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The software engineer and the project manager provide complementary skills and work collaboratively on shared activities. The three main activities of the project manager are organizational liaison, personnel management, and project monitoring and control. The "Liaison" section discusses the project manager's role as a go-between for the technical team and agents who are not members of the technical team (such as project sponsors, users, IS management, vendors, and so on).
In the "Personnel Management" section, you will learn that this job entails working with personnel and human resources to hire, fire, and provide employees with professional development.
The "Monitor and Control" section explains that project monitoring involves tracking project progress relative to budget. Project control means implementing changes when progress is not satisfactory (such as training or revising project plans).
Summary
The project manager role is frequently separate and distinct from that of the software engineer. The software engineer is generally responsible for technical aspects of project work. Some tasks are joint, complementary activities shared by project managers and software engineers. For these joint activities, the software engineer contributes technical skills, and the project manager contributes organizational skills.
The project manager is solely responsible for most people-related aspects of projects. The three main tasks of the project manager are organizational liaison, employee management, and project monitoring and control. Organizational liaison includes creating
working relationships with other organizations and departments, resolving project-related problems regardless of their nature, and reconciling the project design with expectations of others. Employee management includes working with Personnel to hire,
fire, and staff the project. Employee management also includes individual employee monitoring to help them evaluate, set, and attain career goals. Project monitoring and control is the other major project management activity. Monitoring means to trace
the progress of project work and compare it to budgeted time and resources to maintain progress. Control includes deciding and implementing project changes when progress is not satisfactory. Project changes might include change of job assignments, introduction
of training, or change to schedules, and plans.