In the globalized economy, Successful project managers are in much demand across many industries. Organizations strongly need experienced project managers to lead their staff to accomplish their business goals and deliver successful projects. In an increasingly complex environment, project managers need to turn into many roles and have all kinds of responsibilities at each level of management within an organization. Good project managers are not born. They need to be trained. They develop their skills through study, practise and experience. They become better project managers after they finish a successful project each time. They learn new techniques and apply them on their projects. They learn their lessons from failed projects and then improve to be better project managers in the future.
This essay will firstly discuss about the skills an effective IT project manager should have. Following this it will explain why these skills are useful to IT project managers. Subsequently it will identify the challenges unique to project management in the field of IT. Then it will present the analysis on whether leadership skills (as opposed to management skills) are really necessary for successful IT project management. On one
…show more content…
Be a successful project manager, it is really important to master some essential skills. Among all different types of skills, following are some skills consider most important that an effective IT project manager should have.
Communication skills
Communication is a crucial part of project management. Project managers should be able to communicate clearly, simply, effectively and frequently. As good communication skills are vital in comprehending what is expected by clients and help to convey that goal to the project team. Also it helps to receive essential information from the project team and take the corrective steps when in process.
Interpersonal and Leadership
An efficient Project manager should be aware of the necessary critical skills, Should learn to communicate effectively with every level, manage the resources in the right way, put strict processes in place, delegate tasks accordingly, do adequate testing, keep realistic expectations, never assume and don’t be afraid of what might go wrong.
Crawford (2000) suggests that project leadership is the highest ranking category among project management competence factors. Project management leadership style affects overall project performance. Recent research supports the idea that successful projects are led by individuals who possess not only a blend of technical and management knowledge, but also leadership skills that are internally compatible with the motivation of the project team (Slevin and Pinto, 1988; Turner et al., 1998). Zimmerer and Yasin (1998) found that positive leadership contributed almost 76% to the success of projects. Negative or poor leadership contributed 67% to the failure of projects. Project leaders need both, relationships and task oriented leadership styles, to cope with the challenges within different phases of project (Slevin and Pinto, 1991). In projects, project leaders must lead their teams towards completing defined goals with in a fixed time scale. Verma (1997) states “Achieving the goal or final aim is the ultimate test of leadership”. Goals and tasks are achieved through people thus making people an important resource for
When you are a project manager of a major project, one thing is certain, when the project is over, your reputation in your organization will either be better or worse depends on the how the project works out. This book is designed to help all project managers take charge of any major project and its individual responsibility. Michael Thomsett covers all the stages for a project to succeed. He stuffs a massive and impressive amount of words into 205 pages, although few times the text reads as if it is also the product of flow chart. Thomsett views on project management as more science than art, for example, that project managers should not build a “fudge factor” or “float into their budgets”. If you already are an accomplished project manager this book will seem basic to you. However if you recently started on this part or share the basics with your team member, you will find it quite helpful and
A program should be developed for identifying potential project managers and consciously developing them through cross-functional work experience and various trainings. These trainings should not only include technical marketing and product development but also on communication and group effectiveness. If there is no corporate training program in place then EPD should initiate this program within its division.
Gray, C., Larson, E. (2008). Project Management: The managerial Process. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.
In today's business it is in the best interest of companies to have project managers. Common sense isn't always easily accomplished. Anyone who's ever worked on a project in a technical setting knows this. Indeed, much of working with others consists of solving unexpected problems and learning from mistakes along the way. Knowing this and having the proper tools a project manager will be able to manage and complete the most intense project out there.
A project manager should be aware of the key challenges and threats an organization would face as well as he/she should have the skills to tackle the crises effectively and efficiently. In addition to that, a project manager should also be able to convey the thoughts and ideas in a convenient manner who is responsible to make a framework for an effective communication to ensure clear communication between the team members even though the style of communication would be different based on the situation.
Since first taking the quiz “How Good Are Your Project Management Skills?” until now, can you identify areas of growth or knowledge regarding project management specifically, or leadership in general? Do you find yourself giving more consideration to particular areas, principles, or practices (e.g. scheduling, scope management, communication styles, etc.)?
Communication skills are one of the most important management skills, needed for success and progress of any manager in the world. Manager who has excellent communication skills can effectively and successfully represent the company in front of outside audience and major stakeholders. Manager who has good communication skills can easily interact with other colleagues, senior management and other executives of the organization.
It helps to complete the work systematically in a proper way, starting from setting goals and objectives of the project to implementing strategies for achieving goals. This may help for project managers to take appropriate decisions and adjustments in organization and also handle projects in effectively. So understanding effective project management techniques, methods, and styles helps to carryout large scale of projects. Apart from that project management make sure to prioritize projects that can take support for the firm’s mission and strategy. Fundamentals of Project Management are universal accepted and the methods that used help to develop new products create new services, organization new events. That means in current scenario, project management is a talent worthy of development.
Project managers have to improve their skills every day to deal with the organizational change and especially the world’s Megatrends. However, it can be a challenge for a project manager to comprehend what skills they should be improved, what sections of project management knowledge that should be tried to perceive, and how to measure and enhance their performance.
I am committed to developing my professional skills to allow me to work to the fullest of my potential, and as a consequence I am highly motivated to study for an MSc in Project Management. I believe that it is essential for project managers to be equipped with the skills that are necessary to allow ambitious projects to be completed on budget, on time, and according to their original specifications, and I believe that completing this master’s is the best way to acquire those skills.
Project management involves all activities that encompass scheduling, planning, and controlling projects. A successful project manager ensure that an organization’s resources are being used both efficiently and effectively. Most projects need to be uniquely developed require a sense of customization and the ability to adapt to any posed challenges. The scope of effective project management includes defining what the project is and what is being expected to be accomplished. Projects are imposed to fulfill a certain need and project managers must have the ability to create the proper definition. Goals and the means used to attain those goals have to be clearly stated. Project Managers must also have the ability to plan
Communication is the process of transmitting information and meaning. It is important for managers to develop their communication skills, because it is one major skills needed by managers. The management roles, which are interpersonal, informational, and decisional and the management functions, which are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling all require communication.
The importance of project management cannot be overstated. For starters it is important that project management provides a flexibility and structure. Project management creates flexible and well-structured business organizations by combining two organization needs perfectly. The organizational needs are determined by making the organization adaptable due to constant changes in the business, secondly organization is extremely important for creating structure. What is most important is that