What is a Project and why use a Project Manager?

Definitions:
A Project is “a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product or service which brings about beneficial change or added value”.
A Project Manager is the person who has the overall responsibility for the successful planning, execution and closure of a project.  It is used in many different occupations that are based on production of a product or service.
.
Types of projects we manage:

• Capital Project Management – the building or refurbishment of facilities.  We can either just set you off in the right direction or manage the whole process for you – it’s up to you!
• Business Plans – Writing a Business Plan is a project with a clearly defined end result.  We have extensive experience of writing or helping clients to write simple and useful business plans which identify clear targets and define how goals are going to be achieved
• Operational Management – There are many different projects relating to Operational Management which may include writing Procedures, Health and Safety, Staffing, Programming etc.  We can help you define what it is you need and manage your project to achieve your goal

The role of a project manager is one of great responsibility. As an overview they must:

• Understand and be able to communicate the goals of the client
• Define the project, reduce it to a set of manageable tasks, obtain appropriate resources and build a team to perform the project work
• Set the final goal for the project and manage others to complete it on time
• Inform all stakeholders of progress on a regular basis
• Assess and mitigate risks to the project
• Be flexible and able to adapt to change

Project Management requires a range of skills including:

• Leadership
• People management (customers, suppliers, contractors and colleagues)
• Communication
• Negotiating
• Planning
• Contract management
• Problem solving
• Creative thinking

Project managers are ultimately responsibility for making things happen. They need to have administrative and technical competencies, business skills, customer relations skills, and political skills. They must be results-oriented and flexible, because often things are not clear-cut.  Most importantly, the Project Manager must have the time to dedicate to the project.

If you can do all these things, and have enough time on your hands, you don’t need a Project Manager!  If you don’t, maybe we can help you.

Benefits:

• No need to allocate precious time of your own or your staff’s to take on additional responsibility
• Having independent expertise and experience on your side
• For building projects, reducing your fees to architect or designers
• Being surer of getting what you wanted and what you need
• Having someone to call on whenever you need help
• Learning from an expert who will help you understand the processes involved
• Taking the stress out of achieving your goal!