Project Management: A Job Description

Project management is a challenging and rewarding role. Not everybody can (or wants to) do it. Here are some thoughts about Clinic projects and project management that will help you decide whether you want to throw your hat in the ring. If you are selected as a project manager, here's what will be expected of you.

Clinic projects are too difficult for an individual to accomplish in the allotted time, so teamwork is essential for a successful project. The project manager is the person who is in charge of maintaining coordination of a project. It's a big responsibility. Let's put it in perspective.

Your one-year, six-unit Clinic course will be over almost before you know it. And, if you are a senior like most Clinic participants, the last weeks of the spring semester will be consumed by preparing for graduation and applying for graduate school and/or summer employment. On top of all that, your team will have the difficult job of completing your Clinic project, preparing the final presentation for Projects Day and the Final Report. So it is very important that your team be well-coordinated and working efficiently towards completion of the project, else chaos rules.

One of the first things your project team will do is write a statement of work that explains how your team will accomplish the work proposed in your sponsor's project proposal. The statement of work is a contract, and you will negotiate its final form with the persons appointed by your sponsor as the project liaison.

The success of a Clinic project depends in large part on several factors, including:

  • How well the statement of work and its objectives are matched to the skills of the individual team members;
  • How effectively the disparate activities of the team members are coordinated towards achieving the objectives of the work statement;
  • How effectively the team is guided towards completing work on schedule;
  • How well the team efforts are communicated to the sponsoring liaison;
  • How well the team responds to the suggestions of the faculty advisor and liaison.

These factors are summed up by the word “organization”. Good organization does not often arise spontaneously. Ordinarily, it is brought about by selecting an individual to take responsibility in coordination, scheduling and communications on behalf of the project. That person is the project manager.

Here are some of the things a project manager must do:

  • Accept responsibility for the coordination of a team;
  • Work to promote a sense of shared enterprise and cooperation among the team members;
  • Understand the distinct skills of each team member and how each one may best fit within the project;
  • Seek and promote consensus among team members in defining project objectives;
  • Be fair minded in apportioning responsibilities to carry out the tasks needed to accomplish the objectives;
  • Gain acceptance of responsibility of each team member in performing assigned tasks;
  • Set goals and milestones to assure progress towards scheduled tasks;
  • Pay meticulous attention to the details of a project;
  • Take timely action when it becomes clear that milestones are not being met, assess cause and take corrective action;
  • Negotiate alternative research objectives with sponsor if/when it becomes clear that a prior objective will fail
  • Be prepared to make hard decisions when unresolved personnel problems arise;
  • Maintain continuing good communications with the liaison and faculty advisor;
  • Keep an eye on the calendar to ensure timely delivery of all promised work products.

These are not the kinds of things that everyone can do or will want to do. But, for the kind of person who wants to take on the extra responsibility, the special satisfaction that comes with keeping a project running smoothly and on track is a rare and precious reward that makes the effort worthwhile. And it will look good on your resume, too.