LECTURE 3

Defining the Roles of the

Project Manager and the Team

Introduction
The role of the project manager can be a
tricky one.
This is especially the case where the project
manager has no formal authority over the
people they must work with to get the job
done.
This chapter defines the roles of the project
manager and the project team members.

Introduction
Successful project management is only as good as
the individuals and leaders who are managing the key
functions dedicated to the achievement of a specific
goal, to the completion of the project
Project personnel includes:
Project manager
Assistant project manager (if necessary)
Project office
Project team
Fundamental project requirements:
Customer liaison
Project direction
Project planning

Project control

Project evaluation

Project reporting

The Role of a Project Manager

Planning
Organizing
Integrating
Controlling
Leading
Decision-making
Communicating, and
Building a supportive climate for the project
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The Basic Characteristics of PM

Honesty and integrity

Alertness and quickness

Understanding of

Versatility

Energy and toughness

Decision-making ability

Ability to evaluate risk and

personnel problems
Understanding of project
technology
Business management

uncertainty

competence

Management principles

Communications

Project Management Skills

Basic project manager skills

Integration
skills

Technical
skills

People skills

Project
management
skills

Knowledge of
organization

People Skills

It is necessary for the project manager to use both

direct authority and persuasion and to know when to
use each.
S/he needs to be a master of communication and to
have the skills to manage conflict and change.

Project Skills
Can you estimate costs and prepare workable schedules
and adequate budget plans?

Integration Skills

One of the primary duties of a project

manager is coordination of the many project
elements.

Technical Skills

A project manager must understand what

needs to be done technically, but will not
have the same depth of understanding as
the subject matter experts working on the
project.
However, they must know if potential pitfalls
exist.

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Technical Skills (continued)

Technology involved

Engineering tools and techniques employed

Specific markets, their customers, and requirements

Product applications

Technological trends and evolutions

Relationship among supporting technologies

People who are part of the technical community

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Knowledge of the Organisation

Without understanding of the organizations:
culture,
policies,
personalities and
politics,
the project will most likely fail.

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The Make Up of a Project Manager

Flexibility and adaptability.
Preference for significant initiative and
leadership.
Assertiveness, confidence, persuasiveness,
verbal fluency.
Ambition, activity, forcefulness.
Effectiveness as a communicator and
integrator.
Broad scope of personal interests.
Poise, enthusiasm, imagination, spontaneity.
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The Make Up of a Project Manager

Able to balance technical solutions with time,
cost, and human factors.
Well organized and disciplined.
A generalist rather than a specialist.
Able and willing to devote most of his time to
planning and controlling.
Able to identify problems.
Willing to make decisions.
Able to maintain proper balance in the use of
time.
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Additional Skills Needed

Are feasibility and economic analysis necessary?

Is complex technical expertise required? If so, is it
within the individuals capabilities?
If the individual is lacking expertise, will there be
sufficient backup strength in the line organisations?
Is this the companys or the individuals first exposure
to this type of project and/or client? If so, what are the
risks to be considered?
What is the priority for this project, and what are the
risks?
With whom must the project manager interface, both
inside and outside the organisation?
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Responsibility, Authority and Accountability

Project managers must maintain good balance in
assigning responsibility, delegating authority and
holding people accountable.

Authority

Responsibility

Accountability
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Responsibility

While others are responsible for parts of the

project, the project manager still retains
FULL responsibility for the final result!

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Authority

Appropriate access to resources must be

granted to team members, including the
project manager in order to complete the
project.
Without proper authority, the team
cannot be held accountable for
poor results.

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Accountability

Helps decrease poor performance and

increase good performance when the level
of accountability is in line with responsibility.

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Classroom Activity 3a

Do responsibility, authority, and accountability

function well in your organization?
What can you do to keep them in balance?

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Project Manager Selection

A project manager is given a license to cut across
several organizational lines. His activities, therefore,
take on a flavor of general management, and must be
done well.
Project management will not succeed without good
project managers. Thus, if general management
sees fit to establish a project, it should certainly see
fit to select a good person as its leader.
A project manager is far more likely to accomplish
desired goals if it is obvious that general
management has selected and appointed him.

Selection Process

Five basic questions:

1.

What are the internal and external sources?

2.

How do we select?

3.

How we do provide career development in

project management?

4.

How can we develop project management

skills?

5.

How do we evaluate project management

performance?
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Project Management
Responsibilities
To produce the end-item with the available
resources and within the constraints of time, cost,
and performance/technology
To meet contractual profit objectives
To make all required decisions whether they be for
alternatives or termination
To act as the customer (external) and upper-level
and functional management (internal)
communications focal point

Project Management
Responsibilities (continued)
To negotiate with all functional disciplines for
accomplishment of the necessary work packages
within the constraints of time, cost, and
performance/technology
To resolve all conflicts, if possible

Classroom Activity 3b
Do you want to be effective project manager?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Are you more concerned about being everyones

friend or getting a job done right?
Do you prefer to do technical work or manage other
people doing technical work?
Do you think the best way to get a tough task done
is to do it yourself?
Do you prefer your work to be predictable or
constantly changing?
Do you prefer to spend your time developing ideas
rather than explaining those ideas to other people?
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Classroom Activity 3b
6.

Do you handle crisis well?

7.

Do you prefer to work by yourself with others?

8.

Do you think you shouldnt have to monitor people

after theyve promised to do a task for you?

9.

Do you believe people should be self-motivated to

perform their jobs?

10. Are you comfortable dealing with people at all

organizational levels?

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The Role of Team Members

They must know what they are supposed to do,

preferably in terms of an end product.

They must have a clear understanding of their

authority and its limits.

They must know what their relationship with other

people is.

They should know where and when they are falling

short.

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Recruiting Project Members

Factors affecting recruiting
Importance of the project
Management structure used to complete the project

How to recruit?
Ask for volunteers

Who to recruit?

Problem-solving ability
Availability
Technological expertise
Credibility
Political connections
Ambition, initiative, and energy
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Project Team Meetings

Managing
Subsequent
Meetings

Relationship
Decisions

Managing
Change
Decisions

Establishing
Ground Rules

Conducting
Project
Meetings

Planning
Decisions

Tracking
Decisions

Managing Conflict within the Project Team

Encouraging Functional Conflict
Encourage dissent by asking tough questions.
Bring in people with different points of view.
Designate someone to be a devils advocate.
Ask the team to consider an unthinkable alternative
Managing Dysfunctional Conflict
Mediate the conflict.
Arbitrate the conflict.
Control the conflict.
Accept the conflict.
Eliminate the conflict.

Conflict Intensity Over the Project Life Cycle

Classroom Activity 3c

Are the roles of the team members in your

current projects well defined in writing?
Do team members understand and work
within these definitions?
Could any current conflicts or confusion be
cleared up by better role definition?

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Questions?

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