IT Project Managers

Project managers are in high demand, the projection for project managers is looking to rise to 22 million new project management openings through 2027. They are in such demand due to the responsibilities and skills they possess, which can differ between a company’s success or failure. The responsibilities entail that deadline are met, the project stays under budget and ensure their team is working well with the client, communicating with them to ensure that the products or se4rvices offered by the project team is correct, ensuring they provide value to either the business and/or the client of the business.

There are many skills that are needed that will differentiate successful project managers, from unsuccessful managers. Communication is vital within this role, this due to the fact that a large percentage of their time is spent interpreting and delivering communications between customers, teams and management. Project managers bridge the gap and keep the flow of information going between multiple different parties within the system, keeping the lifecycle of the products alive. Alongside communication it is vital that a project manager is integral, being honest with their team and client, as they are a direct representative of both the team and their external stakeholders. Setting the tone of the project for the team is key to its success, as leadership and decision making will filter through the team, which will show within the final product of the project. Finally, being able to formulate a solution for a problem which has occurred unexpectedly or questioned by the client, this will make sure the project runs smoothly and shows the organization of the project is key.

There are a few methods that project managers use, which can vary from project to project. This section discusses only a handful out of many different methodologies used within this field. The first approach is the waterfall methodology. This is a clear linear, sequential manner and each stage of the project must be executed completed before the next stage can begin. The stages consist of requirements, analysis, design, construction, testing and finally deployment and maintenance. Secondly, the agile methodology, which is formed from by the waterfall, however due to the limitations of the waterfall model agile was formed. It is more shifted to the iterative models, allowing teams to revise their project as needed during the process, instead of having to wait for the end review to amend their changed. The final methodology that will be discussed, is the scrum methodology. This is a form of agile project management; however, the framework is essentially a project methodology itself.  Scrum is split into short cycles known as ‘sprints, which are normally last around 1-2 weeks. Each sprint is taken from the backlog for each sprint. Small teams are then led by a Scrum Master, which is not the same as a project manager, for the durations of the sprint. Once they have reviewed their performance of the team, known as a ‘sprint retrospective’, and from there can make any necessary changed before starting the following sprint.