I believe the most important features a project manager should have are communication and coaching. A project manager should be efficient in communication to deliver important detailed information to their team members and higher-level leaders. The coaching feature is important because that allows the project manager to properly assess a team member's strengths and opportunities. To be an effective coach, the project manager should coach each team member differently depending on the team member's learning style; not how the project manager learns. These two features will aid a project manager in getting the best out of the team's contribution to a project.
The most essential feature for a project manager would be adaptability. In many cases throughout a project, the timeline is adjusted due to unforeseen circumstances as well as changes to the project scope. It is important for a project manager to be able to navigate through these changes to ensure that the timeline is not pushed back dramatically and the project is able to run smoothly. Additionally, when changes happen to the project team such as new members joining the team, it is important to be able to adapt to put the team member in a position to maximize their strengths. Also, the manager should be able to adapt their management style to one that is able to get the most out of the team. Project managers that lack adaptability would struggle with change, which is something that is bound to happen. As a result, the strengths of the team members would not be utilized, causing a decrease in quality. This would, in turn, result in a project that would not meet the goals of the project and in a project team that would lose trust in management.
Effective communication is, in my opinion and past experiences, the most important talent a project manager can have. This fundamental competence is what allows all other managerial abilities, such as negotiating, coaching, and personal organization, to be successfully practiced. Everyone involved in the project, from team members to stakeholders, needs to grasp the project's objectives, roles, and timeframes. Because everyone is aware of the boundaries and goals, this transparency makes talks easier. It also helps with coaching because open discussion allows for better mentorship and feedback. Even personal organization, which is necessary for job management and planning, is dependent on efficient communication to turn well-laid plans into action. In projects where I've been a manager or was under one, excellent communication served as the glue that holds all other project management tasks together, increasing their efficiency and effectiveness.
Most people in this discussion have mentioned many soft skills that a project manager should embody but I believe that the project managers that are set apart are ones with technical engineering skills. A rich experience in engineering gives a PM a better understanding of the technical aspects of the project which can help them make more informed decisions and communicate more effectively to their team.
Most of the PMs that I work with have background experience working with machining, tooling, manufacturing, and designing allowing them to be effective managers when communicating ideas, make effective decisions, and solve problems that may arise. For instance, a PM with tooling experience is going to know that it takes to build a fixture so during the designing phase, all concepts for building and designing it is going to be taken into consideration allowing for effective management of time and quality.
Medical device product and project risk management can rarely exist without the other. This becomes apparent when you are responsible for the project meeting its objectives. Along with this responsibility is the responsibility of compliance with all applicable regulatory and quality requirements for developing and commercializing the products. Nowadays, the rules, criteria, and guidance are changing at an increased pace and the need for a synchronized project has become increasingly crucial. The risk management topic involving medical devices, software, etc. has made its way to the forefront for the focus of current project managers. We can see for example, that when developing a new medical device product, there are numerous quality management system regulations and standards that will map out and detail the requirements for scheming, developing, authenticating and validation of the product prior to its transfer to manufacturing. This is accomplished by realizing controls for production itself, examination, storage, shipment, and service to the product. In addition, surveillance of the product and its use in the marketplace along with risk management throughout the product’s lifecycle. Project Managers solve the appropriate problems. It's alright to get off track, it may lead to a great concept. It’s required to come back to the large picture as well as what is right for the device or software and the client. That's why early in the project, Project Managers keep asking the client, "What is your desired use?" If the answer is, "Oh, we're still working on the requirements." that's really dangerous. Not just for regulative, but functional concerns. You can get a long way down the course and also understand that's not what you desire. A normal incident on the cutting edge is something digital you expect to happen but doesn't work. You have a fallback option you really hope will work. A great project manager will communicate to the customer that the risk account has changed. When you switch from confidence to it working, to hoping it might work as well as having an uninformed client, it ends up being hazardous. Job supervisors remain in a setting where they oversee something out of your control. Clients understand that troubles that are hard to stop or alleviate in advance can arise, yet project managers make sure that these issues are met with the needed rehabilitative actions. A project manager glues the team together and represents the customer internally. They also forecast concerns out to the client, so that they know what to anticipate as well as what to do with the next vital thing. It's easy to spend excessive time on things that do not matter. Project Managers see to it that the team invests its energy in a reliable method (fixes troubles deeply enough, but not too deeply). They allow you to reach an outcome that's highly reliable as well as affordable. It is almost impossible to be in the trenches, working away at the details of some difficult trouble while concurrently arranging the remainder of the task team towards the end result. Project Management is crucial for medical device development, software development, and manufacturing. Otherwise, the job would blow up as well as take three times longer. Without an excellent Project Manager, the design and development team would not methodically go after the high-danger items. They wouldn't understand when it meets its requirements and when to focus on something else. Project Managers make sure that Quality Assurance as well as Regulatory are included when required. Project Managers recognize when to bring Quality Assurance in. They supervise seeing to it that all regulative documents are completed. Quality Assurance look at the task to make certain it has actually been done; whereas the Project Manager makes sure it gets done. It's a lot easier for Quality Assurance to speak directly with one person to understand the requirements. Project Managers end up being the voice of the customer. As the Project Manager, you become a third party when having design and development conferences since you represent the client internally. On the other hand, to the customer, you're representing the entire design and development group. You assist them, see what's coming down the line, deal with willpower issues they might not be aware of, and utilize the advancement team's experience. Client communication: The client bonds tightly with the Project Manager. They want to make sure that nothing gets altered for them. The connection they have actually come to depend upon is something they can anticipate. The daily service corporate relationship is taken care of by the project manager as well as typically removes the demand to intensify concerns to a higher level. Maintain the demands before the technical team: When you start to engage in several of the system's modern technology obstacles, you need a person to state to your team, "Do not neglect this item. What are we doing concerning this? Have we considered that?" Bringing it in front so that you are converging towards the appropriate service. You would certainly make something, but whether it fulfilled any one of the demands would certainly be pure luck. Satisfying the right needs. A great project manager will interact to the client that the danger account has altered. Clients understand that issues arise which are hard to stop or minimize ahead of time, but Project Managers make certain that these issues are communicated and that the necessary corrective actions are taken. Give an essential interaction path: particularly on larger layout groups with 4-6 designers with a great deal of interactions. A project manager will mold the team with each other as well as stand for the client inside. A project manager additionally anticipates issues bent on the customer, so that they know what to anticipate and what to do with the following crucial item. Project Managers assist with Risk administration, managing skills and handling scope creep. In the trenches, a client often asks, "Can you include this little attribute?" As you start lugging the demand out, it may have substantial ramifications for the team, routine, and price. You must quit as well as ask: "Is it worth doing?" Commonly, things will show up from an individual threat standpoint that could stop points in their tracks. Project Managers assess all the usability needs first and early in order to maintain points, be cost effective and mitigate threat. There will always be unknowns during any medical device project, and you should expect them throughout.
In my opinion, an important skill a project manager should have is to be resourceful. There will be times when things may go wrong or the project team will struggle to understand something in the project and in this situation a good project manager should have the experience to remove any obstacles from his/her team members . The project manager must have the experience and knowledge to solve any problems that may occur during the development of the project.
Hello,
The most essential feature of a project manager is undoubtedly effective communication. Project management revolves around coordinating various aspects of a project, and communication serves as the pin holding it all together. A project manager's ability to communicate efficiently and comprehensively is multifaceted. It begins with engaging personnel, from team members to clients and external partners, ensuring that their needs, expectations, and concerns are not only understood but also addressed. Within the project team, communication is vital for clear task assignments, deadline adherence, and fostering a collaborative environment. When challenges inevitably arise, effective communication is key to not only identifying these issues but also brainstorming and implementing solutions.
Out of the qualities listed, I believe that personal organization is the most essential feature for a project manager. As the previous posts expressed, communication and negotiation are critical however personal organization ensures that a manager can effectively lead all aspects in a a particular project. Some of the most important priorities of a project manager are time management, prioritization, and task tracking. Without organizational skills, a project lacks the foundation for an efficient team effort. If a project manager excels in personal organization, they can create an environment that promotes clear communication and consequently effective team coaching that allows the project to stay on course. A project manager can exhibit great communication skills, negotiation tactics, and effective coaching however if they lack personal organization, they will not be able to effectively lead a team towards a common goal. This is why I believe this is the most essential feature. Organization is often noted as a personal characteristic. If a project manager lacks personal organization, do you think that this is a skill that can be taught and exercised? Or is it more of an inherent natural possessed skill?
I strongly believe that good communication skill is a must for good project manager. To my understanding, the PM is the one the represents client in front of the working team, and represents the team in front of the client. Therefore, they need good communication skill to convey the demand of the clients to the working team, while also have to explain to the clients difficulties or possible obstacles the team might have to accomplish the clients' demand. Therefore, the PM to me is like the bridge between the client and the working team, like an interpreter of two languages. They need to understand one side well and convey it successfully to the other side. Without clear and efficient communication, the final product will not be as expected by the client.
Project management in my opinion is more about managing a project but about managing people and their workflows to get something done. A good project manager must be flexible to change, creative, and easy to work with. There are a lot of ways one can go about working on a project and guiding it to completion but no one will be willing to work with you if they don't find you approachable in a professional setting. Ideas are important from all ends so being able to be open to learning from your team and taking feedback that might not always be so favorable is still very important.
