Project manager what is

Earning an advanced project management degree is one way to learn and improve those skills, increase your salary , and enhance your marketability to employers while giving you hands-on experience in the field. To learn more about advancing your career in project management , download our free guide below. It has since been updated for accuracy and style. Employers will need to fill 2. PMI, Stay up to date on our latest posts and university events. Plus receive relevant career tips and grad school advice.

Subscribe By providing us with your email, you agree to the terms of our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Return to Blog Homepage. What Does a Project Manager Do? Initiating Project managers begin each new project by defining the main objectives of the project, its purpose, and its scope. Important questions that project managers ask during the initiating phase include: Why is the project important?

What is the desired outcome? Who are the stakeholders on this project? Who is impacted by, or who impacts, this project? What are the requirements and constraints within this project? What assumptions are we making? How will the project be funded? What is within our scope? What is not within our scope? Has this project been executed before? If so, what was the result?

What information from that past project should be considered in this project? Planning Once the charter is approved, project managers work with key stakeholders to create an integrated project plan focused on attaining the outlined goals.

Executing During this phase, team members complete the work that has been identified in the project plan in order to reach the goals of the project. The project manager will also typically: Protect the team from distractions Facilitate issue resolution Lead the team in working through project changes 4. Monitoring and Controlling Despite being listed as the fourth phase, monitoring and controlling processes actually commence at the beginning of a project and continue throughout planning, execution, and closing.

Closing During this phase, project managers strive to ensure all activities necessary to achieve the final result are completed. During the close of a project, project managers will: Work with the client to get formal sign-off that the project is complete Release any resources budget or personnel who are no longer needed for the project Review the work of third-party vendors or partners in order to close their contracts and pay their invoices Archive project files for future reference and use After the project has been completed, a post-implementation review is often used to identify key lessons learned.

The project manager is in charge of the entire project and handles everything involved, such as the project scope , managing the project team, as well as the resources assigned to the project. Ultimately, the Project Manager is responsible for the success or failure of a project. And in truth, it can be hard to define the role of a project manager. Project managers are involved in so many parts of the project from beginning to end.

Their responsibilities include concrete, tangible things like planning and budgeting, as well as less quantifiable but no less important things like providing leadership and moral support. Trusted by 20, businesses and 6, agencies, Teamwork lets you easily manage, track, and customize multiple complex projects. Get started with a free day trial. A project manager is someone who is responsible for managing a piece of work from concept to delivery.

Makes sense, right? More on those shortly. Want to learn how you can put big picture project management into practice for your next project, regardless of your job title or team size?

Check out our workbook. Project management plays a central role in lots of different industries. But while the methodologies and output might vary, the project manager role itself stays pretty consistent.

From the outset, the project manager is responsible for defining the scope of the project and aligning with stakeholders to set expectations. The project manager will outline the plan for the project based on the agreed-upon scope and deliverables, including project budget, resource requirements, and timeline.

Once the project manager has the plan in place, they need to make provisions for getting it done. The tools and techniques of project management are universal and a good project manager should be able to add value in any environment.

It is important to have the right balance and combination of the various skills needed to be a successful project manager, as explored within this blog. Find out more. Project management is a growing profession and changing fast. It has never been so important for project professionals to demonstrate their skills and for organisations to assess their capability.

Project management skills are transferable. Find a job. A career as a project manager can be exciting, varied, fulfilling, and productive. There are great career prospects for project managers. There are many routes to becoming a project manager, from gaining a qualification, to working your way up on the job. Whether you have a question around qualifications or courses, some advice based on your personal insights, or wish to tell us your project success story, we'd love to hear from you.

I remember when I first had the idea of a career change. I got together with some old friends to organise and reform my old rugby team. Turns out I needed a lot of planning and organisation skills to make this happen. Search APM. Home Jobs and careers Career What does a project manager do. What does a project manager do? What skills do I need?