Basic Responsibilities of Project Managers and Tools & Software Used in Project Management

Project management is about making decisions to achieve successful management of a task which:

• Has objectives of cost, time and quality.
• Is finite, i.e., has a beginning and an end.
• Uses resources.
• Produce changes.

Project Management can be defined as overall planning, coordination and control of a project from inception to completion aiming at ensuring its completion on time, within budget and to the intended technical requirements of forms, quality and performance.

Key Features of Project Management

• Planning
• Decision making
• Leadership
• Communication
• Organisation
• Implementation

Project Manager’s Main Responsibilities:

The responsibilities of a project manager are diverse and critical for the success of any project. They include:

• Identifying and outlining the goals, deliverables, tasks, costs, and deadlines.
• Defining roles and setting objectives for team members.
• Developing a project plan, setting timelines, scheduling control points & milestones.
• Determining, allocating and managing resources (people, materials, equipment).
• Estimating costs, managing the budget, and controlling expenses.
• Ensuring the project meets the required quality standards.
• Monitoring progress of work against plans.
• Identifying, analysing, and responding to potential risks.
• Ensuring smooth passage of information throughout the project hierarchy.
• Communicating with and managing expectations of all stakeholders.
• Leading, motivating, and managing the project team.
• Keeping accurate records and reporting on project progress and metrics.
• Motivating individuals.
• Keeping the client/sponsor appropriately informed at all times.
• Documenting all changes to the original specifications.
• Conducting regular learning reviews.

Project Managers’ Potential Secondary Responsibilities

• Use of local contractors
• Use of local labour
• Training of client’s staff
• Strong client involvement in management
• Safety
• Environmental protection
• Technology transfer

For project to be managed well it is essential to:

• Establish the relative importance of objectives by ranking.
• Ensure there is widespread unity of view about the objectives.
• Ensure that this view is maintained throughout design, construction and commissioning.
• Tolerance should be set for each objective (contingency for cost, float for time and space for quality).

The ‘Hard’ Techniques in Project Management

• Economic appraisal
• Planning
• Estimating
• Cost and time control
• Contract strategy
• Risk management

The ‘Soft’ Techniques in Project Management

• Leadership/coaching.
• Decision making under conditions of uncertainty.
• Communication and information flow.
• Motivation.
• Teamwork.
• Delegation.

Risk Management?

Risk management is systematic application of policies, procedures, methods and practices to the tasks of identifying, analysing, evaluating, treating and monitoring risk.

Risk management is the process concerned with the identification, measurement, control and minimisation of risks to a level commensurate with the value of assets protected.

It integrates recognition of risk, risk assessment, developing strategies to manage it and mitigation of risk using managerial resources.

Risks can be managed by:

• Identification of preventive measures to avoid a risk or to reduce its effect.
• Establishing contingency plans to deal with risks if they should occur.
• Initiating further investigations to reduce uncertainty through better information.
• Considering risk transfers to insurers.
• Considering risk allocation in contracts.
• Setting contingencies in cost estimates, float in programmes and tolerance or space in performance specifications.

Risk Management Tools

• Early Warning Notices
• Risk Register
• Programme
• Target cost (pain and gain mechanism)
• KPIs
• Monthly reporting
• Supply chain management

Controlling Cost Overrun

A few important measures PMs can take to control cost overrun?are:

• Providing float in time and contingency in the cost
• Realistic programming
• Buildability advice
• Risk assessment and risk management
• Value engineering
• Learning lessons from previous experience

Motivation:

For motivating the staff, following points should be kept in view by the PMs:

• The project managers should know strengths and weaknesses of their team members. They should set clear goals for the team members. They also need to avoid putting the staff under undue stress by setting unrealistic deadlines.
• The team leaders and line managers should pay respect to their team members and made themselves easily accessible to their team members.
• The project managers should hold meetings and brainstorming sessions with their team members on regular basis in order to seek suggestions and input from them for improving the conditions. It will instil confidence and sense of participation on the part of team members. They will also feel that?they are important and there is a weightage of their opinion in the eyes of their line managers.
• The project managers should also set up one to one meeting periodically with their team members to listen to the grievances and issues bothering them.
• The team members should be encouraged and mentored for achieving their goals and personal growth. The team members will be more valuable to the organization, and to themselves, when they have opportunities to learn new skills and enhance their knowledge.
• The project managers should exhibit sympathetic and accommodating attitude to listen to the staff’s requests including training requests. The employers should also allocate reasonable budget for training of their employees.
• The team members could be challenged by their project managers to achieve some difficult targets. It will have motivating impact on them.
• Good performance of team members should be appreciated publicly. Bad performance of team members should be discussed only in privacy.
• Social events outside office hours can be arranged. The success of any kind should be celebrated even with minimal spending.
• Micromanagement and looking over the shoulders of team members has a demotivating impact and should be avoided by the team leaders and line managers.
• The project managers should always lead by example.
• The project managers should give high importance to team building. If some differences appear between some of the team members, they should be quickly resolved.
• The project managers should be fair, even handed and unbiased towards their teams.
• The employees should get promotions on merit and without discrimination.
• The responsibilities should be shared and delegated by the line managers. This will groom the junior staff and develop future leaders.
• The team should be held accountable for their failures without imposing fear on them. The causes of failures should be analysed, and lessons learnt should be noted for future improvements.

Common Tools used in Project Management

• Project Management Software: Tools like Asana, Trello, Primavera and Microsoft Project for planning, scheduling, and tracking progress.
• Collaboration Tools: Platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams for team communication.
• Document Management Systems: For storing and sharing project documentation.
• Budgeting and Financial Software: For managing project finances.
• Risk Management Tools: Software for identifying and tracking potential risks.

Using a combination of these tools, a project manager can navigate the complexities of project management and lead their team to success.

Software Used in Project Management

Project managers often utilise a range of software for different aspects of project management. A few of them are summarised below:

1. Document Management Systems:

• Microsoft SharePoint: Widely used for document storage, sharing, and collaboration.
• Google Drive: Popular for cloud-based document management and collaboration.
• Dropbox Business: Known for secure file storage and sharing.
• Confluence: Often used for documentation and collaboration, particularly in software development environments.

2. Budgeting and Finances:

• Microsoft Excel: A staple tool for creating detailed budgets and financial forecasts.
• QuickBooks: Commonly used for small business accounting and financial management.
• SAP Concur: Offers solutions for expense management and reporting.
• Oracle Financials Cloud: A comprehensive suite for enterprise financial management.

3. Risk Management:

• Riskwatch: Specialized in risk assessment and management across various industries.
• SAP Risk Management: Offers robust tools for identifying, analysing, and mitigating risks.
• LogicManager: Known for its risk management solutions across different sectors.
• nTask: Includes features for risk identification and assessment as part of its project management suite.

Each of these software caters to specific needs within the project management domain. The choice of tools often depends on the scale of the project, the industry, and the organisation’s specific requirements and existing software ecosystem.

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