Effective Project Manager

The art of managing projects comes with many different approaches.

There are three skill groups a project manager must have in order to be effective: a technical skills group, a project management skills group, and a people skills group (a skill group is different from a skill set, which you will see later).

First, the project manager must know what the task is all about from a technical standpoint

Second, a project manager must possess project management skills—that is, the ability to create schedules and budgets, the ability to implement and manage change control systems, the ability to implement and manage risk management systems, and the ability to implement and manage the many other project management skills as well project manager must possess the so-called ‘‘Soft’’ skills. These skills are frequently called the people skills: The ability to get things done, and the ability to anticipate problems.

Here’s a scenario of a project manager leader:

During the project the leader must continue to treat the {EDC} Hands-On team, keeping them informed and closely coupled with the in-house {EDC} team members. He must continue to highlight to the team upcoming dependencies between groups.

The new liaison manager must promote frequent exchanges of information that will show what progress is being made and highlight immediately any misunderstandings regarding project or product goals.

As part of a team-building activity, {EDC} manager offered certain incentives to both site (first-class air fare, hotel accommodations, etc) in order to improve communication and collaboration between the two teams.

The {EDC} team members must be fully assessed against the alignment factors for their suitability for this job.   For each factor the liaison manager must identify possible issues, discuss them with the potential team member, and make a conscious decision. The following questions can aid the liaison manager in his assessment:

• Are metrics of team performance collected and analyzed on a regular basis throughout the project?
• Is regular feedback provided by management on team and individual performance?

Frequent interim informal reviews should be held on works in progress such as requirements specifications and designs, to uncover misunderstandings as early as possible.

In order to overcome the problems encountered in the past, the {EDC} team established weekly meetings between both teams. The project manager is responsible to build a positive, supportive atmosphere where team members operate cohesively.

So does your organization give ownership and empowerment to their employees?

Conclusion:

When a mixture of ideas and backgrounds come together in a group to design a project, it’s expected to have variations. There is no single right way to performing all the tasks needed as long as each is done with appropriate precision. This kind of diversity prepares a project for success if everyone is willing to work towards the common goals of the organization.

If a company believes that those who contribute to the success of the organization should benefit from its success then it must allowed for their project manager to work together with their team members to accomplish the end goal. As it is, employees would feel part of the big picture because they care. It’s not just investing in a company; it’s investing in themselves, their performance and their future.

Source: {EDC Developer}

EDC Developer Consultant and clinical programmer available for ad-hocs and short-term projects.