A project manager is like a human binding agent who holds people with various skillsets together. If you’re someone who can enthuse a group of skilled people to work towards a common goal, project management could be your calling. Good communication, excellent people skills, problem-solving abilities, and a deep understanding of the business are key traits in a project manager. Experience, education, and the use of technology will further polish your skills. In this article, we’ll give you some tips on how you can improve your project management.
Read on: Improve your project management skills for success
What is project management?
Project management is all about knowing how to manage multiple projects and overseeing their successful completion. It’s about managing people, tools, skills, budgets, time, and knowledge in order to achieve a project's objectives. The job demands timely delivery within previously decided parameters, and about extracting the best from a team.
What do project managers do?
The job profile of a project manager has many areas. The project manager is involved in all phases of project management which includes initiation, planning, execution, control, and closing. The multiple levels of involvement make it clear to see why project managers are essential to the success of a project.
A good project manager holds the key to meeting all the criteria outlined for a particular project. They know how to manage a project in addition to their people management skills.
How to become a project manager
Project management training
Wondering how to be a project manager? There are many ways to improve your project management skills. You can undergo training, take up project management coaching, or achieve certifications. One has to enroll for a bachelors or master’s in project management for all-around training. PMI (Project Management Institute) is one of the top institutes and provides excellent training for aspiring project managers worldwide.
Project management certificate
There are several types of specific certification for project management. These include Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), Project Management Professional (PMP), Google Project Management, and many more.
Let’s discuss how to get a project management certification. CAPM certification is about how to become a project manager without any experience. You’ll need 23 hours of education for the CAPM certificate. The PMP certificate on the other hand, needs a minimum of 4,500 hours of experience.
Project management courses
Enrolling in a project management course is the steppingstone of how to get into project management. You can take a certification exam at any PMI chapter worldwide.
Project management books
For both the CAPM and PMP certifications, fully study ‘A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge’. Studying the book will guide you on how to become an excellent project manager. Besides that, there are some other books that’ll hone your project management skills:
Project management blogs
Project management is about always staying updated. Blogs on project management are a great way for you to update your knowledge. Follow some of the top PM blogs to keep improving your skills:
Project management tools: learn how to use project management software
Training, experience, and books aren’t the only means to update your project management skills. Ever wondered what project management tools are and how to use them best?
Tools for project management are widely used for streamlining and the efficient delivery of projects. These are software that are available in-app form, and they’re increasingly contributing to what makes a good project manager.
Some of the most popular tools that are used these days include Jira, Asana, Wrike, Zoho Projects, and Vault. The question that arises is, ‘How do you choose the best one?’ Given that there are so many choices, it can be quite a task to pick one that is the best. A lot depends on the nature of your project and your experience with apps.
Project managers use Gantt charts as a popular project management tool as it helps with the planning and scheduling of projects. They also help you track the progress of a project with a quick glance.
Vault is a popular and versatile project management software that works with various project management methodologies. It’s a fast and efficient app that’s cost-effective too. Businesses use it to track invoices, monitor cash flow, record expenditure, accept payments, and much more.
A good project manager will utilize software like Vault to ensure their project runs within the budget. There’s a monthly subscription to be paid, and the best part is learning how to use the tool online.
Most of the top project management tools provide e-learning facilities as it helps project managers get the best results. Companies encourage the use of these tools because they are the ultimate beneficiaries. A good project delivered on time benefits everyone involved.
Read on: How to choose the right project management tool.
Is project management a soft skill or a technical (hard) skill?
Being able to use soft skills well is arguably what separates a good project manager from a great one. You may have all the technical knowledge in the world, but if you don’t know how to lead a team or resolve a conflict, you’ll run into trouble.
But does that make project management a soft skill? Not really. While soft skills are important, project management does require specific hard skills that you need to develop to execute a project well. A good foundation of technical skills related to project management such as budget management, knowledge of project management methodologies, knowledge of company policy and more is an essential ingredient to excelling as a project manager.
Hard skills can help a project manager land a job
You don’t necessarily have to have formal training or experience to become a project manager, but hard skills can give you a leg up over the competition (or even land you a better salary) as they show your expertise and experience with specific aspects of project management.
Examples of hard skills for project managers
Project management software
Project management software is an effective way of organizing your project and keeping every member of the team on the same page. Whether you’re using Kanban boards, Gantt charts, or a comprehensive project management system like Vault ERP, the ability to use (and adapt to) technology in projects is essential.
Budget management
Part of a project manager’s role is to manage the project’s cost and keep it from going over budget. As such, you need to be able to balance the project’s cost with its time scale and scope.
Project management methodologies
Depending on the industry you work in, you may want to use certain project management methodologies. A good grasp of the various methodologies such as scrum, Agile, or Waterfall, as well as knowledge of how to apply them to a project, is a useful skill as a project manager.
Read on: The Waterfall approach to project management with Vault ERP.
Planning
As a project manager, it’s your job to create a roadmap for your project. Getting this right is essential to allocating resources efficiently, estimating the budget, and predicting profitability. Being able to effectively interpret previous project KPIs is a useful skill to have. In addition, you also have to be able to plan for issues and unforeseen circumstances that may crop up.
A project manager needs good interpersonal skills
Project management deals with people, whether that means negotiating with clients and stakeholders or mediating conflicts between team members. As a result, good interpersonal skills are a must. Soft skills such as empathy, patience, listening, and communication skills are a key part of project management. When writing down soft skills on a CV or résumé, it’s a good idea to have an example in mind of a time where you solved a problem with these skills.
Project management soft skills are something you learn throughout your whole life - in education, through work experience, and through interpersonal relationships. And while soft skills aren’t something you can get a qualification in, they are still something you can improve. Leadership, communication, organization, conflict resolution and more are all things that you can work on to make yourself a better project manager.
Read on: Project management mistakes to avoid and tips.
You may be a project manager by accident or by choice. Either way, the point is for you to become the best you can be. Polish your existing project management skills and acquire new ones on your exciting journey as a successful project manager. As a project manager, you can improve efficiency by using tools like Vault ERP for project management.
Discover Vault ERP for project management
Vault ERP is a versatile project management software that’s cloud-based and is easily accessible across devices. By using Vault ERP, project managers can do various activities. They can improve efficiency by centrally assigning tasks, tracking actual vs. planned expenses, viewing the time spent on each task, comparing planned effort vs. real effort, and viewing KPIs and analytical dashboards which will help them get better grip and control over the success of their project.
Contact us today to sign up for a free demo.
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