Role of Project Manager in Software Development Company

Did you know software project management was first started in the late 80s when the software industry started to finally take off? The roles of project manager have since evolved to oversee planning, execution, and delivery, ensuring projects meet their goals efficiently.

Well, these early projects lacked the need for a dedicated person who could oversee the work and coordinate tasks across all departments. To overcome this challenge, companies started hiring a dedicated individual who would be in charge of software development and will have the authority as well as the technical understanding of the end goal. The position of this person was named ‘software development project manager’ in the company.

It’s been more than 30 years and today the roles and responsibilities of a project manager in the software development have evolved dramatically. Today, project managers must also deploy all the necessary skills required to complete a project successfully. They can’t just relay directions from a client to developers. Instead, they also have to inspire and motivate the team while keeping everything on track to ensure a project is delivered successfully.

Let’s develop a better understanding of a project manager in software development arena.

What is a Project Manager in Software Development?

Every successful project depends on the team effort and just like that, there also needs to be a central figure to be accountable for all the efforts and actions by the teams. This person will have a direct connection with all teams and be responsible to instruct them toward reaching a goal. Such an employee will be named as ‘software development project manager’ in any company.

Failure in motivating a team or to communicate the requirements effectively can lead to a breakdown in the project. This is something you strictly want to avoid during software development. It’s the main reason why you must hire a project manager in the software development.

This article discusses the key roles and responsibilities of a software development project manager. Let’s dig deeper!

What Roles Do Software Development Project Managers Have?

1. Leader

A project manager software development must lead his team towards success. He must provide them with the right direction and help them understand the core expectations of the project and clearly explain the roles of each member in the software development team. He must build a powerful team of software experts with different skills so each member can contribute effectively to the best of their abilities.

2. Liaison

The software development project manager works as a communication link between the clients and the team. He must coordinate and transfer all the relevant information from the clients to his team and vice versa while keeping the upper management updated on all information. He must be responsible to work closely with analysts, software designers, and other team members to communicate everything about the goals of the project.

3. Mentor

A software development project manager works as a mentor who guides his team throughout the complete development lifecycle. He provides advice to them whenever needed and motivates them to move in the right direction.

Essential Skills Required for A Project Manager in the Software Development

Having a deeper understanding of various trendy project management techniques is an essential requirement to become a successful project manager software development.

• He also must be able to make smarter decisions at the right time.
• Good communication skills and the ability to control the team members are the cherries on the cake.
• Additionally, the skills such as tracking and monitoring the progress of the project and sharing improvisation feedback are required.
• Project managers are responsible to maintain better interaction with customers to understand their journey and get feedback from their experiences.

Apart from these, a project manager in a software development company must also possess all these skills –

• Strong knowledge of the latest project techniques
• Instant and smart decision-making.
• Good communication skills to keep everyone aligned to the project requirements.
• Powerful motivational skills to direct everyone in the team towards the success of the project.
• Risk estimation skills.

Top 5 Responsibilities of a Software Development Project Manager

1. Strategy Mapping

For a project to be successful and completed within the assigned deadline, the core planning must be effective and result-driven. Here is what it takes to develop a strong strategy.

Scope projection should be perfect and on the point. It’s important to know more about the end customer, the ultimate goal of the software development, and what could be the operational requirements of the project.

The project manager must plan which activities must be executed in each phase of the software development. He must allocate specific tasks to each team member and closely monitor to ensure on-time delivery.

To mitigate the risk of the project, a project manager software development must plan for all potential hindrances that might occur during the course of the project.

2. Setting Goals

The software development project managers are often responsible to set measurable goals to define the overall project’s objective. It must be concise and crisp and outline the end goal clearly.

3. Time Management

This is a major consideration to ensure timely delivery. With appropriate time estimation, project managers can set the daily priorities of each team member and stay prepared in advance if any delays occur in any of the activities.

4. Budget Allocation

Although the budget depends on many other factors, a project manager in software development must set a specific budget for resource allocation and do all cost considerations to ensure the success of the project.

5. Monitoring

Executing the plan of action and ensuring it’s done properly is one of the key responsibilities of any software development project manager. He must set out the project boundaries and scope of the project to assist in the successful completion of the project.

Conclusion

A project manager is an asset to any company’s project development success. Having one skilled hand with extensive expertise and experience in software project development ensures that you save time and cost to help manage resources, set milestones, and oversee timelines.

He serves as that point of contact between all relevant parties, be it the client, the development team, or the end customers. Hence the diverse roles of project manager is really important within a software development company.