It is an indisputable fact that technology is driving progress. But still, the development of technologies and their penetration into the spheres of human life is impossible without the direct involvement of people themselves in this process. Take software development, for example. It requires the participation of both technical specialists such as developers, testers, designers, as well as marketers, analysts, content specialists, and other bright minds. Of course, each of them has passed the necessary selection for the project and testing of skills, so there is no doubt about their professionalism. Nevertheless, in order for all these people who make up the project team to work harmoniously, such a specialist as a Project Manager is needed.
Such specialists will be in demand in any area, not only IT. A project manager is a top-level specialist so that you can become one either already having leadership experience in other areas not related to technology. You can also develop your managerial skills if you previously worked in another position in the IT field and are very well versed in its processes. It is also possible to grow a specialist from a junior position, which requires a lot of initiative and the ability to analyze what was heard and seen in teamwork in order to apply this knowledge in practice then. It is important that a person has a desire for self-study so that before starting work, they have a good theoretical base. What does PM do in practice, and what skills do they require to do their job well? Keep reading, and you will find out everything!
PM’s Value for the Work of the Whole Team
PM is the person who will definitely not sit idle at the workplace since they have a lot of tasks and responsibilities. Project managers receive all the requirements and the deadlines from the customers for the project, and at the same time, must organize work resources so that everyone performs in the best possible way. Furthermore, they serve as intermediaries between the team of employees, both in-house and remote, with whom they need to communicate in a technical language and the customers who just want to be satisfied with the result. In this process, the communication skill plays an important role, since it helps Project Managers not only to convey information between the parties but also to settle conflicts that arise, to prove the expediency of ideas of the development team or the wishes of customers.
As for other soft skills of PMs, they should be able to organize well the work of people who may not even interact directly. Moreover, to comply with the deadlines presented by the customer, it is necessary to properly allocate time for the execution of all tasks and make sure that they are completed on time, quickly solve the problems that have arisen. Therefore, in general, a charismatic leader who knows how to maintain optimism and find a way out that suits everyone in the current situation is perfect for this role.
The skillset of a competent PM is not complete without a good understanding of the technical tools. Don’t worry, you don’t need to understand the intricacies. For example, you don’t need to write code to control the quality of tasks execution, as there are team leaders in each department. However, skills in project management systems, like MS Project, systems for planning teamwork, like Jira, Trello are required. Depending on the project’s complexity, you may need to understand other, more complex technical tools, but this is not the most important thing that a project manager needs to know and be able to do to qualify for a job.
Another task that the PM should deal with is the maintenance of technical documentation and reporting. It must be regularly updated and kept at hand in order to be able to present it to customers and answer their questions.
In Conclusion
The quality of the product is not only the result of the skills of individual highly qualified specialists but also the correct selection of strategy, planning, and control over the execution of each layer of work. These functions should be handled by the project manager, who, like the conductor of an orchestra, manages the IT development process. Strong interpersonal skills and technical background will be a great starting point for anyone looking to try their hand at the profession. Well, the rest is the work of the specialist himself.
