Ch 3

The Project Manager

“Project Managers are special people

who will ensure project success”

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Project Manager
 Responsible for implementing and completing
the project
 Prepare preliminary budget and schedule
 Select people to serve the project team
 Know the client
 Ensure that proper facilities are available
 Ensure that supplies are available when
needed
 Take care of routine details

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Comparison between Functional and
Project Manager’s Role and
Responsibilities

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 Functional Manager
In charge of 1 functional
dept.(eg;marketing,finance)
Specialist in the area they
manage
Analytically oriented
Know some details of each
operation
Responsible for 4W 1H of
each job/task
Direct,technical supervisor
Know the technology to
advise and solve problems
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Project Manager
Oversee many functional
areas
Generalist-wide b.ground of
experience and knowledge
More skills at synthesis
Rarely has in depth
knowledge of all areas
Use systems approach
Facilitator
Facilitate cooperation
4
 Vice President
Manufacturing

Welding Machining Assembly Painting

Example of Functional Structure

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 Project
Manager

Finance Engineering Contracts Manufacturing Planning Purchasing

Example of Project Manager responsibilities

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Task of Synthesis
 What needs to be done?
 When must it be done?
 How are resources required to do the
job to be obtained?

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Project Mgr Responsibilities
 Parent organization
 Project & client
 Members of project team

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Responsibilities to Parent
Company
 Proper conservation of resources
 Timely and accurate project communication
 Competent management of the project
 Keep management informed – project’s
status, cost, timing and prospects
 Running over budget or delay
 Protect firm from risk
 Damage control

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Responsibilities to the Project
 Preserve integrity of the project
 Resolve conflicting demands made by
many parties – engineering, marketing,
manufacturing, administration,
purchasing

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Responsibilities to Project
Team Members
 Finite nature of the project
 Specialized nature of the team
 Concern with future of project people
 Transition back to functional units

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PM Career Path
 Participation in small and then larger
project
 Give command over small and large
project
 Project engineer, manufacturing
manager, deputy project manager,
project manager

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Special Demands on the
Project Manager
 Acquiring Adequate Resources
 Acquiring and Motivating Personnel
 Dealing With Obstacles
 Making Project Goal Trade-offs
 Failure and the Risk and Fear of Failure
 Breadth of Communication
 Negotiation
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Acquiring Adequate Resources
 Human resource, material, machine,
subcontractors, consultants, space,
utilities
 Resource trade-offs
 Human resource – skills, pay
 Subcontracting – cost, delay, control
 Under and overestimate of resources
 Resource acquisition
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Acquiring and Motivating
Personnel
 “Borrowed” from functional department
 Top producers and high skill
 Challenge and variety in project
 Influence over salary and promotions
 Effective team members:
 High quality technical skills
 Political sensitivity
 Strong problem orientation
 Strong goal orientation
 High self esteem

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Dealing With Obstacles
 Better planning, fewer crises
 Project inception – resources
 Budget and schedule
 Change in technical plans, schedule
 Uncertainty surrounding what happens
at the end of the project
 Open communication with all parties
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Making Project Goal Trade-
offs
 Trade-offs – cost, time, performance
 Technical and managerial functions
 Project formation – no difference in
importance
 Build-up stage – schedule
 Final stage – performance
 Smoothness of running project team
for technical progress
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Failure and the Risk and Fear
of Failure
 Failure in routine project – come in late
or over budget
 Failure in new project – technical
problem
 Waves of pessimism and optimism

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Breadth of Communication
 Top management, functional department,
clients, suppliers, authorities, subcontractors
 Engineering change management
 Use of cyber communication tools
 PM fully understand project’s intent
 PM has managed projects that failed
 Have support of top management
 Build and maintain solid information network
 PM must be flexible

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Negotiation
 Highly skill negotiator

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Selecting the Project Manager
 Strong technical background
 Hard-nosed manager
 Mature individual
 Someone who is currently available
 Someone on good terms with senior executives
 A person who can keep the project teams happy
 One who has worked is several departments
 A person who can walk on the waters

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Credibility
 Technical credibility –perceived as possessing
sufficient technical knowledge
 Reasonable understanding of base
technologies
 Administrative credibility – responsibilities to
client and senior management
 Trade-offs decisions
 Mature judgments, courage

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Sensitivity
 Political sensitivity
 Sense inter-personal conflict
 Persuade people to cooperate
 Sense any failure

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Leadership and Management
style
“Interpersonal influence, exercised in situations
and directed through communication process,
toward the attainment of specified goal or
goals”
 Capitalize on people’s strengths, cover their

weaknesses, know when to take over

 When to punish/reward

 When to communicate

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