If you’re looking for a new job, you’ve probably seen some job postings asking for good project management skills. But what does it mean exactly? Do we need to have a project management certification to apply for this position? Why is it important to develop project management skills if the position you are applying for is not exactly that of project manager?
To be a professional project manager you do not necessarily have to have the title of “project manager”.
In fact, project management encompasses a wide range of skills that can make you a very valuable candidate.
Let’s discuss what a project manager is and what it takes to become an effective project manager.
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What is a project manager?
“Project manager” is the person in charge of managing and directing projects.
The project manager is responsible for the definition, planning, and execution of a project, for which he must be in charge of coordinating tasks and teams, assuming a leadership role.
In recent years, the demand for this type of professional profile has increased considerably due, in part, to the speed with which the context in which companies operate changes. The digital era drives companies to experience almost continuous change management and this requires skillful project managers who solve and execute projects in changing environments and who, therefore, know the best cloud project management tools. Current.
The project manager is a professional profile, highly focused on specific objectives, and accustomed to dealing with complex contexts. This is a professional profile that is highly in demand in digital projects, not only in these, but both as a freelancer and as an employee.
Contact with IBAS: +201000498154
Project Manager Tips: This Is What You Really Should Be Doing
- Register the Requirements
Create requirements for the project in a project requirements document or user stories.
We do this by taking the basic elements of the Project Scope Statement (SOW) or client notes and putting them together to show all the must-haves, and details, establish the project objectives, and provide relevant information that any stakeholder or team member of the project they would have to understand if they were to be working on that project. This is the “plan” of the project.
- Keep the Project Organized
Create a folder structure for documents and assets.
As project managers, we know that we need to keep all project-related information in one place that everyone has access to so that stakeholders and project teams can easily find the information they need. This is typically kept on a shared drive, Google Drive, Dropbox, or some other way the broader team can find assets and information.
- Create a Timeline
List all tasks and plot them on a calendar, iteration cycle, or timeline.
As a project manager, one of the first things we ask ourselves is “What needs to happen right now, and what needs to happen next, for this project to start on time?”
If it is immovable, you should create a timeline from that immovable end date backward. If flexible, you should create a timeline from the current time to an appropriate release date.
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- Budget Monitoring
Make sure the project does not run the risk of costing more than expected.
It’s usually the most basic question for team leadership: Do we have enough money to do this project? Most of the time, budgets are set at the time the project manager takes over, so the process is to take that budget spread it out over the timeline you’ve created, and track the requirements you have established. The numbers have to ‘give’, or the project is in danger of costing more than the profits it is bringing in.
- Motivates the Team.
Make sure the team has what it takes to be successful.
Creating all the documentation, timelines, and budgets is great, but the project team (and your clients) will need guidance to keep moving the project forward. It’s not enough to set up the project for success: once those elements are in place, you need to make sure things continue to happen according to plan, and everyone has what they need for the task at hand.
Project management skills
There are two types of necessary skills that you must master to become an excellent project manager: hard skills and soft skills
Hard Skills for Project Management
Hard skills can be acquired through specific training. They are usually unique to some role and can be developed with work experience. Depending on your position, you may develop hard project management skills such as:
- Work with budgets
- Project risk management
- Actor management
- Project roadmaps
- Creating project plans
- Management of the team that participates in a project
- Sector-specific knowledge
Contact with IBAS: +201000498154
The soft skills of project management
Soft skills are competencies that are not technical, they are skills that you have and that make you a valuable applicant without specific tools or requirements. These skills are often called “social” or “interpersonal” skills because they help you be a collaborative and effective team member.
Below we show some of the soft skills that successful project managers have:
- Strong communication skills
- Organizational skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Team collaboration skills
- Time management skills
- Leadership skills
- Critical thinking skills
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Differences between project manager and product manager
You already know what a project manager is or at least you are beginning to understand it, but you have surely seen many jobs offers in which the profile in demand is that of product manager or product manager. What then differentiates a project manager from a product manager?
The product manager is responsible for the entire product plan and must ensure that the product meets customer expectations and business objectives. Meanwhile, the project manager will be in charge of coordinating the tasks necessary to comply with the product plan, and manage resources and the team.
Profile of a project manager
The profile of a project manager should be as complete as possible: a combination of education, skills, experience, and personality factors that contribute to his or her ability to handle the many responsibilities of project management; since this professional helps create, carry out and complete plans that are an integral part of the commercial success of a company or organization.
The project manager performs various functions throughout the scheme he draws, to ensure that it meets the expectations of the business and interested parties.
Contact with IBAS: +201000498154
Academic training of a project manager
The academic training of people who aspire to occupy a position as a project manager in a company must be very complete.
It can begin with a university degree in Business Administration and Management where the future professional acquires theoretical and practical knowledge of the operation, management, and control of multiple business areas.
Upon completion of the degree, the professional can specialize in a Master’s Degree in Project Management to train specifically in this topic, learning to detect needs, define, plan, execute, monitor, and close projects.
If you are interested in becoming a project manager, at VERN and IBAS offer you these and other alternatives for your academic and professional training.
Conclusion
By always looking to go beyond basic project management tasks and making sure you know what you REALLY should be doing, you’ll be setting yourself up to take on the most complex and rewarding projects.
You’ll have the basics down, plus skills that often don’t appear in job descriptions but dictate a project manager’s salary.
And you will find that you are less stressed because you have mitigated many of the typical pitfalls that a project can put in your path.