Project management actions

A typical project manager’s role includes a set of project management actions necessary for successful planning, tracking and implementation of project tasks and activities. Every person assigned to this role needs to clearly know and understand key PM actions in order to successfully carry out his/her duties and lead project teams. It is recommended to take project management action learning courses and attend some training sessions prior to starting managing projects. If you are an assigned project manager you can follow this recommendation and also try to make a work plan template that includes the key tasks and activities you will do to plan, track and report your project. In this article we’ll try to help you by giving a list of tasks.

Here are the key activities you can take to successfully perform your project manager’s role:

• Make Project Charter. Through communicating with the project sponsor and the customer you can make Project Charter which is based on the customer’s expectations and available funds of the sponsor. Usually Project Charter includes information gathered from Business Case, Feasibility Study and Funds Request.
• Select Team. As a project manager you need to assemble a productive team that will follow you guidelines and do project tasks. In your agenda you can list necessary tasks for interviewing candidates and selecting the best ones.

• Hold Kickoff Meeting. Such a meeting is the first project meeting for discussing the key points of your project (like goals, expected overall duration, deliverables, implementation tools, methodology etc.). During the kickoff meeting you need to make a presentation of your project and announce project management action items.
• Start Project. Because your team knows project goals now you can develop a general project plan and also subsidiary plans to set up tasks and activities your team will be assigned to. In your action list this step will signify the project’s start.
• Manage Project. This activity requires you to manage the execution of your project. You need to manage identified risks, maintain team collaboration, ensure efficient communications, pass on milestones, delegate tasks and assignments, supervise teamwork etc. Remember the key goal of this PM action is to make sure the project is executed according to the general plan.

• Track Project. Job tracking requires you to monitor project processes and also in case of any deviations take immediate actions to prevent failures. You must be ready to make reactive decisions and implement effective solutions.
• Measure Performance. It requires you to measure the over project performance and also keep track of both individual and team productivity. You can develop spreadsheets and estimates to calculate key performance metrics and indicators.
• Make Reports. Making project reports is the final record in your task register. Reports help you summarize your project, sum up efficiency and find out if expected deliverables have been produced. Reporting allows you to finalize project activities and close the project.

This list of the key activities can be modified and new items can added. You can specify it and create new actions in order to make your project management duties more complete and comprehensive. VIP Task Manager will help you perform your project manager’s role. This software allows using templates, checklists and to-do lists to plan your own project management action research.