It is vital for an organization to offer quality software products within the client’s budget and deliver them on time. In order to achieve these goals, organizations have adopted a software project management process to plan, implement, monitor, and control such projects. Software project management is the art and discipline of organizing software projects. A project manager directs it and focuses on generating a product that will have a favorable impact on the enterprise.
Jump ahead to
Who is a Project Manager?
A Project Manager is a professional who oversees, plans, schedules, and delivers various kinds of projects in an organization. He/she establishes the project’s requirements, assembles and oversees the project team, allocates the budget, and communicates with the project’s shareholders and clients. A project team without a project manager may begin working on a project without a clear vision or direction, resulting in the failure of the project. As a result, it is evident that project managers play a vital role in achieving business goals of the organization.
What is the role of the Project Manager in software development?
Every organization needs a project manager to manage software projects and its team. The following are the roles of the project manager in software development.
Plan the project requirements:
Project Manager is the center of planning and organizing the overall project requirements to successfully complete the project on time. He/she establishes the scope, goals, budget, plans, communication strategies, and time schedules required for completing the project on time.
Lead the project team:
A software project manager leads the project team. He/she defines the goal of the project to each team member and assigns tasks based on their skills and abilities in order to execute the project on time. Furthermore, motivates the team members to work efficiently for completing the project successfully.
Act as Liaison:
The project manager serves as a liaison between the development team, and customers. He/ she analyzes customer requirements and communicates them to the development team. In addition, he/she keeps track of the project’s progress and keeps the customer updated on it.
Supervise the project:
During the project, a project manager oversees all activities across all departments. He/she coordinates the front end, back end, design, and quality assurance teams, assigning duties to each member to ensure the project is completed on time. A project manager guides the team and tracks the project’s progress at each level and makes improvements as needed.
Create proper documentation:
A Project manager is responsible for preparing the final documentation of the project for future reference. The report includes a detailed description of the product and various techniques. These reports will aid in maintaining and improving the project’s quality in the future.
Manage risks:
Risk management is a crucial part of project management. A project manager is in charge of identifying potential risks such as design changes, faulty cost projections, and team member disagreements. Additionally, such professionals should identify unforeseen risks that may arise during project development, assess the potential risk, and devise a risk reduction strategy to deal with these risks throughout project execution.
Allocate budget
A software project manager allocates the budget to all activities involved in the project. Project professionals ensure that they stick closely to the budget throughout the project lifecycle. Furthermore, the project manager moderates the spending and re-allocating funds if the budget overruns for a certain activity.
What are the daily tasks of a software project manager?
The following are the daily task of a software project manager
- Respond to emails on project execution or maintenance.
- Discuss potential projects and their parameters with clients, executives, and software developers.
- Check the project status and meet with team members for a status update, as well as prepare management reports.
- Adhere to the critical path method and develop a strategy to deal with any new challenges that occur.
- Discuss the project progress with the customer and other project stakeholders.
- Examine the relevant document to evaluate the budget, schedule, and scope, and reassign resources and team members, to different areas to deal with these changes.
Conclusion:
The project manager is an asset to an organization. since he/she can do various roles in an organization. He/she is also expected to handle and coordinate with the team members involved in the project. Additionally, such professionals are also required to act as a guide and leader during the overall cycle of the project.
The purpose of hiring project managers in software development is to carry out software development tasks and execute the overall project with the available resources. Furthermore, their ability to manage risk, helps the organization to reduce the overall production cost of the software which in turn increases the revenue of the company. As a result, project managers are also known as liaisons between clients and software development team members.
Individuals can easily become project managers in the stream of software development by acquiring the esteemed certifications of PMP or CAPM based on the experience. Such aspiring professionals can undergo PMP or CAPM Certification Training programs to gain in-depth knowledge and skills in project management, which in turn assists them in becoming project managers across various domains.
