Project Manager Wheel: demonstrates the organic nature of Project Manager, with interdependencies connecting goals, resources, and processes.

Among responsibilities that fall to project managers are the following:
Setting realistic timelines, objectives, and expectations
Determining the best approach for accomplishing project goals
Developing and defending budgets
Facilitating communication among project participants, including outside vendors
Monitoring production, quality, and costs
Looking beyond project’s end

As a Operational professional active in many industry circles, I meet a lot of people, and most of them assume I’m a designer. When they ask what kind of work I do, I say, “Actually, I’m a project manager for a electronics firm.” That’s when I get the blank stare, furrowed brow, discouraging grimace or some combination of the three.

“So you’re an account person,” they say.
“Well, kind of, but not exactly,” I reply.
“Are you a production manager?”
“No, I’m really not that good at production. But I help keep track of deadlines and schedules.”
“So do you use Gantt charts and Microsoft Project?”
“Sometimes, but it’s a necessary evil and not really my favorite part of the job.”
“Well, then, what do you do?”

It’s a tough question to answer. Especially because in many electronics firms the project manager is still an emerging position. The positions like Sr. Project Executive/ Sr. Project Leads acts as a Project Manager.

I have worked as a project manager for several electronics firms—officially and unofficially—and it’s a role that I find challenging, engaging and different from one day to the next. One of the reasons I love what I do is because it is so hard to define. That lack of definition is both a beauty and a peril, but mostly it keeps the work fun and interesting. And when it comes down to it, I love to help people to work better together.

So what does a project manager do?
Most of the time a project manager is a project owner. He or she is responsible for the leadership of the project from inception to completion. The project manager leads the team and helps negotiate the multiple relationships within any project—whether with clients, team members, firm principals or any variety of partners (such as freelancers, contractors or even civic committees)—and functions as the hub of a project.

With most projects, the project manager will begin work after a contract is signed or negotiated. Although a project manager can be involved in business development, he or she is usually not the person chasing deals and developing new relationships. Instead, he or she works to maintain a healthy client relationship throughout the course of the project. This often turns into a long-term business relationship, but the project manager does not usually initiate it; that’s because business development requires a very different set of skills and significant time away from the office, which is not ideal for the project manager. 

Once the contract is signed, the project manager will assemble a project team, considering the multiple dynamics and logistics that go into any mid-to-large-sized project. Skill sets are important, but personalities are just as vital. Personality management is a huge part of any project manager’s job, and it’s crucial to assemble a team that can play well together.

Once the team is assembled, projects can take any number of directions. Although most projects start with a team kickoff meeting, that may differ depending on the goals and scope of the work. It is up to the project manager—with the team’s input—to decide what the best approach to the work should be and to make sure it is an effort he or she can own or direct. Although the project manager needs to be careful to lead and not dictate (especially with senior team members), he or she needs to have a vision and an approach decided before the project starts, as well as have a thorough understanding of the goal in sight.

A project manager needs to be able to plan, monitor and control project activities and manage resources and people, as well as collect and disseminate information and look ahead for potential problems. If a project manager lacks the technical expertise to deliver a project product they would have to rely on an expert for input. In many organisations such an expert is given the same status as a project manager.

The project manager is responsible for coordinating and integrating activities across multiple, functional lines. The integration activities performed by the project manager include:

Integrating the activities necessary to develop a project plan
Integrating the activities necessary to execute the plan
Integrating the activities necessary to make changes to the plan

These integrative responsibilities are shown  where the project manager must convert the inputs (i.e., resources) into outputs of products, services, and ultimately profits. In order to do this, the project manager needs strong communicative and interpersonal skills, must become familiar with the operations of each line organization, and must have knowledge of the technology being used.

An executive with a computer manufacturer stated that his company was looking externally for project managers. When asked if he expected candidates to have a command of computer technology, the executive remarked: “You give me an individual who has good communicative skills and interpersonal skills, and I’ll give that individual a job. I can teach people the technology and give them technical experts to assist them in decision making. But I cannot teach somebody how to work with people.”

The project manager’s job is not an easy one. Project managers may have increasing responsibility, but very little authority. This lack of authority can force them to “negotiate” with upper-level management as well as functional management for control of company resources. They may often be treated as outsiders by the formal organization.

In the project environment, everything seems to revolve about the project manager. Although the project organization is a specialized, task-oriented entity, it cannot exist apart from the traditional structure of the organization. The project manager, therefore, must walk the fence between the two organizations. The term interface management is often used for this role, which can be described as managing relationships:

Within the project team
Between the project team and the functional organizations
Between the project team and senior management
Between the project team and the customer’s organization, whether an internal or external organization

To be effective as a project manager, an individual must have management as well as technical skills. Because engineers often consider their careers limited in the functional disciplines, they look toward project management and project engineering as career path opportunities. But becoming a manager entails learning about psychology, human behavior, organizational behavior, interpersonal relations, and communications. MBA programs have come to the rescue of individuals desiring the background to be effective project managers.

In the past, executives motivated and retained qualified personnel primarily with financial incentives. Today other ways are being used, such as a change in title or the promise of more challenging work. Perhaps the lowest turnover rates of any professions in the world are in project management and project engineering. In a project environment, the project managers and project engineers get to see their project through from “birth to death.” Being able to see the fruits of one’s efforts is highly rewarding.

The project manager is actually a general manager and gets to know the total operation of the company. In fact, project managers get to know more about the total operation of a company than most executives. That is why project management is often used as a training ground to prepare future general managers who will be capable of filling top management positions. 

A project manager facilitates and manages personalities.
As a mentor of mine continually tells me, “It’s all about the relationships.” In a collaborative project setting, successful relationships between team members are the baseline, and the job of sustaining that baseline often falls to the project manager. Conflict and friction can be an important part of the creative process, but it’s important that it doesn’t derail the project.

A project manager can facilitate this harmony in multiple ways. One tactic is to take extra effort to make sure that every member team feels valued and that they are an important part of the overall process. This includes making sure that team members are effectively coached and praised throughout their work, especially during challenging phases. Regardless of how challenging certain situations or work may be, it is the project manager’s job to care about the quality of work and the quality of the working environment, even when no one else seems to.

Sometimes tensions require the project manager to conduct challenging conversations between team members and the client. It’s not that team members always have to go through the project manager. But it may make those tough discussions more palatable, knowing that they have a person to help facilitate. Although this can often be the most difficult aspect of client relations, it is key to keep relationships positive—because no one wants to work with someone that they don’t feel respected by, and the quality of the work will suffer along with the working environment. Maintaining a positive working environment also builds rapport among the team and keeps enthusiasm levels high, which is crucial on a challenging project. 

Project managers are strategic leaders.
A project manager must have a vision for the course and goals of the project. This should apply not only to the process, but also to the strategy. Because the project manager keeps an eye on the big picture from day one, he or she should be able to effectively lead the project’s strategy as well. And the advantage that the project manager has over any other team member is that he or she is not participating in the creation of the work.

For the hands-on designer, the profession and the work consist of big ideas and small details. It is not enough to have a great concept—you have to be able to execute against it, and this often means sorting through painstaking minutia and multiple iterations of a concept until you get it right and the work sings.

It is up to the project manager to keep an eye on the goals and objectives of the project—both for the client and the design team. Clients are just as easily seduced by sexy layouts as their creators are, but it is the project manager’s job to avoid those temptations and make sure the project meets its objectives.

Another way in which the project manager holds the team to its objectives is through documentation of the creative process, which can take many forms. Concepts are developed in many ways, but there is always a source: a client interview, a hands-on collaborative team session, industry research or an informal jam session about what we’re trying to accomplish. Once this information is gathered, most designers are itching to start and let the creative juices flow. Where the project manager helps is by producing the documentation behind the big ideas, perhaps via an idea board, a scrapbook recapping a brainstorming session or an even more formal creative brief. These documents can help demonstrate the thinking behind the big ideas without handicapping the designers to document their process every step of the way. 

Do all projects or firms need project managers?
Although lots of firms and projects can benefit from a project manager, it is not always required, especially if a firm has many seasoned, experienced planning professionals on staff.  Project managers usually fare best in mid-sized to large firms with at least 25 people or more. The role also works best with teams of three members (plus the project manager) or more, when there is a fair amount of detail involved, multiple deadlines and frequent communication to be managed either between the team and the client or within the team itself.

An experienced project manager can also fill in for a studio principal. In a medium-to-large studio environment, there are still usually only two to three principals and/or creative directors, and these people usually have such multi-faceted roles that they have little time for creative guidance or perhaps not as much guidance as projects usually need. This is where an experienced project manager, especially one with design experience, can help. Always follow four eye principle, as Siemens PMA+ states that two eyes always must be on commercial aspects, and the other tow eyes on Technical aspects.

Although there is still a need for creative direction or support, particularly at the inception, a project manager can provide the additional steering and/or hands-on guidance required for a project to meet its objectives. The planning creative director may be involved in the beginning, for assistance with conceptual development, but once a project has this general direction the project manager can step in to continue to steer it in the right direction. 

What are the qualifications?
Different firms will require different types of project managers, but some skills are inherent.

Have a sense of ownership/leadership. When it comes down to it, the project manager is the person most responsible for the project’s success or failure. It can be a weighty burden to shoulder, but it is important for this sense of ownership to occur in order for the project to have direction. With multi-faceted, compartmentalized teams and/or skill sets, the project manager needs to be the one person to bring everything together and take responsibility for the work’s success. This also requires tenacity, determination and confidence—all essential traits in a project manager.
Work collaboratively. Because the project manager needs to bring together complex, often multidisciplinary teams, he or she needs to be able to facilitate a collaborative work environment. Project managers are responsible for fusing the work skills and styles of individuals into a team focused on project tasks and goals, rather than their individual role in the project’s success.
Use both sides of the brain. Because the project manager needs to balance the details and the big picture, he or she needs to have creative problem-solving skills as well as a head for numbers and schedules. The best project managers usually have hands-on creative experience—either as writers or designers—and understand how to work through project challenges based on past experiences. When faced with difficulties, the project manager needs to guide the team to make adjustments or changes with all of the pieces in perspective. Be creative, analytical and tactical.
Have writing and design skills (and a technical understanding). The project manager does not need to be an award-winning writer or designer, nor does one need to be a programmer, signage fabricator or printing press operator. But he or she needs to have a strong understanding of all of the roles in the process, particularly those most related to the skills of the core team. And it helps to have direct experience in these areas, even if it is minimal. If the project manager does not have a strong design sensibility or is unable to communicate, he or she will not be able to judge the success of the project in meeting its objectives.
Be able to facilitate. Facilitation is an entire discipline in itself, but project managers should have some training in this area. Skills developed in facilitation include leading meetings, negotiating conflicts, building teams and group dynamics, and enabling creative thought processes—all of which are necessary for a strong project manager and team leader. And a strong team leader and facilitator can also train other project team members in this discipline, increasing opportunities for leadership throughout your firm.

Problem solved?
Hiring a project manager will not solve all of your firm’s management issues. But allowing for leadership of your projects and your firm’s work will enable smoother processes and better workflow, and encourage leadership within your organization.

Finding the right team, giving appropriate direction and managing the working environment—while maintaining a strategic focus and staying on top of deadlines and deliverables—are all part of a project manager’s role. It’s a challenging task for the right individual. But if you can find someone who loves it, you can build your firm’s business and improve the quality of your work. Hopefully you’ll have more fun doing it, too.

POME Case Study

Retaining Final Authority in Hiring — Case Problem: ‘‘The Long-Distance Hire”

Overview

This is the fourth time over the past two months that Ed, the new drafter, failed to carry out his assigned duties. Mickey, the chief of mechanical engineering, has had it with Ed’s ineptness, lack of professionalism and poor attitude toward the rest of the staff.

After disciplining Ed and warning him that such behavior would not be tolerated, Mickey called his senior drafter, Bob, into his office.

‘‘Okay, Bob,” Mickey said. ‘‘Where did you find that new guy? Two months ago, when I was on vacation, I trusted you to hire a competent drafter for me. And this is what you give me? I can’t go on vacation for one week without something like this happening.”

‘‘Hold on just a minute,” Bob replied defensively. ‘‘Two months ago, you left me holding the bag—instructing me to fill that vacancy—while you went to Tahiti for a week.”

‘‘Well, I should be able to trust you with something as important as a hiring decision,” asserted Mickey. ‘‘You are my senior drafter, and you have been here longer than anyone else. You know the operations inside and out, and you should have done a better job in selecting a new person.

‘‘Let’s face facts. You didn’t even ask anyone else in the department for an opinion about the three applicants you screened. You did a rush job and let me down!”

Case Analysis

Since Bob is the senior drafter and a trusted staffer, he could have been involved in the hiring process. However, it was wrong for the head of the group to fully delegate such a crucial management task to anyone else. The chief of mechanical engineering should have interviewed the candidate as well and made the final decision himself.

Solution:

The selection and hiring of staff are responsibilities that must be handled by the manager—not delegated entirely to another individual in the department. In his or her team, the manager is ultimately accountable for the effectiveness of each member and should keep these points in mind:

Retain the authority to make the final hiring decision.
Be personally involved in the selection and hiring process.
Get input from other members of the team regarding a candidate’s credentials.
Clearly explain the job specifications and required credentials to any staffer involved in the interviewing of job candidates.

POME LIGHTER VEIN:

Project Managers are a fortunate lot, for, as everyone knows, a project manager has nothing to do; that is, except…

To decide what is to be done;
to tell somebody to do it;
to listen to reasons why it should not be done,
why it should be done by somebody else,
or why it should be done in a different way;
and to prepare arguments in rebuttal that shall be convincing and conclusive.

And then:
To follow up to see if the thing has been done;
to discover that it has not been done;
to enquire why it has not been done;
to listen to excuses from the person who did not do it;
and to think up arguments to overcome the excuses.

And then:
To follow up a second time to see if the thing has been done;
to discover that is has been done incorrectly;
to point out how it shall be done;
to conclude that as long as it has been done it might as well be left as it is;
to wonder if it is not time to get rid of the person who cannot do a thing correctly;
to reflect that in all probability any successor would be just as bad, or worse.

And finally:

To consider how much more simply and better the thing would have been done had he done it himself in the first place; to reflect satisfactorily that if he had done it himself he would have been able to do it right in 20 minutes and that as things turned out, he himself spent two days trying to find out why it is that it has taken somebody else three weeks to do it wrong. To realise that such an idea would have a very demoralising effect on the project team, because it would strike at the very foundation of the belief of all employees that a project manager has nothing to do.

Gautam Koppala,
POME Author

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Although there are instances where a Theory X form of management can work effectively, it nonetheless represents a top-down unidirectional “master-slave” relationship. Theory X can work well in certain crisis situations, such as “crunch-time” projects, but it is hardly conducive for a normal mode of operation in today’s society. Let me be clear on this, under a Theory X form of management, project planning, estimating, scheduling, reporting and control is performed top-down. Instead, a bi-directional approach is recommended which is a critical aspect of the Mini-Project Manager concept.

CONCEPT

The Mini-Project Manager (MPM) concept is based on our experiences in several I. T. shops over a number of years and was first described in the Project Management activities of our “PRIDE” methodologies dating back to 1971. Unlike Theory X, the MPM concept seeks to empower workers and make them more responsible for their actions. It promotes more management and less supervision. Actually, under the MPM concept, the individual is expected to act professionally and supervise themselves.

There are still some top-down activities to be performed by management, such as project planning where projects are defined and prioritized. Further, managers select and allocate human resources to participate in project assignments. It also includes establishing project Work Breakdown Structures (WBS; e. g. , phases, activities, tasks) and precedent relationships between such structures. Here, the manager relies on such things as Skills Inventories, Resource Allocations, Calendars, and Priority Modeling tools.

After projects are assigned, workers estimate the amount of effort needed to perform the work. This is a critical aspect of the MPM concept and is typically not found in today’s Theory X environments. Here, the worker is asked, “What do you think?” But understand this, the worker’s estimate is an expression of his personal commitment to the work involved. If the manager does not agree with the estimate, he may ask the worker to rationalize his estimate. If the manager is unhappy with the answer, he may elect to give the assignment to someone else (perhaps another employee or a contractor). Nonetheless, the estimate is an expression of commitment by the person.

On the basis of l' estimacià ƒ  ³ N, then the Director calculates the programacià ƒ  ³ N of the project. While considérant that the worker desarrollà ƒ  ³ the l' estimacià ƒ  ³ N, the director calculates l' schedule. In this case, the manager considère EDT of the project and the relations précédentes. Mà ƒ S mportantly, the manager considère the indirect serviceable time and which assigns the worker. This means that the concept of MPM n' adhère not à the & quot; hour hombre& quot; for l' estimacià ƒ  ³ N of projects and programacià ƒ  ³ N. J' have examiné the différences in l' use of time in much others d' a artà ƒ culos, but in few words which to see time like:

AVAILABLE TIME – this is the time workers are available to perform work; e. g. , Monday through Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm.

UNAVAILABLE TIME – this is the time when workers are not available for work; e. g. , weekends, holidays, vacations, and planned absences.

Available Time is subdivided into two categories:

DIRECT TIME – representing the time when workers are performing their project assignments and, as such, estimates are expressed in Direct Time.

INDIRECT TIME – interférences which empêchent the workers d' to achieve their tâches in the project. For example, of réunions, of the training courses, révision of the publications, the calls tA

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