Project management though looks easier but is a tedious job with numerous tasks that project managers must need to do right. It becomes double when tasks are allocated to team members and the project manager has to look out and ensure that the process goes smoothly.
Such a profile is not designated to just anyone who wants to lead a team or wants a tag of project manager. It requires different project management skills which either get through degrees or experience. Therefore, in this article, I am going to explain to you about top technical project management skills every project manager should have.
Table of Contents
What are Project Management Skills?
Project Management skills are the traits and competencies a manager needs to effectively complete and coordinate a project. Project management skills are required to plan, manage and execute projects. There are two ranges under management skills – “soft and hard (technical) skills.” Learning these skills ensures the project manager and its team’s ability to complete a project on time and within budget.
Soft skills are related to interpersonal issues or how you work. It is required to manage the team and make the workplace successful. These skills are important and looked out by employers in suitable candidates. Such skills are adaptability, communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and others.
On the other hand, a hard skill (or many preferred it as technical skills/abilities) is specific and quantifiable. That means, it can be measured and defined, you can be certified or earn a degree in that particular skill(s). It is skills required based on the job profile.
Top Technical Project Management Skills
Following are the top technical management skills every project manager irrespective of their industry must know.
Budget management
Each project consists of a budget, under which a list of resources are prepared, and based on that estimated costs are divided. Here, the project managers’ job is to make sure that the project does not go over budget. So, budgeting skill is essential and it requires good knowledge of finances, maths, and spreadsheet. If project managers are not good at this technical skill then projects face the consequences of cost overrun. You would find Budget management in almost every article on top 10 management skills. Managing and giving a precise budget takes a lot of efforts than expected.
Project Planning and Forecasting
When it comes to key project management skills, know that planning and forecasting is a must. Project management requires skilled planning. It can be challenging especially since project managers have to do educated guesses and plan accordingly.
That’s where forecasting comes into view, project managers must have the skills to use all the previous and extra information they have in making predictions and estimates.
Risk Management
Forecasting risks and avoiding them beforehand is in itself a skill that is part of technical management skills. Risk management is the key way to avoid negative effects on the project goals. Risk management is one of the project manager strengths.
As a project manager, it is your responsibility to define, prioritize and reduce risks. It holds an important place in the list of top project management skills. A project manager is the one answerable to everyone if a project gets deviated.
Scheduling Skills
Project Scheduling requires skills to prepare schedules of overall work and prepare the timeline of what, when, and how work will be performed. It can be in a work breakdown structure or any other project schedule form. The project managers are responsible for regulating milestones, and what tasks are dependent on.
A good project scheduling results in proper coordination, and management of work. In short, it helps in avoiding basic scheduling pitfalls like last-minute confusion, adjustments, etc.
Project management Software
A good project manager knows better than to use their own hands for every task. Instead, there are different project management tools to back them up. Unfortunately, there are many tools for different work styles, tasks, team structures, and more.
That’s where the skills to analyze the best tool for them come into the picture. Project managers not only select tools for their projects, but they should be expertise using project management software.
Technical Skills/Tech Savvy
While we are talking about exact skills, this particular skill implies a specific background-related tech knowledge. Like, HTML5, C++ are some of the most valuable hard skills. The number of technical skills a project manager presents can elevate them from average to expert.
These are the top technical project management skills, a project manager must have.
Bonus: Must-Know Project Management Tips
If we are talking about project management skills a project manager must have. Then we should also discuss a few project management tips that can be helpful to managers for ensuring remarkable results.
Understanding the project
Before starting any project it’s important to get all the project-related knowledge and lay a strong foundation. So, for that, you need to identify stakeholders and clients. Also, understand their interests and expectations from the project.
You also have to identify project requirements, goals, and objectives to have an overall understanding of the project before moving forward.
Communication is the Key
Communication is the key to a successful process and overall project. It is important to be transparent with your teams, clients, and stakeholders. Being a project manager, it is your responsibility to ensure that the communication between you and team members is always open so that they can come to you anytime without any thought.
Ineffective communication leads to failures of the project and a bad impression of the project manager along with its team and organization.
Understand your teams’ strengths and weaknesses
It is necessary to get to know your team’s strengths and weaknesses. So, that you can motivate and build a culture of sharing and innovation. A good leader always first understands their team’s strengths and weaknesses, then builds a team.
Knowing about their team members’ strengths will ensure faster work completion, also better time and cost management.
Set and test the deliverables
It is necessary to set realistic deliverables that are tangible milestones to reach an objective. To be a productive project manager, it is essential to settle deliverables in advance. Furthermore, it is also important to test deliverables at every step to ensure project success. Testing deliverables will help you to determine its success or failure and can correct it to bring it on track.
Hone your management skills
The main project management tip for project managers is to sharpen their skills by staying flexible to take up any challenge. It is crucial to constantly update your knowledge, develop new capabilities, and be flexible to use project management methodologies. Moreover, refining management skills will help you further to lead and motivate the team.
Leverage project management tools
Technology is a boon for project managers, especially project management tools that have become an essential part of project management.
Project management tool like Projectopia serves as the benefit for all emerging businesses and freelancers. It is a storehouse with all the useful features that make project managers’ life organized and projects successfully. The Projectopia with features like time tracking, client and team members dashboard, tasks, and milestones, support tickets, and client management can easily plan, manage and execute a project.
If you want to improve or enhance your management skills and ensure successful results then go for the project management tool. Besides, what’s better than Projectopia which is not only a fully-featured tool but also inexpensive.
Conclusion
This is all about technical project management skills, project managers should have. Along with that, there are bonus tips for you to be a successful project manager.
If you know more such tips and tricks that can be helpful for all professional people, then do let us know.