What it’s like to be a Project Manager at Appinventiv

Searching for an approach to remain in front of the pack in the current serious and turbulent worldwide economy, organizations are relying on project management to reliably convey business results. Furthermore, more organizations are plainly seeing the result from contributing time, cash and assets to fabricate authoritative executives abilities like lower costs, more noteworthy efficiencies, improved client and partner fulfillment, and more prominent upper hand.

Almost every day in the life of a project manager is different. The challenges, obstacles they face every day, are different. The kind of stakeholders they need to communicate to and the resources and risks they need to mitigate, are different. In short, days are unpredictable. If at all, I have to sum up a typical day in the life of a project manager, it is about coordination and control.

At Appinventiv, being a project manager is all about managing people and resources through leadership, motivation and discipline which are the cornerstone of this profession. While these qualities are absolutely pivotal, the reality is you should also be at the forefront of technology and particularly project management tools. These tools are crucial as they will help you stay on top of schedules, budgets and more. We make use of certain project management tools to automate various tasks as far as managing projects go and we expect you to be aligned with such platforms. As far as these tools are concerned, the expectation may be that these tools are one-fit-all and that they pretty much apply to all projects. However, as a project manager at Appinventiv, we allow the freedom you need to get in tune with the tools YOU think are appropriate for a certain project.

Project management tools and solutions have always been the game-changing factor. The tools we use at Appinventiv will help you make positive changes in project management through;

• Project planning: Uses data from previous projects to plan better
• Scheduling and time tracking: Keeps track of time spent on tasks and manages scheduled events, meetings, milestones, and deadlines
• Communication and collaboration: Lets you share critical information with team members, clients, stakeholders    
• Budgets and deadlines: Helps you deliver projects within the allocated budget
• Progress tracking: Keeps track of the ongoing projects and if resources need to be adjusted

At Appinventiv, we understand that the success of a project depends on a lot of factors. These are, among others, people who work on it, appropriate management of the undertaking, tools used to manage tasks and a manager who coordinates the project. Obviously, we cannot forget about other very important factors such as finance, deadlines and technological facilities. Delivering regularly not only for yourself but on the behalf of an entire team is bound to get challenging at some point of time. Don’t be afraid to look for help and advice. Nobody expects you to know everything, even if you’ve been managing projects for decades. We will make sure that all the resources are aligned as per your need and the project requirement.

In order to dive deeper and project an honest picture of the nuances of working as a Project Manager with us, we asked some of our employees, and this is what they had to say.

If you’re looking to work with us as a Project Manager, we have listed and simplified the key roles and responsibilities to help you drive successful project management.

1. Check in with the team members daily
2. Assess the health of the project daily
3. Update clients and stakeholders regularly
4. Prioritize tasks to maximise productivity
5. Keep a flexible schedule
6. Set deadlines and stick to them
7. Clarify the scale and scope of your project
8. Delegate work and responsibilities appropriately
9. Integrate the right project management software
10. Take risk-mitigating measures
11. Behold a financial prowess
12. Keep quality as the paramount need
13. Be a good listener and leader
14. Passionate for problem solving

The world of a PM can get pretty compelling. It’s also exciting, rewarding, and always interesting. In order to stay on track, we suggest and push you to build your day around the daily tasks. As a project manager, you need to be rigid enough to drive a project to the finish line, yet flexible enough to deliver the product according to expectations as circumstances change. 

Over the years, we’ve zeroed in on the traits that have made the most successful project managers. While companies are still fighting on finding the perfect manager for their projects, here is a quick glance at the basic qualities and skills of a project manager.

• They learn constantly and never act like they know it all.
• They know exactly what is to be delivered and by when. 
• They know the stakeholders’ expectations like the back of their hand.
• They know the strengths and weaknesses of each technology and tool being used in the project.
• They get the most out of their teams by understanding them collectively and individually.
• They never blame the team for mishaps. 
• They take responsibility for knowing and resolving issues in real time.

To make a project easier to plan and control, we have grouped it into phases, with each phase having similar tasks and leading up to a major deliverable. The end of each phase is then marked by a project milestone. Here is an adequately phased approach at Appinventiv.

Stage 1: Initiation 

This phase of project management marks the beginning of the project and is where the project charter is developed, and stakeholders are identified.

Stage 2: Planning

This is where the project plan is developed. That means costs are estimated, resources are determined, and requirements, scope and work breakdown structure are defined. This is also where risk is identified and planned for and where communications are built.

Stage 3: Execution

This project phase is where the project is carried out, all while procuring resources and managing stakeholder expectations.

Stage 4: Controlling/Monitoring

This phase is often carried out simultaneously with execution because this is where quality, scope creep, and cost/time allocations are monitored.

Stage 5: Closing

This stage of project management is where the project is finalized, the deliverable is given to the customer, stakeholders are told of the completion of the project, and all resources are released back to their resource managers.

Eventually, the goal of a project manager is to stay in business by offering solutions that teams need. Despite the size of a project, we all need someone who will be in charge of efficiency and productivity on them. Does your project need a project manager? 89% of high performing organizations agree that project managers are an asset. As project management is becoming a necessity of every business, we should focus on finding a leader who has the vision, the right skills, and knowledge to ensure on-time completion of projects. Project manager and project management are like two facets of a coin and for a project to be successful, bringing both into the picture is important. If I have convinced you that project management is indeed an interesting and wise choice, then kick-start your career with us.

THE AUTHOR

Arman Singh

Project Manager