Many people are familiar with the term “project management.” Generally speaking, project management is using different tools to help steer the direction of a project to its goals. However, it can mean something different at every company. If you ask 10 project managers, “What is project management?” you’ll get 10 different answers. This is because the role varies based on the needs of each individual team.
Project Managers (PMs) work across a large range of technology practices, methodologies, and industries. Different methodologies will adapt to fit the company’s needs. No wonder you might be questioning what exactly is entailed in project management! We’ll take a little time to explain what it means here at Soliant and why it is important.
Most importantly, Soliant Project Managers exist to ensure the smooth delivery of client projects. That is easy to say and hard to do. There are many facets to a PM’s job you may not be aware of. These include many behind-the-scenes activities that ensure projects stay healthy.
Launching a Project
As soon as you, the client, reach out with a project in mind, project managers begin a series of conversations and action items to get your work started.
First, your project manager coordinates staffing for your work. We determine when your team is available and appropriately schedule the team for the duration of the work.
Your project manager will create a contract for work to start and handle any additional paperwork.
Once the team’s schedules are confirmed and a contract is signed, we will schedule a series of project kickoff calls. If you are a new client to Soliant, we have an internal call to align the sales and project teams. The sales team shares project scope your company background with the project team. Once our teams have met internally, we will meet with you to kick off the project.
Project Kickoff
Our first call with you is usually an introduction call. We start the call off with introductions and background for everyone on the call. Then we will work through different questions, such as licensing needs, non-functional requirements, hosting needs, database access, and additional requirements to get the work started. We will schedule regular status calls with you throughout the duration of the project. Importantly, we’ll also align on project goals to ensure we are moving forward in the same direction.
Your Project Manager will set up and give you access to some of our internal tools, including Whiteboard and Workbench. We use these to track progress, assist in testing and review, and give feedback on the development. We set up the project spaces internally to track time entry, budgeting, invoicing, Pos, and additional project information. Your Project Manager will make sure all the work is documented appropriately in our different tools.
Streamlining Projects
Project Managers will then oversee the work to make sure things are going smoothly. The PM will set up a variety of Scrum meetings with the development team. These include sprint planning, Retros, Standups, and Backlog Refinement. Scrums help things move forward and ensure the team has everything they need.
- Sprint planning meetings identify the work teams will develop over the next couple of weeks or “Sprint.”
- Retrospectives provide a chance to look at the work completed in the last “Sprint.” Here, we can adjust and make changes as work moves forward. These are crucial in good project management.
- Standups are short touchpoints to keep the team informed about work progress. Here, we identify any problems the PM may need to resolve.
- Backlog Refinement meetings determine the scope and priority of upcoming work. We’re always working on what is most important to the client and your priorities.
Your Project Manager will also check in individually with team members to get project updates, discuss concerns, and monitor stress levels.
It’s important to note that these Scrum and individual meetings are critical to the project work and project management process. These meetings ensure the team is moving in the same direction, setting the correct priorities, and making progress. They also help eliminate development silos while ensuring strong team communication and support.
Your Project Manager will help alleviate any blockers the team may come across. A blocker can be any kind of problem. Trouble with accessing a client database, a tricky bug, issues with communication…project managers triage it all.
Ongoing Communication
The Project Manager also shares project updates with you, the client. We help you navigate our internal tools, discuss budget and timeline updates, and share other project risks. We follow up on admin tasks such as invoicing, outstanding accounts receivable, and monitoring POs.
The project manager may reach out for internal support if the project has identified risks that need to be addressed. Soliant has an extensive team of risk reviewers and risk management tactics that are used where needed on projects.
We also share results of our internal forecasting engine to keep you updated on forecasted timeline and budget. Good project managers update and monitor this regularly.
One of the things Project Managers are most known for is making sure that projects run smoothly, but there is so much more that goes into making sure that happens. We are there to make sure that work keeps moving forward and that communication is happening between the client and development teams. We make sure the development team is scheduled appropriately and has the right balance of work.
Project Management: A Multi-faceted Role
Project Managers wear many hats. We aren’t only Project Managers; we are also Scrum Masters, team supporters, client advocates, and account managers. There is much more to a project manager than just making sure things go smoothly in terms of budget, timeline, and scope.
Project Managers are people who want to see your project be a success. We make sure both the client and development team are happy. Project Managers serve both the client and the development team. They help to make sure the team doesn’t become overburdened. They not only meet client needs but endeavor to go above and beyond. We care about the work and want to see a positive impact being made to your business. We rally for the project and the team. Project managers take care of the non-development work so that the development team can focus on the work they love. They ensure your project success.
To learn more about our project management process and see if we’re a good fit for your project, please contact our team. You can also learn more about our development process.
