The 5 Things you Must Do as a Project Manager

It's a tough job, managing projects. But if you can do these five things really well, then you're likely to achieve project success...

1. Set the Roadmap
Every Project Manager has to set a clear roadmap for the team. This includes a crystal clear project plan, goals, timeframes and deliverables for the team.

Start by getting your boss to agree on the Project Goals and Timeframes. Then run workshops with your team to plan the road ahead. This gets their buy-in to the timeframes and deliverables at a detailed level. Then present your project plan to your boss or the customer to get it approved. By creating a clear roadmap ahead early on in the project, you'll make sure that you kick-off the project on the right foot.

2. Time-box Everything!
You project plan will describe the general timeframes for the project, but you need to make sure that within this plan, every individual task has a clearly defined start and end date. Then make sure that resources are assigned to tasks and they know what must be complete and when.

Absolutely everything in the project must be time-boxed, and not just tasks. If you run meetings, then set dates for when you expect the minutes to be written up by. If you run workshops, make sure that the actions that were generated have due dates. Anything that isn't time-boxed becomes an "operational task" and you have no way of knowing if it's on time or not.

3. Blow the whistle regularly
As a Project Manager, you need to actually check that everything you delegate is completed on time - otherwise you need to blow the whistle at them! You can't simply trust that people will get work done on time and move on to other things. You need to list everything you've asked to be done, who's going to do it and by when - and then check that it's competed. That way, you can ensure you proceed according to plan.

Also, don't be afraid to be the "busybody" who is "always poking their nose into work that others are doing". In fact, that's actually your job! Find out who is working on what, where they are at and how long it's going to take to finish and compare that to what you expected in the first place. Do this every day, for every member of your team. Remember - you need to control the work, not justmonitor it.

4. Be Strong, but Supportive
As the Project Manager, it's your butt that's in the firing range! So don't be afraid to be strong with your team. It's a tough balance to strike (being strong vs. supportive), but all great leaders have found the balance and achieved the right results.

If you need to have a terse word with staff, then do it personally rather than in front of the team. Speak openly and honestly, never "fluff it up". Tell them straight, but always be professional and constructive. They will respect you for it. One great tip is always to start with a positive and end with a positive, to ensure you get their buy-in.

5. Review
Your job is to lead, coach, manage and review. So keep a close eye on progress and where things are at. Use tools to see if you're on track daily and take action if you're not. Review everything - time, deliverables, quality, budget, suppliers etc . You're the watchdog, who makes sure that it's all done according to plan. But remember—the watchdog is always the first in the office, the last to leave and buys the morning tea to keep the team motivated!

So that's it. If you can set the roadmap for your team, time-box everything, monitor and review progress, while finding the balance between being strong and supportive, then you'll achieve success and be a great leader in the process.

But you need to work smart. So use tools which do the monitoring for you. That's where ProjectManager.comcomes in. It helps you keep an eye on your projects and tells you if you're on track.

The Important Tasks of Civil Engineering

This article tries to analyze the importance of civil engineering in the modern world and discusses some of the tasks it accomplishes.

The branch of Civil Engineering deals with the design, construction and maintenance of fixed structures like roads, bridges, transportation systems, etc. This arm of engineering gained importance during the world wars when civil engineers where responsible for building resilient structures which could be used for housing soldiers and also to obtain protection from enemy attacks.

Scope of Civil Engineering

Due to increase in the scope of civil engineering with the passage of time, it has now got diversified into many branches of study. Some of the significant ones include structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, transportation engineering, hydraulic engineering, environmental engineering and a few more important areas of study.

Functions of Civil Engineering

The most important task of civil engineering is design and planning of various structures. For this purpose, the forces acting on each nook and corner of the structure are analyzed and a stable design is finalized. This process is crucial because all the stresses and strains that arise within the structure are to be neutralized to keep the structure erect. Civil engineers must also provide allowance for deviations due to wind, seismic activity or other natural calamities, only then can the buildings resist the impact of natural forces.

Civil engineers are also responsible for building good quality transportation systems like highways, airports, rail lines, sea ports, etc. A civil engineer is concerned with determining the right design for these structures and looking after the construction process so that the longevity of these structures is guaranteed after completion. These structures should also be satisfactory for the public in terms of comfort.

Apart from structures on land and general transportation systems, civil engineers are also responsible for building good transportation systems for flow of water, i.e. the water distribution systems. The main activities in this undertaking are designing pipelines for flow of water, drainage facilities, canals, dams, etc. Dams are a major source for non-conventional source of electricity and are hence in high demand today. While designing these structures, the civil engineers take into account the various properties of fluids to calculate the forces acting at different points.

Other Applications Of Civil Engineering

Another very important aspect of civil engineering is environmental engineering. In this case, the civil engineers are concerned with applications of various methods to purify the contaminated air, water and soil. The polluted system should be cleaned, the waste extracted and the purified constituent must be sent back to the natural system.

Civil engineers are becoming more and more important in the recent years. Now, they are also responsible for looking after the fire control systems and installing quick fire exit points in the buildings they design. This will help in minimizing the loss of life during fire accidents.

Refer Civil Engineering Blog!