The project manager role allocates resources, shapes priorities, coordinates
interactions with customers and users, and generally keeps the project team
focused on the right goal. The project manager also establishes a set of
practices that ensure the integrity and quality of project artifacts.
Staffing
The skills and experience needed to fulfill the Project Manager role will
depend on the size, and technical and management complexity of the project, but
in varying degrees, to play the Project Manager role as defined by the Rational
Unified Process, you must:
be experienced in the domain of the application, and in software
development
have risk analysis and management, estimation, planning and decision
analysis skills
have presentation, communication and negotiation skills
show leadership and team building capabilities
have good time management and triage skills, and a history of making sound
decisions quickly under stress
have good interpersonal skills and show sound judgment in staff selection
be objective in setting and assessing work, ensuring team buy-in
share the architectural vision, but be pragmatic in the scoping and
implementation of plans, and scrupulously honest in the assessment of
outcomes
be focused on the delivery of customer value, in the form of executing
software that meets (or exceeds) the customer's needs.