Introduction to Project Management

Unit 3

Unit 3

Project Manager Roles and Responsibilities

Structure 3.1 Introduction Objectives 3.2 Roles and Responsibilities of a Project Manager Roles of a Project Manager Responsibilities of a Project Manager 3.3 Other roles of Project Manager 3.4 Process Responsibilities 3.5 People Responsibilities 3.6 Difference between Duty and Responsibilities 3.7 Balancing of Project 3.8 Summary 3.9 Terminal Questions 3.10 Answers 3.11 Case study 3.12 Glossary

3.1 Introduction
Project manager is the person who is responsible for on-time, on-budget delivery of a project. The project manager is liable for the quality of the finished product to be delivered to the client. He is responsible for the management and coaching of all other team members and serves as a single point of contact between different team members and, for an outsourced project, the vendor. The project manager guides the approval process which includes getting feedback after evaluation, implementing revisions and also drafting progress reports. The prerequisites to become an effective project manager are good organisation skills, time management and also capacity to juggle multiple tasks. The other positive attributes are: Multiple backgrounds experience. Basic understanding of technical, design and media issues. Mastery of financial fundamentals.
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Proficient usage of scheduling, productivity and communication tools which includes Gantt charts1, spreadsheets and conferencing technologies.

Project manager is, thus, an agent of the owner and assumes the role of the owner where the owner lacks the technical and organisational skills for the task. Learning Objectives After studying this unit, you will be able to: Clearly define the characteristics of a project manager. Identify the various duties and responsibilities of a project manager. Elucidate the general functions of a project manager.

3.2 Roles and Responsibilities of a Project Manager

Project Management is often the state and responsibility of an individual project manager. This individual rarely takes part directly in the activities that can produce the end result, but strives to maintain the progress and the mutual interaction and the tasks of different parties in such a way that it minimises the risks, maximises the benefits, and restricts the costs. The project manager is responsible for ensuring the success of the project. The project managers responsibility begins by defining the project and scheduling the project. A project manager is usually the project organisations representative for the client and will have to determine and implement the accurate needs of the client, which will be based on the knowledge of the firm the project manager is representing. The project manager is responsible to adjust different internal procedures of the contracting party and also form a close association with the selected representatives which is necessary in ensuring that the main issues of the cost, the time, the quality and the client satisfaction be realised. If the project begins and if any of the team members is not clear on the scope of the project or if the project activities are not executed as scheduled, then the project manager is held responsible for it.

It is a horizontal bar chart which was developed in 1917 by Henry L. Gantt as a production control tool. It is used in project management to give a graphical illustration of a schedule which came be used to plan, coordinate, and track the specific tasks in a project.

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The work around defining the project involves understanding and agreeing on the overall objectives, scope, time and budget for the project. It also includes defining and adopting a specific project management procedure which can be used to manage the project. This does not mean all the tasks are to be accomplished by the project manager himself. He has an entire team to support him for the tasks. However, if there are any issues left unidentified in the project, the entire blame falls on the project manager. The roles and responsibilities of the project manager are quite simple and straightforward. Firstly, the project manager should be able to establish and maintain a balance between quality, cost, time and the customer. The project experience shows that the customer should be a prime focus area for a successful projects completion. Including the customer in all aspects of the project will definitely help towards project success. Secondly, the project manager is the one, who is responsible for the successful delivery of the project. This involves meeting stakeholder expectations, the time frames and the project goals. The project manager must therefore have a full understanding of what each stakeholder needs. Therefore a project manager has two very clear responsibilities i.e, balancing and delivery the project. Project managers roles and responsibilities include the comprehension and implementation of organisational project policies and procedures. They are also required to maintain project staffs technical proficiency and productivity, and provide training to them as and when required. 3.2.1 Roles of a Project Manager Leading a project is like leading a department where there are people with different backgrounds and skills, and the project manager has to co-ordinate with all the people to get desired overall result. The project manager should have the skills required to make the project go smoothly. This includes paying constant attention to communication, where it has to be made sure that the project sponsors and the team members are clear on the boundaries and expectations, documenting the project details like the tasks, responsibilities, relationships and understanding the customer and business needs.

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The project manager is responsible for documenting, in coordination with the project sponsors, a definition of the project. The project manager then makes sure that the project is delivered on time, to budget and to the required quality standard within the agreed specifications. The project manager should ensure that the project is effectively resourced and should also manage the relationships with a wide range of groups which consists of all the project contributors. The project manager is also responsible for handling the work of consultants, allocating and utilising resources in a proper manner and maintaining a co-operative, motivated and successful team. The general roles of a project manager are as follows: Understand and procedures. apply the organisational project policies and

Maintain the project staffs technical skill and efficiency, and provide training when required. Establish and maintenance of project quality. Identify and procure the project infrastructure needs. Develop project charter and obtain approval for the same. Define project goals, objectives and success criteria. Identify and document project constraints. Identify and document project assumptions. Identify and secure project team resources. Serve as a focal point for project related communications. Develop and present milestone during review briefings. Ensure that Information Technology security is met.

The following describes the roles undertaken by the project manager: Understanding the client requirements: The client requirements form the basis of the project. It should be clearly understood, planned and executed so that the project is developed to suit the client needs. For example, if the project is for the bank then their requirements should be clearly understood by the project manager to deliver the project to suit their requirements. Understanding end user requirements: End user requirements of the project of the project should be understood as the clients and the end
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users may be different. The project should be developed keeping the end users who are going to use the project. For example if the project is for a bank ATM, then the end-users should also be considered if they are going to use the ATMs for their transactions. Understanding the project scope: The scope of the project defines the project tasks. The project has to be planned keeping the timelines, objectives, output and the delivery date in mind. The project should be defined according to the client requirements and the project should be managed accordingly. Understanding the design: All the basic design requirements should be understood. The functional brief should be developed including the design brief preparation. The design and design process should be developed along with the development of contract documentation. The planning process and obtaining relevant approvals should be managed. Communicating: The client should be given regular reports which are relevant and meaningful. The project progress report should be included in the project delivery kit. For example it may be required to send project status report every week. Also the client should be pre-informed about any likely delays/problems.

To summarise, the project managers role includes the following activities: Defining the scope Planning and sequencing of the activity Planning for the resource Developing the schedules Estimating the time Estimating the cost Developing the budget Controlling the budget Controlling the quality Analysing risk Managing risks and issues Realising the benefits Analysing scalability, interoperability and portability Documenting the work Maintaining customer relationship
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3.2.2 Responsibilities of a Project Manager The project manager is responsible for preparing a project brief/summary, and appointing and coordinating with the consultants/team members. The organisations requirements are communicated to the project manager who ensures that it is implemented by the consultant and contractor. They may (if engaged for a total service) be responsible for such matters like selecting site, studying feasibility, preparing consultants briefs, selecting consultant team along with negotiating and documenting conditions of engagement, evaluating design profiles, documenting supervision, implementing programme, selecting contractual system, contracting financial control, supervision of letting as well as many other services. A project manager should possess the following skills: High level of leadership and communication skills. Ability to manage the client issues. Ability to get the approval of the various processes involved. Ability to manage the entire project process. Ability to manage the development process. Ability to manage risks. Ability to take crucial decisions when and where required.

The project manager should be able to lead the team and bring out the best in them. It is his responsibility to perform and be truthful and honest. By virtue of being a project manager, he has to maintain confidentiality. He is responsible for setting up easy communication between the employees and the higher authority. In case of emergency, he should be able to solve the problems for his team members. He is also responsible for building a good team which is defined by success. The project managers role in a project can vary with the nature of the project. They need to change the ways and methods to suit the requirement. The main responsibilities of a project manager are to motivate and provide encouragement to the team members. Project managers are the main source of motivation for the team members, which is the base of any successful project. The leadership qualities of a project manager provide the employees a direction and accelerate the rate of the work. A project

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manager is the one who is responsible for the successful initiation, planning, execution and closure of a project. The project manager should possess a combination of skills including an ability to ask pertinent questions, detection of unstated assumptions and resolving interpersonal conflicts as well as more systematic management skills. The project manager should be able to develop a project plan. This can include the project charter, scope statement, constraints, assumptions, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) defining project deliverables, cost estimates and project budget, major milestones, schedule, resource requirements, attainment or procurement plans, risk analysis and the communications plan. The project manager should also be able to develop the supporting plans such as the scope, cost, risk, schedule, quality, resource, security deliverables, procurement and change management plans. The Project manager has to obtain the approval of the stakeholder plan and also get the acceptance of the project plan. The organisational commitment and support for the completion of the project task assignments, timing and quality should be obtained along with establishing the baseline. The document requirements should be translated into the suitable Software Development Life Cycle documentation for example the requirements document. For executing a project successfully, the project manager should: Manage and monitor the day-to-day activities and give a direction to the team members and support the team. Manage and monitor the quality targets and aims of both the project and product. Distribute the project information and also maintain the communication. Develop and update the system security plan and also the security deliverables. Manage, support and procure process and contract administration requirements.

To control the project the project manager should: Develop and distribute the project performance reports.
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Frequently review the project status and valuate the performance criteria like the scope, cost, schedule and the quality. Develop and manage corrective action plans. Assess the project performance and start the change request as required i.e. the scope, cost, schedule or quality. Participate in the change control board to assess and approve the product or project changes. Review the project risks and establish risk response plans. Change the project planning to include the approved changes in the scope, timing, cost or quality after getting the customer approval.

The project managers can close the project after obtaining the customer and management approval and acceptance of the completed product. He can close the project contract and the open action items. Once the project is closed the project manager has to: Develop the post-implementation report. Conduct the lessons learned sessions. Develop the recommendations for the continuous progress. Close the financial accounts or charge codes. Archive all the project information.

The project team should be recognised and the success should be celebrated. Key duty of a project manager is the recognition of the risk that directly impacts the likelihood of success and that this risk must be both formally and informally measured throughout the lifetime of the project. The risk arises basically from uncertainty and a successful project manager is the one who focuses on this as the main concern. Most of the issues that affect a project may arise in one way or the other from the risk. A good project manager can decrease the risk significantly, often by following a policy of open communication, ensuring that every important participant has an opportunity to express opinions and concerns. The project manager is responsible for making decisions both large and small, in this way, the risk is controlled and uncertainty gets reduced. All the

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decision taken by the project manager has to be taken in such a way that it directly benefits the projects. Project managers use Project Management software, such as the Microsoft project, to organise their tasks and the workforces. The software packages allow the project managers to produce reports and charts in few minutes as compared to the several hours it takes if they do not use a software package. The main duties of the project manger are to: Manage and lead the project team. Recruit the project staff and the consultants. Co-ordinate the partners and manage the work group in a project work. Elaborate project planning and control. Develop and maintain a detailed project plan. Record and manage project issues and then escalate it as and when required. Resolve cross-functional issues at project level. Manage project scope and change control and escalate issues wherever it is necessary. Monitor the project progress and performance. Provide the status reports to the project sponsor. Manage the project training and distribution activities. Link the updates progress and project routing board or senior management. Manage the project assessment and distribute the activities. Manage the consultancy input within the specified budget. Get the final approval of the design specifications. Ensure that the users working closely with the project meet business needs. Define and manage the user acceptance testing programme. Identify the user training needs and devise and manage user training programme.

3.3 Other Roles of Project Manager

Depending on the project size and complexity the project manager can take other responsibilities along with managing the project work. For example,
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the project manager may help in collecting the business requirements or may help in designing a database management system or may write some of the project documentation which may be involved. Project Management is a specific role that a person fills, even if the person who is the project manager is working in other roles as well. For example, project managers can manage the project for 45% of their time, perform business analysis for 25%, work on design for 15% and do documentation for 15%. This does not mean that the project managers role is to spend 15% of their time on design. Instead, it just means that the project is not huge enough to need a full-time project manager. The project manager spends the remaining of the time in other projects in other project roles such as business analyst, designer and technical writer. A project managers time may be allocated depending on the project size and the organisation of the company. There are some Project Management responsibilities for multiple projects, each of which is less than the full time, but the combination of which sums up to a full-time role. Project managers have to fill multiple roles each of which requires a certain level of skills and responsibilities. An example is managing the team in a matrix organisation. In other cases, it might be found that the ability to resolve issues can get hampered because the priority may not be high in the organisation to get an issue resolved quickly. In some organisations the project managers are responsible for the success of the project, but lack the right level of responsibility. An example is the team management in a matrix organisation. They can manage a project by utilising people who do not have direct management responsibility. In some cases, they have the ability to resolve issues quickly. In some other instances, it might be found that the ability to be innovative and flexible is constrained by organisational policies and inertia. These cases can be the cause for frustration. This can be dealt by defining the roles and responsibilities as part of the project charter. The expectations can be set and managed. For example, if there is no budget or expense approval authority. The frustration level for most of the project managers is not caused so much by the lack of power as much as it is caused by the confusion. If the project manager does not have the authority, then it is important to know who does and what process is needed to get action.
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3.4 Process Responsibilities

Once the project begins, the project manager should successfully manage and control the work, which includes: Project issues identification, tracking, managing and resolving. Disseminating project information to all the stakeholders proactively. Identifying, managing and mitigating of project risk. Making sure that the solution is of acceptable quality. Managing scope to make sure that only what was agreed upon is delivered, unless the changes are approved through scope management. Defining and collecting metrics to make sense about how the project is progressing and whether the deliverables produced are acceptable. Managing the overall schedule and making sure that the work is assigned and completed on time and within the budget.

This again does not mean that the project managers physically does all of this but they should make sure that it happens. If the project has problems or scope creeps or faces risks or is not setting up expectations correctly then the project manager is the person held responsible. To handle the Project Management processes, a person should be well organised, possess good follow-up skills, be process oriented, be able to multi-task, have a logical thought process, be able to evaluate the root causes, have good analytical ability, be a good estimator and budget manager, and have a good self-discipline. Activity 1: SAH Software Company, based in Bangalore, has got a new web development project which has to be delivered in 6 months. It is the responsibility of the project manager to deliver the project on time. List out the things he will have to do in order to achieve this? Self Assessment Questions 1. The project manager is responsible for the ________ of the project. 2. The project manager is also responsible for handling the work of________, ______ and ___________. 3. A good project manager can _________ the risk significantly.
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4. __________ defines the roles and responsibilities of project team. 5. Project issues include________, ________, ________ and _________. 6. Project manager should possess good __________ skills.

3.5 People Responsibilities

Apart from process skills, a project manager should possess good people management skills which include having the discipline and the general management skills to make sure that people adhere to the standard processes and procedures. Leadership skills should be established to get the team to follow the project managers direction. Leadership is all about conveying a vision and getting the team to accept it and strive to get there with the project manager. Reasonably establishing, challenging and expecting from people, and holding them responsible for meeting the expectations involves providing good performance feedback to the team members. The project manager should have the team building skills so that people can work well together and feel motivated to work hard for the sake of the project and their team members. The bigger the team and longer the project, the more vital it is to have a good team-building skills. A proactive verbal and written communication skill includes good and active listening skills. The project manager is held responsible for the success of the project. He will have to try and resolve teams poor morale and also find ways to overcome the missing deadlines. The project managers will be held responsible if the team members do not understand what they have to do.

3.6 Difference between Duty and Responsibility

Although project managers duties and responsibilities are closely related to each other there is a fine line of distinction between them. Project manager plays a significant role in the growth of a company. Project manager is the one who manages the five Ms of a business, namely men, material, machine, money and motivating factors. Project Management training is given to project managers to deal with any project which are closely related to construction, architecture, telecommunications and other infrastructural projects. They are also responsible to manage the projects
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related to the field of design, sales and services. They are responsible to manage the project that they are related to. Therefore, they become responsible for starting the project at the specified time and also finish it on time. Project managers duties and responsibilities serve as guidelines for effective management. The difference between duty and responsibilities is that the duty is the task to be performed by the person out of their job profile, and responsibilities are the obligations for which they will be responsible. For example, for project managers it is the duty to manage the task, but it is not their responsibility to pay for someone elses mistake. Project Management is related to imparting the duties and responsibilities for a manager. Many management experts have studied that the duties and responsibilities of the project manager are made to suit the business in the most effective way. Those planning to become project managers have to learn to be on an external vigil, develop a vision, take proactive decisions and also understand the diversity in training. Project Management helps in planning, organising and managing a specific task and also bringing out excellency in completion.

3.7 Balancing of Project

Consider the pyramid is continuously spinning top with four ropes attached as shown in the figure 3.1. The four weights are the four dimensions which are quality, cost, time and customer. If these four weights are in perfect balance then the spinning top will stay in the same point and will not move until and unless one of the four dimensions are altered. The dotted line shows the area of control which indicates the area where the project is reasonably on track that is in control. Therefore, the project managers role is to make sure that the spinning top that is the project balance is never allowed to spiral or go out of control.

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Quality

Balance through: Systems Risk management Planning Motivation Cost

Time

Customer

Figure 3.1: Balancing of Project

For example, if the project gets affected because of the timing then a project manager could respond to it by adding some cost or by discussing with the customer and therefore balancing the spinning top and bringing it back within the area of project boundary. The project balancing may require a deeper level of certain dimensions and techniques. The main techniques used are Systems, Management of Risk, Planning and Motivation. To achieve the above mentioned balance a project manager must apply the knowledge, techniques, skill and tools throughout the project phases of initiation, planning, execution, control and closure. Activity 2: Boeing airway is the new project obtained by the RSR software company. In this project they have to provide software to maintain the various activities of the airway. What are the responsibilities to be followed by the project manager in order to complete the project within the company specified timeline? List them. Self Assessment Questions 7. _____________ should be established to get the team to follow the project managers direction. 8. Project manager should not possess good team building skills. (True/False) 9. Project manager is the one who manages the _____Ms of a business.
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10. _______ is the task to be performed by the person out of their job profile. 11. The techniques used in balancing of project are ______ and ______.

3.8 Summary
The project managers responsibility starts with defining of the project and scheduling of the project and is also known as project coordinator or a team leader. The project manager is also responsible for handling the work of consultants, allocating and utilising resources in a proper manner and maintaining a co-operative, motivated and successful team. The main responsibilities of a project manager are to motivate and provide encouragement to his team members. Project size and complexity helps the project manager to take other responsibilities along with managing the work. Project Management is related to imparting the duties and responsibilities for a manager. Project manager is the one who manages the five Ms of a business, namely men, material, machine, money and motivating factors. Project Management training is given to project managers to deal with any project which are closely related to construction, architecture, telecommunications and other infrastructural projects. In project balancing there are four weights are the four dimensions which are quality, cost, time and customer.

3.9 Terminal Questions

1. 2. 3. 4. Explain the roles of project manager. What are the responsibilities of project manager? List the process responsibilities of project manager. Explain the steps that the project manager has to take to manage people. 5. How can the project be balanced?

3.10 Answers
Answers to Self Assessment Questions 1. Success. 2. Consultants, allocating and utilising resources. 3. Decrease 4. Project charter 5. Identification, tracking, managing and resolving 6. Follow-up skills 7. Leadership skills
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8. 9. 10. 11.

False Five Duty Systems/management of risk/planning/motivation

Answers to Terminal Questions 1. Refer section 3.2.1 2. Refer section 3.2.2 3. Refer section 3.4 4. Refer section 3.5 5. Refer section 3.7

3.11 Case study

ADG Software solutions are a fasting growing consulting company operating out of India in creating technological products. Since their establishment, their industry has facilitated and empowered top firms in IT. They have acquired a new project from a private company to develop software for their company which mainly deals with real estate. The requirements for the project were taken by the project manager Sam from the clients. The project manager did not convey the roles and responsibilities of each team member involved in the project which led to a lot of confusion. This led to a delay in the delivery of the project and the clients were not happy with the deliverable as there were some major changes to be made. The company appointed another project manager Das to help in overcoming the drawbacks of the project. Das got certain things clarified from the client regarding the project and got the SRS. Accordingly, he assigned the roles and responsibilities to the team members involved, and kept in touch with the client if there where any clarification and also kept them updated about the changes made. The project was delivered in the promised timeline and the client accepted the same. Question: 1. Where did the project manager go wrong? 2. What should the project manager rectify the mistake so that it which will be accepted by the clients?

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3.12 Glossary
Term Matrix Description It is a set of numbers placed out in tabular form (in rows and columns) that is derived of a complex of lines intersecting at right angles. It is the possibility of loss that is danger which can hamper the projects growth. They are an integral part of a project. They are the endusers or the clients, the people from whom requirements can be drawn, the people who can influence the design and ultimately they are the people who will reap the benefits of the completed project. It is an inherent or a distinguishing characteristic of a project.

Risk Stakeholders

Quality

References 1. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/role-of-the-project-manager.html 2. Project Management Institute (2004). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Third Edition, Project Management Institute, ISBN: 193069945X. (PMBOK) 3. Schwalbe K. (2005). Introduction to Project Management, Course Technology, ISBN: 978-1-4188-3559-0

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