Project management is a growth industry since many organizations are increasingly reliant on projects to finish their work. Therefore, more people are managing or participating in projects including a project manager who is responsible for accomplishing the project objectives.
Core Competencies of a Successful Project Manager
The core competencies every successful project manager should have divided into technical, strategic & business management, and leadership competencies. Technical competencies such as agile practices, data gathering & modelling, lifecycle management, risk management. could effectively apply project management knowledge and deliver the desired outcomes for programs or projects.
Then, strategic & business management is the ability to see the high-level overview of the organization, effectively negotiate, implement decisions and actions that support strategic alignment and innovation. The examples of this competencies are business acumen and strategic planning. Lastly, leadership competency involves the ability to guide, motivate, and direct a team. It includes several competencies such as brainstorming, coaching and mentoring, conflict management, emotional intelligence, problem solving, team building, influencing, etc.
Project Constraints That Endanger Project Success
One of the biggest challenges for every project manager is project constraints. Project constraint is an applicable restriction or limitation, either internal or external that will affect the performance of the project. There are several projects constrains that could endanger project success namely Scope, Time, Quality, Cost/Resources, and Value.
First, scope is where organization defines the specific goal of project. Changes in scope can severely affect the project timeline and budget. Then, time could be said as deadline to complete the project. Timelines may change unexpectedly whilst the project is underway. Next, related to quality, teams might need to sacrifice their work quality to meet a deadline. After that, if cost or resources are limited, organization should ensure to adjust the project’s scope and timeline accordingly. Lastly, value related to its amount provided by the project or iteration of the project.
Barriers to Be Aware in Project Delivery
In project, there are not only project constraints that should be addressed by project managers, but also several barriers to be aware before, during, and after project delivery. For examples, the lack of standard templates, a collaborative tool, or a knowledge base makes project managed in less supportive tools such as email and Microsoft Excel. Then, poor strategic alignment is a project barrier caused by the project outcome do not match or align with business strategy.
Furthermore, poor visibility is one of project barriers emerges from the absence of a framework or tool used by project managers to assess the status of current work. After that, in projects, every project manager shall learn to work in line with vision, mission, values, and beliefs of their organization. Lastly, poor communication is a project barrier that affects every aspect of the project. Therefore, every project manager should spend more of their time on communication.
Ways to Overcome Project Obstacles
In the previous discussion, every project manager should already understand that managing projects is a complicated process that requires technical skills, leadership, and business & strategy management. For tackling project obstacles, there are five ways that could be used by project managers. The first two are clarify goals and always be available and open. Clarify goals mean if project managers want to see the progress of the work clearly, they should discuss communication, timing, scope, deliverables and success measures for the project. Then, always be available and open related to the communication that has to be transparent, open, always accessible since good communication is at the heart of any excellent project.
Furthermore, the other way is avoiding vague ideas, performed by project managers by building a common discussion with their team to create a plan related to projects that works for everyone. It aims to improve team spirit and value, then enable team to comply with the specified deadlines. Next, build leadership; it is important to note since excellent communication and collaboration skills are not enough, yet project managers should be able to demonstrate professionalism and leadership. Lastly, develop skills are also important and could be done through project management training. It could be helpful for project managers in delivering a successful project implementation as well as expands their career opportunities.
Conclusion
A successful project manager should have several competencies in managing projects as well as understand project constrains and barriers that could endanger the project. Also, a project manager shall be able to overcome those obstacles in order to achieve the project success.
Reference:
5 Tips How to Overcome Major Challenges In Project Management. Retrieved From: https://www.become.pm/youngprojectmanageraward/2019/04/30/5-tips-how-to-overcome-major-challenges-in-project-management/
Kozy, K. (2010). PM constraint theory—a new category of constraints to ensure positive outcomes. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2010—Asia Pacific, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
Project Management 101. Retrieved from: https://www.brightwork.com/project-management-guide
