What are the technical project performance competencies every PM should have?

Scope, Schedule, Budget! ???? I'd say mastering Project Scope Management is fundamental, ensuring the project's boundaries are well-defined and controlled. Efficient Project Schedule Management is vital to timely delivery, while Project Cost Management is crucial for staying within budget. Project Quality Management ensures that deliverables meet the required standards. Project Risk Management is vital to foresee and mitigate potential issues. Effective Project Stakeholder Management is essential to align expectations and maintain robust communication. These competencies are the pillars for any PM to navigate complex projects successfully.

For effective project scope management, a project manager must possess several technical performance competencies. Firstly, they should excel in scope definition and be adept at eliciting and documenting clear project requirements, ensuring a comprehensive understanding among stakeholders. Strong analytical skills are crucial to assess the feasibility and impact of proposed changes to the project scope. Additionally, proficiency in scope verification and control mechanisms is vital to prevent scope creep and manage deviations effectively. A project manager should also be well-versed in scope-related tools and technologies, fostering efficient collaboration and communication within the team.

From my experience and PMI's regular job studies, which inform the PMP exam, technical competencies are vital in the 'process' area of project management. Essential competencies include planning, managing dependencies, resource allocation, cost calculation, risk management, and understanding compliance. Monitoring skills are crucial, like processing and presenting data, using tools for trend analysis, and effective communication and reporting. These competencies, highlighted in PMI studies, provide valuable insights for project managers to excel in their roles.

The competency of a project manager in scope management is multifaceted, requiring a combination of technical, interpersonal, and strategic skills. The ability to define, control, and manage scope effectively contributes significantly to the overall success of a project.

One time working with the client in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), we quickly realized that knowing a suitable project management software (including methodology) that adopts team collaboration and client's objectives is always a great competence to have. We used the PM software tool to track project performance and team progress, ensuring things were running according to the agreed plan. We used the software to plan, organize and communicate with the client, hybrid teams, sponsor and major stakeholders throughout the different phases..

Scheduling is the art of translating strategies into the most optimized project plans: lowest cost, shortest duration, fewest resources. Schedule is a verb, used to produce the Plan (noun). A Scheduler is not a position; it's a role, best performed by an extroverted, right-brained individual with excellent communication, facilitation, and dynamic character. Scheduling must be dynamic, not static. The Schedule (aka Project Plan) is the steering wheel, not the rearview mirror.

In my experience, hugely important are the dependencies of the tasks, or the “can’t start X until Y is complete “. When these are not understood completely, the timeline elongates mid project dramatically, impacting all other components of the project.

Effective Project Schedule Management is crucial for the success of any project, and a Project Manager should possess a range of technical competencies to excel in this area. Some examples are: - Proficiency in creating a Work Breakdown Structure. - Expertise in determining task sequences and dependencies. - Familiarity with project scheduling tools - Competence in conducting Critical Path Analysis

La seconde compétence clé pour conduire un projet est de savoir réaliser un organigramme des taches du projet. définir ce qui est à faire, le Quoi ? Enfin, la troisième compétence est de savoir définir les jalons clés du projet.

Effective Project Schedule Management is a cornerstone competency for project managers (PMs). It demands meticulous planning, realistic timelines, and adaptability. PMs should excel in creating comprehensive schedules, considering task dependencies, resource availability, and potential risks. Skillful use of scheduling tools is crucial. Moreover, continuous monitoring, timely adjustments, and proactive problem-solving are essential for staying on track. Successful PMs integrate flexibility into schedules, recognizing the dynamic nature of projects. Ultimately, a PM's adeptness in Project Schedule Management ensures timely deliverables, stakeholder satisfaction, and project success.

We establish the project's cost baseline by identifying resources and calculating cost estimates. Throughout the project lifecycle, we closely monitor this baseline to promptly identify any deviations or changes. This is crucial for proactively addressing project cost discrepancies. Our cost management skills enable us to efficiently complete the project within the approved budget. Ensuring the satisfaction of stakeholders by meeting project success criteria is paramount. Consequently, project cost management holds strategic importance for me. Our technical knowledge, budget management, and project tracking skills are important the sustainable completion of successful projects.

Project Cost Management is a critical competency for every project manager. It involves estimating, budgeting, and controlling costs throughout the project lifecycle. Accurate cost estimates are the foundation, requiring a PM to possess analytical skills and industry knowledge. Budgeting demands financial acumen to allocate resources efficiently. Effective cost control involves continuous monitoring, identifying variances, and implementing corrective actions. In my opinion, a successful PM navigates financial intricacies, ensuring projects remain within budget constraints, fostering financial accountability and project success.

Analyze project documentation, historical data, and lessons learned from past projects to identify common risks. Consult with subject matter experts and team members to gain insights into potential risks associated with specific project activities. Create a matrix to assess the probability and impact of identified risks. This helps prioritize risks based on their likelihood and potential consequences. Develop a proactive plan to address identified risks. This includes defining strategies for risk avoidance, mitigation, transfer, or acceptance. Conduct regular reviews of identified risks throughout the project lifecycle. Update risk assessments based on changing project conditions.

I believe one of the most important skills of a Technical PM is actually curiosity. It might be considered a soft skill, but curiousity can lead to asking the right questions, or asking questions no-one else had considered when they looked at the same problems. Curiosity also puts us in a an open-minded place, enhancing our ability to listen actively when others explain problems - another key skill of a strong technical PM.

In complex healthcare systems, project management involves numerous stakeholders at all levels of the organization. Effectively engaging your clinical experts will impact project progression. Determining which level of stakeholder is your decision maker has assisted our organization in streamlining projects, leading to success and great outcomes. While everyone would like to put their "two cents" into a project, the noise generated would bog things down. Setting expectations for key stakeholders to then become the conduit for second level stakeholders breeds greater success and less potential for delay

How to be a project leader, in addition to a project manager. Knowing when to lead with authority, be a team member, or let the team do their thing. PMs need soft skills to successfully implement the technical knowledge - the bodies of work referenced by others often skirt these human centric abilities which are the secret sauce when it comes to managing projects.

All the section above are must be taken into consideration in order to understand and enhance the technical skills for PMs. They depend on each others. Thus, take a look at PMBOK, google PMP, your PM coach, Agile manifesto.These are foundation to understand the critical technical parts that are needed. Depending on the project you need to be flexible, you don't have to include everything in details try what suits you best, tailor as needed. Use hybrid approaches. A good way also is to check the latest trends, what are the technical requirements that are being focused on? How can you improve, what can be added? Also use softwares, they facilitate many technical part. But technical skills will face setbacks if not met with human skills.

The race for technical competencies can blind us. Project success isn't solely based on technical mastery. Balancing technical know-how with unmatched adaptability is the real competency. A PM's true strength lies in successfully navigating unpredictable changes and still delivering expected outcomes.

Interfaces Management is the neglected area in PM. Many challenges and concerns surface in that area. There are technical, physical and operational interfaces are there in any type of project, be it brownfield or greenfield. So, the Project Manager shall focus on the interfaces proactively to save time and troubles.

Although there are no formal requirements to understand the technology you are project managing, a great project manager has enough technical knowledge to manage the technology efficiently, especially when there are problems. For example, I project managed a SAAS application that had a mobile app. I had NEVER worked with mobile apps so I did spend a little time understanding the basics of the technology so I could recognize when something went wrong or needed to be addressed from a PM perspective.