Most of the times speacially in IT industry, we have seen that people promoted to project management role after working for 6-7 years in development or product implementation projects. However this new role require very diverse set of skills to be sucessful in their new assignment.
Here is a list of skills which are required to be an effective project manager.
An effective project manager should understand and use knowledge and skills from at least five areas of expertise
Project management life cycle & knowledge Areas
Application area knowledge, standards, and regulations
Understanding the project environment
General management knowledge and skills Interpersonal skills
Project Management Knowledge Areas
Project Integration Management
Project Scope Management
Project Time Management
Project Cost Management
Project Quality Management
Project Human Resource Management
Project Communications Management
Project Risk Management
Project Procurement Management
Application area knowledge, Standards and Regulations Application areas are categories of projects that have common elements significant in such projects, but are not needed or present in all project.
Application area knowledge, Standards and Regulations Application areas are categories of projects that have common elements significant in such projects, but are not needed or present in all project.
Application areas are usually defined in terms of:
Functional departments and supporting disciplines, such as legal, production and inventory management, marketing, logistics, and personnel
Technical elements, such as software development or engineering, construction engineering etc.
Management specializations, such as government contracting, community development, and new product development
Industry groups, such as automotive, chemical, agriculture, and financial services
• The ISO differentiates between standards and regulations as follows
• The ISO differentiates between standards and regulations as follows
Standard
Document established by consensus and approved by a recognized body that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context.
E.g. Computer disk sizes.
Nut and Bolt sizes etc.
Regulation
Government imposed requirement, which specifies product, process or service characteristics, including the applicable administrative provisions, with which compliance is mandatory.
E.g: Building codes
Government imposed regulations
Understanding the Project Environment
Cultural and social environmento Economic, demographic, educational, ethical, ethnic, religious and other characteristics
International and political environmento International, national, regional, and local laws Physical environmento Local ecology, and physical geography
General management knowledge and skills
General management encompasses planning, organizing, staffing, executing, and controlling the operations of an ongoing enterprise. It includes supporting disciplines such as:
Financial management and accounting
Purchasing and procurement
Sales and marketing
Contracts and commercial law
Manufacturing and distribution
Logistics and supply chain
Strategic planning, tactical planning, and operational planning
Organizational structures, organizational behavior, personnel administration, compensation, benefits and carrier paths
Health and safety practices
Information technology
General management provides the foundation for building project management skills and is often essential for the project manager.
Interpersonal skills
The management of interpersonal relationships includes:
Interpersonal skills
The management of interpersonal relationships includes:
Effective communication - The exchange of information
Influencing the Organizationo - The ability to “get the things done”
Leadershipo Developing a vision and strategy, and motivating people to achieve that vision and strategy.
Motivationo Energizing people to achieve high levels of performance and to overcome barriers to change
Negotiation and conflict management- Conferring with others to come to terms with them or to reach an agreement
Problem solving - The combination of problem definition, alternatives identification and analysis, and decision-making
