What is the Role of an IT Project Manager?

Technological innovation improves efficiency, increases productivity, and drives business growth. However, achieving success in technology projects is a rather tall order. A 2018 Project Management study revealed that IT projects are extremely difficult to manage, have the highest chances of failure, and are likely to experience cost and schedule overruns.

Many projects fail to do well for a variety of reasons. The most common reasons are shifts in the organization’s priorities and changes to the project’s objectives. According to the same survey, inadequate or poor communication, team member procrastination, and inexperienced project managers are key factors that figure in the collapse of a project. This is where the effectiveness of a project manager could turn things around.

An IT project manager is the individual tasked with planning, organizing, managing the team, allocating resources accordingly, and successfully leading an IT project to completion. He or she is responsible for anticipating potential risks and obstacles.

There is a wide range of technology projects that the IT project manager can handle. These can include software development, web, and app development, hardware installation and implementation, infrastructure and network upgrades, and more. The project manager will need to interact with various departments of the organization, communicate with stakeholders and team members, and ensure that all efforts exerted are directed toward the achievement of the project’s objective.

With a lot of elements weighing heavily on the project manager’s shoulders, having the right person for the job could make or break the project.

It is of utmost importance that a project manager commissioned to lead technology projects possess the skills and attitude fit for the job. Some must-have traits of an IT Project Manager are:

• Must be an effective motivator and communicator. The project manager leads a group of people who often come from different units within the company (and in the case of an outsourced PM, another organization altogether), working with individuals whom he or she has no direct influence over, and sometimes for the first time. A good IT project manager however, should move past these difficulties and get through to each team member, foster two-way communication, instill confidence, and motivate them to do their part toward project completion.

•  Must be able to embrace accountability. There is a lot of unpredictability when a project is underway and a number of things could go wrong. A responsible IT project manager should be accountable for the decisions and actions taken that have led to the current circumstances, and take measures to get the project back on track. Accepting accountability and making decisive moves to correct mistakes convey a powerful message to the team and stakeholders.

• Must be fully committed to success. An effective IT project manager determines the right strategic objectives, sets milestones to achieve these goals, and has the team execute accordingly. They believe in the work they do and it shows in their mindset and performance. Success is the only acceptable end goal and a good IT project manager is bent on seeing the project come to fruition.

Not all organizations have the talent resources to ensure the perfect execution of their IT projects. If you’ve got complex IT infrastructure projects in mind but don’t have the right person to lead the job, CentricsIT can help.

At CentricsIT, we have the high-level engineering expertise and global network of managed resources to handle the most challenging infrastructure projects. Our dedicated team of 40+ project managers can communicate with you to understand your needs, and work with you to get the job done right—whether these are infrastructure assessments, installations and implementations, data center relocations, and more.

Contact us today to know more about our IT Project Management Services.