ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY OF

A PROJECT MANAGER
CHIRAG .R. JAIN - 1861707

PROJECT MANAGER
WHO IS A PROJECT MANAGER?
A project manager is a professional in the field of project
management. Project managers have the responsibility of
the planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any
undertaking that has a defined scope, defined start and a
defined finish; regardless of industry. Project managers are
first point of contact for any issues or discrepancies arising
from within the heads of various departments in an
organization before the problem escalates to higher
authorities, as project representative.

WHAT DOES A PROJECT MANAGER DO?

A project manager, with the help of their team, is charged
with multiple responsibilities that span the five project
phases of a project life cycle (initiating, planning, executing,
monitoring, and closing)

PROJECT MANAGER
Initiating
Project managers begin each new project by defining the main objectives of the project, its purpose, and its scope.
They also identify key internal and external stakeholders, discuss shared expectations, and gain the required
authorization necessary to move a project forward.
Important questions that project managers ask during the initiating phase include:
•Why is the project important?
•What’s the specific problem we’re trying to solve?
•What is the desired outcome?
•What are the project’s success criteria?
•Who are the stakeholders on this project? Who is impacted by, or who impacts, this project?
•What are the requirements and constraints within this project?
•What assumptions are we making?
•How will the project be funded?
•What is within our scope? What is not within our scope?
•Has this project been executed before? If so, what was the result? What information from that past project should be
considered in this project?
It’s important to recognize that project managers don’t do this on their own. Oftentimes, a project manager isn’t
assigned until much of this work is well underway.
As soon as the project manager is assigned, however, he or she needs to fully engage in the above work which should
culminate in a project being chartered and formally assigned.

PROJECT MANAGER
PLANNING
Once the charter is approved, project managers work with key stakeholders to create an integrated project plan focused on
attaining the outlined goals.
The plan established during this process helps project managers oversee scope, cost, timelines, risk quality issues, and
communications. It is during this phase that project managers will outline key deliverables and milestones and identify the
tasks that must be completed to complete each.
It’s important to note that project “planning” doesn’t actually end until the project does. The project plan should be treated as
a living document that constantly evolves and changes throughout the project.

EXECUTING
During this phase, team members complete the work that has been identified in the project plan in order to reach the goals of
the project. The project manager’s role is to assign this work and to ensure that tasks are completed as scheduled. The project
manager will also typically:
1. Protect the team from distractions
2. Facilitate issue resolution
3. Lead the team in working through project changes

PROJECT MANAGER
MONITORING AND CONTROLLING
Despite being listed as the fourth phase, monitoring and controlling processes actually commence at the beginning of a
project and continue throughout planning, execution, and closing. In the monitoring and controlling phase, a project
manager’s work includes:
Monitoring the progress of a project
Managing the project’s budget
Ensuring that key milestones are reached
Comparing actual performance against planned/scheduled performance
Of course, things rarely go exactly according to plan. Therefore, a project manager must be flexible enough to work within a
project’s plan but readily adapt when necessary.

CLOSING
During this phase, project managers strive to ensure all activities necessary to achieve the final result are completed. During
the close of a project, project managers will:
Work with the client to get formal sign-off that the project is complete
Release any resources (budget or personnel) who are no longer needed for the project
Review the work of third-party vendors or partners in order to close their contracts and pay their invoices
Archive project files for future reference and use

PROJECT MANAGER
After the project has been completed, a post-implementation review is often used to identify key lessons
learned. Understanding what went well, what could be done differently, and what to stop doing can help inform
and improve project management practices moving forward.

PROJECT MANAGER
THANK YOU
CHIRAG .R. JAIN - 1861707

PROJECT MANAGER