A project manager is responsible for defining project objectives and plans, organizing resources, monitoring progress, and taking corrective actions. Key responsibilities include interpreting requirements, authorizing work, demanding program baselines, and coordinating teams. Effective project management requires proper planning, scheduling, budgeting, risk management, and communication throughout all phases of a project. Common pitfalls to avoid are inadequate planning, failure to manage work plans, poor communication, and lack of quality control. Project managers use tools like Gantt charts to help define tasks, assign responsibilities, and track progress against milestones and deadlines.

1. Project Management

2. What does a Project Manager do?
• Owns the problems.
• Interprets the contract or statement of
work.
• Authorizes the work.
• Demands creation and maintenance
of program baselines.
• Monitors the work.
• Coordinates the work.

3. Project Management
Essentials
• State the objective.
• State the plan.
• Execute your plan.
• Monitor progress and take
corrective action.

4. Project Management entails
• Organization
• Planning, Scheduling, Budgeting
• Resource Allocation
• Analysis and Management Reports
• Revisions and Data Maintenance

5. Structure of Work
Assess
Define Do &
Report

6. Communication
There is no such thing as a surprise.
Someone knew it a long time ago.

7. Don’t be afraid to ask
dumb questions.
They are easier to handle
than dumb mistakes!

8. Planning
Plans are worthless unless
someone makes them work!
Plan for Success!

9. Why we don’t plan…
• It’s hard work.
• It forces us to deal with things we don’t
know or understand.
• It forces us to expose our lack of
knowledge.
• It’s more fun to “do” than to “define”.
• Commitment to a plan takes away
your freedom (power).

10. Q: How does a program get to
be one year late?
A: One day at a time!

11. Where to start…
• Have a definite project start and end date.
• Read or write the specifications for the
project.
• Make a “to do” list.
• Sort the list into categories.
• Develop a timeline of important due dates
or milestones.
• Fill in the timeline with a projected
schedule so you can meet the milestones.

12. Project Management
Objectives…
• Define & specify the product to be
designed.
• Communicate the design to the
team.
• Control the design (minimize
possibilities for change).
• Define engineering and production
test requirements and concepts.

13. Handling Problems
1. Define the problem.
2. Who owns the problem?
3. Devise an action plan that follows accepted
process with deadlines.
4. Propose and evaluate solutions.
 Technical merit
 Schedule impact
 Cost impact
 Contractual implications
 Risks identified
 Risks mitigated
“Unless one person understands the whole thing, it
won’t go together.” Abraham Lincoln

14. Project Management Pitfalls
1. Inadequate project definition and planning.
 All stakeholders must understand it and but into it.
 Spend the time upfront to get it right.
 Failure to keep the schedule.
1. Not managing the work plan.
 No plan should be changed after implementation.
 Status is measured against the work plan.
 Most changes are a result of out of scope work.
 Failure to have deadlines.
 Assigning activities that are too large.

15. Project Management Pitfalls
3. Poor project communication
 Everyone has different expectations.
 Team members don’t know what is expected of
them and pass their problems to the next
person.
1. Lack of quality management
 It’s in the eyes of the client, not the manager.
 Having to redo to get it right.

16. Project Management Chart
(Gantt Chart)
WeBGood, Inc. Mobility Device
Task Leader Oct 11-17 Oct 18-25 Oct 26-31 Nov 1-7
SOW written Joe
Research Bethany
Finalize Design Joe/Team
Procure Jeremy
Materials
Prototype Built Julie/Team
Prototype Jeremy
Tested
Test Results Team
Evaluated
Presentation Jeremy/
Team