Competency: Project Management

Definition: Project Management (PM) is a complex set of activities including defining the scope, planning the implementation, creating a timeline, allocating resources, managing risk, execution/implementation, coordinating different teams/individuals, and monitoring progress. Several important skills are required including: communication, teamwork, leadership, interpersonal and technical.

Leadership Skills

Leadership
Management
Establishing Focus/Direction
Managing Performance
Supervisory Skills
Persuasion and Influence
Project Management
Delegation
Performance

Assessments Measuring Project Management Skills:
Survey 1 (4-point scale; Competency Comments)
Survey 2 (4-point scale; Competency Comments)
Survey 3 (5-point scale; Competency Comments)
Survey 4 (5-point scale; radio buttons)
Survey 5 (4-point scale; words)
Survey 6 (4-point scale; words)
Survey 7 (5-point scale; competency comments; N/A)
Survey 8 (3-point scale; Agree/Disagree words; N/A)
Survey 9 (3-point scale; Strength/Development; N/A)
Survey 10 (Comment boxes only)
Survey 11 (Single rating per competency)
Survey 12 (Slide-bar scale)

Defining the Scope

Defines project outcomes based on customer requirements.
Understands the budget constraints for the project.
Assesses the ability of the organization to handle the project.
Establishes the scope for the project.
Determines the project scope.
Defines the project scope, goals, and resources.
Outlines the key objectives for the project.
Understands the financial, strategic, resources, staffing, timeline and market risks that may impact the project.
Meets with stakeholders to determine the requirements for the project.
Determines appropriate short and long-term goals.
Accurately estimates for the costs and work involved in various phases of projects.

Planning the Implementation

Anticipates potential problems and institutes controls and contingency plans to address them.
Accurately determines the number of staff needed for the project.
Formulates the schedule for the project phases, resoures usage, and benchmarks.
Identifies critical requirements for each phase of the project.
Researches potential solutions to meet the constraints of the project.
Estimates the staffing requirements for the project.
Plans and implements responses to potential threats to the success of the project.
Creates a vision for execution of the project to ensure coordination across all teams.
Creates the implementation strategy for the project.
Accurately determines the number of engineers required for the project.
Maps out the project, timeline, resource requirements, metrics and communication.

Creating the Timeline

Documents the sequence of steps needed to complete the project.
Identifies the project time and budget constraints.
Schedules project phases and tasks to facilitate successful completion of the project.
Creates a schedule for the different phases of the project.
Establishes the sequence of steps needed to complete the project.
Outlines key project dates and milestones.
Adds the necessary time buffers to avoid the project getting behind schedule.
Estimates the time needed for each phase of the project.
Estimates the duration for each phase of the project.
Determines the correct order for the phases of the project.
Plans who, when, and what work needs to get done.

Resource Allocation

Maintains costs and expenses within budget limits.
Correctly estimates the cost of supplies for the project.
Locates the equipment and supplies needed for the project.
Identifies the source materials that will be needed.
Develops a plan for resource management.
Procures the resources necessary to complete the project.
Acquires and allocates internal and external resources needed for the project.
Ensures resources are utilized at the appropriate levels for each phase of the project.
Locates the financial resources to budget for the project.

Managing Risk

Investigates potential risks of different courses of action.
Conducts a risk assessment for the project.
Identifies risks to each phase of the project.
Conducts a risk assessment for each phase of the project.
Creates a risk management plan and periodically updates it as the project moves forward.
Identifies potential risks that could pose challenges to the project timeline.
Identifies the potential risks for each phase of the project.
Determines the appropriate strategy for mitigating specific risks.
Identifies potential risks to completing the project on time.
Implements risk mitigation strategies to help move the project to successful completion.
Documents the risk assessments for different parts of the project.

Implementation

Responds quickly and appropriately to unforeseen problems.
Determines the project strategy for implementation.
Ensures work is completed to the appropriate standards.
Implements project metrics to track progress.
Ensures the project is executed on time and on budget.
Ensures that the project remains at or under budget.
Changes the implementation of specific phases of the project to mitigate certain risks.
Able to coordinate interdependent phases of projects.
Establishes targets, plans, and measures of employee performance.
Implements quality control and quality assurance systems and processes.
Able to coordinate and manage infrastructure for systems and processes.

Coordination

Able to adjust project schedule as needed to accommodate unforeseen issues.
Develops action items, workplans, timelines, and criteria for projects.
Organizes work and sets priorities as needed.
Organizes, plans, and directs resources to accomplish the goals and objectives.
Presents clear and accurate status information to required constituents.
Coordinates timelines, events and tasks with various sub-groups within the project.
Manages various facets of the project to keep it on track with the delivery date.
Prepares contingency plans to avoid supply chain disruptions.
Keeps accurate records regarding the costs of various aspects of the project.
Plans, organizes, and controls all aspects of projects.
Coordinates the activities of various teams and departments.
Manages complex systems and processes.

Monitoring Progress

Regularly reviews project performance and goals.
Develops performance measures for various aspects of the project.
Creates the metrics used to measure progress on the project.
Monitors timelines and milestones to ensure set benchmarks are met.
Prepares and utilizes QC Checklists to ensure high quality.
Monitors finances to ensure optimal use of project funds.
Regularly measures and records progress of the project.
Decides what metrics should be used as milestones for the project.
Follows progress on the project from initial phase to completion.
Follows through with the project cycle from start to finish.

Communication Skills

Communicates with the teams often to ensure that the deadlines are met.
Communicates with all employees involved on the project.
Keeps stakeholders informed of progress on the project.
Establishes communication protocols for messaging team members and stakeholders.
Communicates the results of the project, at the conclusion, to all stakeholders.
Communicates with the necessary stakeholders if the budget targets are missed.
Coordinates communication between the project team and stakeholders.
Creates the communications that will be used throughout the project's implementation.

Teamwork Skills

Fosters an environment that promotes collaboration among team members.
Determines the roles for project team members.
Assigns project roles to the team members.
Makes sure all team members understand their roles.

Leadership Skills

Inspires others to accomplish goals and objectives.
Hold team members accountable for completing specific tasks on the project.
Inspires the project implementation team to achieve success.
Influences and challenges others to exceed defined goals.

Interpersonal Skills

Works with customers and clients to assess their needs and define project parameters.
Engages stakeholders and team members in open discussions.
Successfully negotiated contracts with suppliers.
Holds meetings with supply-chain vendors regarding acquisition of resources.
Works with both internal and external individuals to facilitate the project.
Engages with individuals internally and externally to support the implementation of the project.
Interacts with stakeholders regarding the outcomes required by the project.
Develops and maintains strong relationships with suppliers and contractors.

Technical Skills

Uses appropriate software tools to assist in managing the project.
Understands what software tools are available to be used to manage the project.
Has detailed knowledge about the project and can adapt the project plan as needed.
Uses appropriate technology to efficiently communicate with team members.
Uses scheduling software to create and monitor the timeline.
Effective at using video conferencing software to manage remote teams.
Initiates large projects.
Has the requisite industry knowledge to manage projects in this field.