Ketek - Project Management Services
Ketek supports client operations with professional project management from initial consultations to final sign-off. We can manage labour and equipment needs and complete reporting requirements as requested.
A project manager’s role is probably the most important – and maybe the most challenging – in the entire project team. It requires attention to all kinds of details, strong communication and people skills, an appropriate amount of vision and maybe even a bit of superhero mojo. Sadly, many organizations do not recognize how important – and challenging – the project management role is and therefore set their projects up to fail. It is still common that project managers are appointed on a part-time basis, the assumption being they can manage the project as an addendum to their other duties. This is playing with fire. In practice, time may be shared with other responsibilities, but when it comes to the crunch, the project must get the attention it requires.
Before we get to the nitty-gritty of project management, I’d like to point out that project management is a team sport and it relies on the team’s players to be accountable for those aspects of the project that fall under their responsibility. This ethos must be passed down to all team members, irrespective of their level of involvement in the project.
But all teams need a leader, and when it comes to a project, that leader is the project manager. The PM will (hopefully) be there from the beginning, understand every aspect of the project, ensure communication is thorough and helpful, and see the project through to the end.
TechnicalThe technical dimension covers the hands-on role of the PM. He or she must be willing and able to get their sleeves rolled up and get stuck in the technical issues at a detailed level. Generally, this happens in the early, project-definition stages of the project. The project team will usually be at its leanest, and all members have to get involved in technical issues or the project will stall.
That is not to say that the PM needs to know how to do everyone’s tasks, but he or she needs to appreciate all the processes and be able to confidently challenge others at a level of informed understanding.
This is where the scope of the project will be developed and challenged, and the options evaluated. The technical aspects include those activities needed to complete the project definition, to implement the project appropriately, to control the project throughout and to assure quality of delivery.
The technical skills required of a PM will depend upon the nature of the project. The skills required to manage a technology driven project, for example, are different from those needed to supply off-the-shelf equipment to an industrial client.