitude as his own. Strives to save his little world intact.
What does a perfect project manager look like?
First, you must understand that the ideal manager simply does not exist. Many qualities that we all would like to see in a PM are incompatible in one person and contradict each other (for example, “notice the details” and “an eye for the whole picture”).
What needs to be done to become a successful PM?
- Study the theory, but do not try to repeat someone’s “let him succeed”;
- Study psychology and communicate more with people;
- Learn foreign languages.
- What is desirable to do to succeed in project management?
- Attend thematic conferences, seminars, and workshops;
- Create an environment around you;
- Get out of your comfort zone.
What better to avoid?
- Do not duplicate others, but study the Best practices;
- Do not try to do an “all at once,” experiment;
- Do not ignore the opinions of others, listen to people more than you say yourself.
Bottom line
The diversity of styles offers a competitive advantage in terms of business development. As an executive, it is crucial that you:
- Make sure you have the people with all the necessary skills within your organization
- Make room for each type to work in their own manner
- Make sense of their respective ideas, by following their respective logic
- Make time for matching projects and project managers correctly
Meeting the various types where they are, and paying attention to their diverse ways of thinking, will help you develop your business. The hallmark of great managers is that they discover and capitalize on the unique strengths of individual employees. Growth and business development are top priorities in most businesses across the globe. Executives who want to develop their businesses need first to develop the right amount of staff diversity to drive a diverse portfolio of growth opportunities. Only when diverse people are on board can an organization drive commercially sustainable growth.
Afterword
The second, but even more important trick to making your PM into your enterprise champions is to give them tools to succeed. Before you run out and start using a whole bunch, do the research to determine which is the right for your project and your people. Or go with the “hottest idea” – data aggregation. PPM Express is a lightweight portfolio management tool that enables an organization with a full portfolio and project visibility by aggregating project-related information across groups, portfolios, and systems. It suits the immediate needs of teams and business entities starting with 20 people, to the extent of large companies with hundreds to thousands of employees. Project management tools are usually defined by the different features offered. For PPM Express they include, but are not limited to:
- Dashboards
- Project planning
- Task management
- Reporting
- Timesheets
- Workload management
- Online Gantt charts
- Planning/scheduling
- Collaboration
- Documentation
- Evaluation
PPM Express is created to assist an individual or a team in organizing work and managing projects and tasks effectively. PPM Express is good not just for project managers. It enables PMOs and executives to see a completely transparent picture of what’s going on in their organization. It is made to be completely customizable, so it can fit the needs of teams of different sizes and with different goals.