It’s easy to misunderstand or undervalue project management. At a superficial level, project managers (PMs) are “the people who run the meetings,” but that’s just the tip of the iceberg of their contributions to a complex, cross-functional project. The PM role suffers from being easily understood and accessible, because it’s one that many project owners are sure they can perform themselves—which is possible, but often carries a high cost. It’s common for the in-house resource to quickly learn they don’t have the time to effectively manage all of the teams involved—not without giving up some other facet of their job or life—and they lack knowledge of intricacies and nuances that would keep a project moving as quickly and efficiently as possible.
For a manufacturer trying to optimize every organizational process to keep driving products to market at maximum speed, delays anywhere in the process can be deadly. A project manager can facilitate a project from inception to completion, act as a conduit between the technical team and the company and/or customer, and be the single point of contact (POC) to ensure every part of the process is running smoothly and nothing’s forgotten. They typically handle three distinct phases of a project—setup/resourcing, execution, and closeout—as well as a variety of other tasks.
Working the Project
In the setup and resourcing phase of a project, PMs make sure the full project plan is created. That includes reviewing requirements and resources for execution, setting an initial timeline for the project, and creating project documents to help monitor and document the life of the project. For fixed-price projects, PMs also set the billing milestones that help customers understand when task-completion and invoicing will occur. For time and materials projects, PMs monitor the available hours that are allocated to each resource, as well as the available budget.
Everyone involved in a project is busier in the execution phase of a project, and PMs are no exception. While the project is underway, PMs convene weekly team meetings to discuss progress, review any questions or issues, and keep everyone informed about and engaged in the project. The PM also identifies when changes orders are needed, assists with necessary paperwork, and communicates the need to the customer and the account manager.
One of the biggest aspects of the PM’s role in the execution phase involves being the primary POC for all parties involved in a project, whether project owner or vendor, stakeholder or worker. In that role, the PM ensures schedule coordination across multiple vendors to keep the work flowing and keep everyone on the same page. The PM also functions as the single point of truth on a project—the person everyone trusts to not only have the right information at any point in the process, but also to propagate that information in a timely fashion to all necessary parties.
Finally, in the closeout phase of the project, the PM is responsible for confirming that all tasks, milestones, and issues have been closed or completed; all documentation has been delivered to the customer; and all billing and expenses have been submitted and the purchase order has been closed out.
And Even more.
One of the “extras” that experienced PMs can offer is the benefit of lessons learned on other projects, which makes them better at anticipating and reacting quickly to new developments than individuals who don’t do the job every day. For example, PMs can help identify areas that might need to be addressed as the project moves forward, such as necessary work that wasn’t planned for or additional resources that might be needed. They can help forecast or create roadmaps for future work that’s out of scope for, but related to, the project underway. They can also interface with customers during on-site visits, coordinating the requirements-gathering, demos, acceptance-testing, and schedule-management so that your technical experts don’t have to.
Let the Experts Do the Work
The bottom line is that a PM does all of the coordination, facilitation, and communication that would otherwise distract your experts from doing the project work required. PMs run interference for the workers, which enables the work to happen faster. And they bring to the table the benefit of their years of expertise in managing projects big and small—meaning you add another expert to your team whose job it is to keep every aspect of the project moving efficiently. Having a leader dedicated to bringing the project, the teams, and the information together is one of the most valuable resources you can ask for, and one that will lead to the best possible outcome for your project.
For more information about the role of project managers or to talk with our project management experts, contact Razorleaf.
