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    • Introduction
    • The Stages of a Project
    • Chapter 1. Sponsorship and Leadership
    • Chapter 2. Defining the Objectives and Benefits
    • Chapter 3. Planning the Project
    • Chapter 4. Ensuring the Project is a Manageable Size
    • Chapter 5. Defining the Budget
    • Chapter 6. Managing the Risks
    • Chapter 7. Getting the Right Project Manager
    • Chapter 8. Getting Customer Representation
    • Chapter 9. Defining Roles & Responsibilities
    • Chapter 10. Getting the Right Resources
    • Chapter 11. Monitoring and Reporting Progress
    • Chapter 12. Communicating Progress
    • Chapter 13. Consultation and Leadership
    • Chapter 14. Getting Realistic User Requirements
    • Chapter 15. Defining Your Approach
    • Chapter 16. Conducting Structured Testing
    • Chapter 17. Creating an Implementation Plan
    • Chapter 18. Conducting a Post Implementation Review
    • Chapter 19. Realising the Benefits
    • Chapter 20. Learning the Lessons
    • Chapter 21. Celebrating Success
    • Checklist
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  • 21 Ways to Excel at Project Management

Getting the Right Project Manager

Question 7: Have you appointed an experienced project manager?

Good Practice: An experienced project manager should lead the project. For large projects, this should be a dedicated and full-time role. A full-time and dedicated person will continuously focus on moving the project forward.

In theory, all business projects should be led by the business. In practice, many business functions do not have the required project management skills, experience or disciplined approach. A good working compromise is to appoint two people to work together in a partnership, a project manager and a user representative. You should not underestimate the comprehensive nature of these two roles.

A project manager standing on a building site wearing a yellow hard hat and reflective vest while on a mobile phone

In her article The Top Five Project Management Traits to Master 'the How' Joli Mosier lists the top five traits you need to master the how of project management as:

  1. A collaborative management style.
  2. Adaptability.
  3. Figure-it-out resourcefulness.
  4. Highly developed communication skills.
  5. Flexibility.

In his popular article Top 10 Qualities of a Project Manager, Timothy R. Barry identifies the qualities most important for a project manager:

  1. Inspires a shared vision.
  2. Good communicator.
  3. Integrity.
  4. Enthusiasm.
  5. Empathy.
  6. Competence.
  7. Ability to delegate tasks.
  8. Cool under pressure.
  9. Team building skills.
  10. Problem-solving skills.

Common Mistakes

  • No project manager is appointed.
  • A project manager appointed with little prior experience.
  • A user project manager is appointed to lead a large project alongside their existing responsibilities.
  • More than one project manager is appointed.
  • The project manager is not entirely responsible and accountable for the project.
  • Mistaking enthusiasm or seniority for experience.
Getting the Right Project Manager

Question 7: Have you appointed an experienced project manager?

8
Getting Customer Representation

Question 8: Do you have experienced and effective user representation?

9
Defining Roles & Responsibilities

Question 9: Have you clearly defined the project roles and responsibilities?

10
Getting the Right Resources

Question 10: Do you have enough experienced resources?

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