Category: Project Management

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Project Management

Key Skills and Tools in Project Management

Are you looking to expand into project management? Do you want to be a leader that people follow and who gets results? Here at STL Training, we provide you with the best project management tools to ensure you hit the ground running. In this post, we’ll expand on everything you need to be successful, from PM software and equipment to the methodologies and essential skills.

Carry on reading to learn more and use the following advice and tips to your advantage in your career.

The Key Skills

A good or bad project manager is often the difference between a project coming in on time or being late and over budget. The latter is a failure and can shatter a company’s reputation. So, it’s vital for businesses and prospective candidates to showcase the skills that ensure the project runs smoothly. They are:

  • Leadership
  • Communication
  • Organisation
  • Problem-Solving
Project Management Blue Planning Paper
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Leadership

Being a manager means encouraging people to follow your example. Otherwise, you won’t be able to put your most crucial asset – labour – into effect. However, people don’t realise that being in charge also includes crafting a strategy and implementing a plan. PMs use their vision to put the project on a certain trajectory and get the best possible result at the close. 

To execute your vision, leaders must make informed decisions on the spot, too. Therefore, the ability to read people and data and spot patterns and trends should never be underestimated. The final call is the project manager’s, so he or she should have no qualms putting their neck on the line.

Communication

Getting the point across clearly is half the battle. Project managers are able to condense complicated topics and make them readily understandable. Whether it’s feedback or useful data for the project itself, workers must know what it means and how to put it into action.

Face-to-face communication is as vital as ever due to the rise of technology. Instant messaging platforms are quick and reach a broad audience, yet the point can get lost in translation.

Organisation

The ability to organise isn’t solely a reference to multitasking. Multitasking is a handy project management tool, but it won’t be the difference between success and failure. Instead, that honour lies with prioritisation. To be certain processes run smoothly, the first port of call is to rank them in order of importance. Then, the common goals will fall into place.

Project managers understand that small tasks, although not massive, can sometimes be the most essential job.

Problem-Solving

A lot of the challenging work around project management is dealing with glitches. Often, issues will occur out of nowhere, and a problem must be solved as quickly as possible. Sometimes, the boss or the client might be the project’s biggest enemy in this regard as implementing new initiatives that weren’t discussed happens all the time.

PMs don’t complain – they find a solution. (also can consider attending project manager courses london)

Project Management Methodologies

A methodology is critical for completing the job correctly. There is a one-size-fits-all policy, but the following are useful in the majority of situations.

Agile

The Agile method focuses on developing software via a structure that centres around team collaboration and change recognition. It’s four central values make it a perfect methodology for flexible projects that are unpredictable. An example would be a service that hasn’t yet been built.

Scrum

Commitment, courage, focus, openness, and respect are Scrum’s values, and they help with complex products. The reason for this is that they use collaboration, accountability, and iterative progress to develop and sustain them. As well as team roles, it also includes events and artefacts so that small teams without many human resources aren’t disadvantaged.

Waterfall

In line with the name, Waterfall is a simplistic design approach where everything flows in one direction. Whereas newer methodologies are available, PMs love its linear phases that include analysis, coding and testing. Waterfall is excellent for big projects with lots of moving parts.

Project Management Software

The PM role is more complicated now than ever before, which explains the rise of project management tools and software. Completing a task without Trello, for instance, is difficult as the program offers reliable monitoring of all project phases. Slack is another significant tool as it puts colleagues in touch with each other so that delegation is feasible. MS Project is probably the main piece of software as it takes care of planning development, distributing resources, tracking progress and analysing work volumes.

The Need For Training

As you can see, there is a lot to factor in regarding project management software. So, let us help. STL Training is a trusted service that uses years of experience and expertise to make project management less daunting.

Contact us now to speak about our MS Project courses or Project Manager Training London.

 

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Professional Development Project Management

What Does a Project Manager Do?

Project management is the process of delivering projects to a high standard on time and budget. But, it’s not as if every project goes to plan. Some go off-piste while others hit their mark and goals effortlessly. What’s the difference? Usually, the answer centres on the person in charge. An excellent project manager can work with tight time and money restraints and maintain their employees’ rates of productivity and output.

To learn more about how they do it and what makes a fantastic project manager, take a look at the key points underneath.

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What Does A Project Manager Do?

Primarily, a PM oversees a project and ensures it doesn’t go off track in the process. However, that’s the simple version. The role of the project manager has changed in the last decade, often for the better, which means it has become more complicated. Whereas old PMs used to work with vague directives, the strategy is more in-depth today. Not only is a project manager informed of specific targets, but they are involved in the strategy meeting in lots of businesses.

As a result of the boom of project management in recent years, PMs have become crucial cogs in the wheel of the industry. And, as technology and the economy continues to change in the future, the role is bound to become more complicated and valuable.

Main Tasks And Responsibilities

Because every project is different, there is no one-size-fits-all-policy regarding a project manager’s responsibilities. That’s why the best project management courses teach a varied range of skills that will come in handy in several situations and scenarios. Of course, there are general tasks that occur throughout most projects.

  • Create and log a plan: While directives are less vague now than they used to be, projects aren’t fully fleshed out and handed out to a manager. Therefore, the PM has a lot of independence regarding delivering outcomes, which means they have to craft and log a plan. This includes planning what work needs to be done, when, and by whom, as well as understanding the non-negotiable requirements.
  • Create a timeline: One thing that is almost always included is a deadline; clients have strict time restraints and want results by a specific date. To ensure this deadline is met, the PM will plot out the tasks. By doing this, it enables them to see what needs completing and when and the possible risks.
  • Manage the risks: Spotting the risks isn’t enough – a project manager has to manage them effectively. A prime example is going over budget. This is very dangerous as it means either asking the client for more money or using the company’s to cover costs, the latter of which is unacceptable. The PM, then, must track every expenditure, from materials to labour, and make changes in real-time to stop charges from building up.
  • Bring a team together: Firstly, the PM builds a team that they believe has the best skill set for the project. But, as necessary is the task of motivating the employees so that they maintain a high standard and level of output. To do this, they need an understanding of how people work and what drives them to succeed.
Man Looking at White Project Papers on the Wall
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What Skills Does A Project Manager Need?

Working with a broad range of people to hit targets that are always changing means the project manager must have an electric range of skills. Here are the most essential.

Leadership

The team must follow the leader to ensure goals are achieved. Inspiring others means using a variety of tactics to get the best out of people. Fantastic man managers know when to shout and when to be sympathetic.

Scheduling

Scheduling is a core value of project management as things change at a rapid pace. The ability to deal with glitches and put them right involves crafting a thorough schedule from the beginning. That way, there is a foundation, a reference point, to rely on in a crisis.

Critical Thinking

As the leader, no one is going to make decisions on a manager’s behalf. Critical thinking allows a PM to weigh up the pros and cons come to an informed conclusion. The greatest can react in a matter of minutes.

Communication

Without the ability to explain their strategy, a project manager can’t rally the troops. No will understand their job and how to complete tasks effectively.

Project Managers

The most famous project manager at the moment is Sundar Pichai, the new CEO of Google. However, they come in all shapes and sizes. Check out this excellent post to find out more about project managers and their mentality, and to build your skills consider attending our Project Manager Training London.