While it is easy to rest on the laurels of some successful projects, good project managers look much better than they are. Smart people are often able to understand the basics of project management and not make serious mistakes. An accidental IT project manager cannot achieve success without being an expert in the finer points and completion of tasks. [1]

Engineers who think they don't have to worry about developing their project management skills will one day find themselves in a situation where the technical and rational means of solving a problem don't work. [2]

Because project managers monitor project plans and task resolutions, many teams may not notice that potential risk factors occur. Project managers need to learn how to manage and mitigate risks before they become a major problem, otherwise they will spend a lot of time chasing projects that the team does not prioritize as needed. A project manager who can get a handle on a project that is going to fail is indeed taking a smart step. They understand what can and cannot be taken into account in the project, and they understand the difference between a good and a bad project plan. [3]

Top project managers know that the responsibility for the successful implementation of a project always lies with them. Project managers enforce processes and keep everyone in the team in line, because they ultimately bear all responsibility for whether the project fails or succeeds.

Great project management means keeping the talent triangle in check, uniting the customer and team, developing a vision for a successful project and putting everyone on the line that is needed for success to stay on track and deliver on time, within budget and scope. It means taking overall responsibility for the project and keeping it within budget, on schedule and on track. Successful projects are never carried out by a team that works in an organizational context where success is expected, supported, made possible and where failures are recognized at an early stage and accepted as a learning opportunity. [4]

In project management, you define what it means for a successful project and experience it in your project - the project management plan. In other words, the purpose of project management is to plan and manage projects in order to successfully achieve the goals and achievements listed in the project. While control is a partial function of project management, project controllers interact with their reporting in a different way than project managers. [5]   

The project management objectives are broader and aim to bring the project to a successful conclusion given the resources available, Labonte says. The original project plan is created, project activities are started, and project managers work in a team to achieve a successful implementation. Successful project management also means not making mistakes, such as not being able to cope realistically with the changing landscape. [6]

Surprisingly, this is exactly the point that project managers repeatedly cite as the main reason for the failure of projects. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), organizations that underestimate project management report that their projects fail across the board. An experienced project manager also knows that the old adage that success is possible only with three limitations is nonsense today.

A study by the Gartner Group attributed 60% of the failures to a lack of qualified project managers. In a Wellingtone survey, the three biggest challenges in project management were "too many attempted projects," "inadequate planning" and "lack of time." This finding is repeated in a recent survey of more than 1,000 project leaders conducted by the American Society of Project Management. [7]

In the context of project planning, this tendency means that project managers assume that their projects will be successful, while project risks do not occur or have only a small impact on the project success. Most experienced project managers are more likely to have a failed project or missed targets because of the risks that arise that affect the project results. Project managers who expect project-related risks to have a strong impact on the project objectives expect lower project success. Where there is no ownership of the task, it can be said that the project manager practices a direct style of project management rather than being a mediator. [8]

 A good project manager creates a clear process and achievable deadlines that enable everyone in the project team to work within reasonable limits and not within unreasonable expectations.

A project manager should be able to describe project goals, explain project parameters and articulate what each team member needs to accomplish to make the project a success. In summary, project monitoring ensures that a project management plan works to achieve the project objectives and the goals of the team.

   

About the author:

Ivan Moreira, PMP®[9] works in the technology industry. He is an agility enthusiast, international speaker, volunteer, passionate about helping companies and people address changes in their businesses and life with technology. A believer that community growth and progress, that together, could change the world.

 

 

References:

[1]: https://www.projectengineer.net/project-management-critical-success-factors/

[2]: https://www.liquidplanner.com/blog/5-reasons-engineers-need-to-develop-project-management-skills/   

[3]: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-projects-fail-tools-titans-ensuring-project-sandeep-srivastava

[4]: https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/why-is-project-management-important/

[5]: https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/why-is-project-management-important   

[6]: https://www.nspe.org/resources/pe-magazine/july-2014/how-managers-deliver-project-success

[7]: https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/project-managers-fail-help-succeed-8019

[8]: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40685-015-0022-3

[9] https://ivanmoreira.org/about/