What Is a Project Manager? A Guide to This Career

A project manager oversees the entire lifecycle of a project, from establishing initial goals and objectives to closure of the project, regardless of size or complexity. What you will be doing in a project will be dependent on the type of work being done and the stage of the project. A project manager plans, orchestrates, and leads complex and often cross-functional projects. Project managers design project plans, monitor performance for risks and issues and resolve problems as they arise.

A bachelor’s degree is typically the minimum requirement to become a project manager with 68 percent of professionals holding a bachelor’s degree and 14 percent holding a master’s degree [4]. Many project managers have a degree in business, computer science, or an industry-related field. While not always a strict requirement, how to become a project manager a degree can help you develop the leadership skills you’ll need on the job. Some companies may look for candidates with a graduate degree such as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) or a Master of Science in Management (MSM). The sheer variety of tasks means no two days on the job (or two projects) are quite the same.

Lean Project Management (or Lean Manufacturing)

This can mean working closely with UX designers, developers, account managers, testers, architects, business analysts, and many other stakeholders. The best project managers are always learning; they keep their finger on the pulse of new developments in their industry and work to build tight-knit teams. The software project manager is also expected to be familiar with the software development life cycle (SDLC). This may require in-depth knowledge of requirements solicitation, application development, logical and physical database design and networking.

The five phases of a project lifecycle serve as the most basic outline that gives a project definition. These five phases are initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and closure. Project team members need clear directions from the project manager and other project leaders so that they can execute the work that’s expected from them. However, a project plan is more than just a set of instructions for the project team. It’s a comprehensive document that describes every aspect of a project, such as the project goals, project schedule and project budget among other important details. Architectural project manager are project managers in the field of architecture.

How Much Does a Project Manager Earn?

The importance of this step lies in the project manager’s ability to know what information is key for which personnel. People who are building a website may only need to know the basic facts and the due date, but a marketing person will need more description of the project and why it matters to put together a campaign. Understanding what tools each team member needs to complete their piece of the project is just as important as giving them deadlines. Many high-level project managers have a PMP (Project Management Professional) certification, which means they have several years of experience and have completed an extensive training course and test. This role profile applies to portfolio managers operating at intermediate level. Project management skills are transferable from one industry to another.

• Selecting the right project management software requires consideration of several factors, including project size, team size, industry, and specific requirements.
• Nor do they directly manage most of the resources involved in execution.
• They ensure that all the parties are collaborating and communicating, and achieving milestones.
• Now, the whole team reviews the project so managers again take charge, analyse their work, understand the areas of improvement, and document their learnings for future use.
• A project manager is a professional who organizes, plans, and executes projects while working within restraints like budgets and schedules.