The tip of the iceberg
A project manager is the person in charge of fulfilling a single mission: to finish a project in the indicated time and manner .
In a digital agency the project can be translated as a site, system or web application, the implementation of an advertising campaign, or the fulfillment of one or more requirements requested by a client.
At first glance it may seem easy, but this is only the tip of the iceberg, the task becomes a little more complex because a project manager is not the one who can finish a project by himself but has to rely on people who can. they can do it, that is, a team.
That's when the real show of a project manager begins.
Let the show begin!
In a digital agency a team is mainly made up of designers and programmers, although there may also be other elements that are integrated such as copywriters, analytics specialists, or marketers.
To begin, the entire team that will work to fulfill the mission must, before anything else, know the mission. This is the first function of a project manager. Communicate the mission to the team, that is, the objective of the project.
Once the team knows the mission, then they can plan how it will be achieved, so the next function of a project manager is that of plan who does what, how they will do it, and when they have to do it in order to comply with the time and form of the project. It also evaluates what could go wrong in the project and anticipates it by indicating in the plan options B and C that can be useful if something fails, in other words, evaluate and prevent risks< span style="font-weight: 400;">.
When each team member knows what they need to do and when they need to deliver it, then they start executing it.
At this point, the project manager's role is to be a facilitator of everyone's tasks. Although a project manager is not a designer or a programmer, there are many tasks that he or she can facilitate to avoid delays or errors.
During the execution stage, the project manager mainly provides information. Information that may come from the client, suppliers, or other team members. At the same time as facilitating, it also monitors and supervises that each member fulfills their assigned tasks within the times indicated in the plan so that there are no delays.
At this stage of the project there may also be changes in the requirements, delivery time or circumstances of the project, so the project manager will be in charge of have change control and adjust the plan whenever necessary.
When everyone has completed their tasks, the project manager validates that everything that has been executed is really what was requested in the mission, that is, that the requirements or scope of the project have been met, this is quality.
When the quality of the project is assured, then the project manager makes the final delivery to the client and when their approval is received then you can close, or release a project, which is practically finalize it formally through the signing of a project completion agreement.
All of the above are the operational functions of a project manager, and of them there are several methodologies that help the project to improve them to meet its objective. PMI, CMMI or agile methodologies such as Scrum are some of them.
But there is a side show in which a project manager must show another range of skills.
The other show
The main resource of a project manager is people and therefore, a project manager, before managing projects, must know how to lead people. Being reliable, humble and honest greatly facilitates your role as a leader, both with your work teams and with clients. .
In this range of skills, a project manager must know very well how to communicate, how to motivate, how to mediate, and how to make each task of your team members have meaning beyond the task itself (meaningful work).
The keys to success
In my experience within a large digital agency I can say that the two keys for a project manager to be successful are:
Simplicity
In the words of John Maeda: Keep everything simple. Organization makes a lot seem like a little. Knowledge makes things simpler [because you will always do what you should do and the way you should do it].
Support the team
If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go further, go with a team. Far from having control of everything in each project, making their teams grow and reach their maximum potential are the reasons why most good project managers are successful.
