Project Management Skills
Total: 227 Courses View all
Project management skills are the required attributes and competencies needed to be a successful project manager.
As businesses strive to accomplish complex projects in highly competitive environments, the demand for skilled project managers is greater than ever. According to the Project Management Institute, the number of project management roles will increase 33% by 2027, creating nearly 22 million new jobs for qualified project managers.
Organizations, on the other hand, are facing a talent shortage that puts them at risk. As a result, career opportunities abound for project management professionals who possess the critical project management skills that these organizations require. According to research, practitioners with the necessary mix of competencies—a combination of technical and leadership skills as well as business acumen—are in high demand.
Project Manager’s Technical skills
Technical skills (you might also hear these referred to as hard skills) are the more tangible and measurable abilities required to be an effective project manager.
-
Planning and forecasting
Planning is a must-have project management skill because a project plan is the foundation of the project management cycle. It includes the project’s timeline, resources, and budget. Traditional project management is all about anticipating problems and planning ahead of time. As a result, the planning stage of any project lays the groundwork for everything that follows, including the project’s success or failure.
It goes without saying that good project management necessitates careful planning. This can be difficult, particularly because many project managers must make educated guesses about timelines and required resources. Project managers need to use any information they have to make predictions and estimates.
2. Proficient with Project Management Software
Having a working knowledge of project management software is a must-have technical skill for project managers in today’s world. There are many project management software alternatives available in the market, so you’ll need to determine which project management tools and features are best for you and your team’s workflow.
Expert tips: Some software can help integrate your project successfully This could be the Microsoft Project, Primavera, or even Jira. Depending on the nature of the project you do. You could get first-hand know-how on using this software by attending either of the JK Michaels software training.
-
Risk management
Every project has risks. Perhaps a resource won’t be available when you need it, or delayed approval from a client will set your timeline back a few days.
Project managers are responsible for not only navigating around risks but anticipating them so that they can try their best to avoid them altogether.
Expert tip: Understanding the framework and subjectiveness of risk management is a major competence for a project manager. The best way to gain such competence is through learning and experience. Attend our Risk management training is a credential to validate your specialized expertise in risk and help you stand out to employers, stakeholders and peers teach you the skills to assess and identify project risks, mitigate threats and capitalise on opportunities, while still possessing a core knowledge and practical application in all areas of project management.
-
Budgeting
The project budget is the engine that powers the project.
Only 2.5% of companies successfully complete all of the projects they take on. The rest go over schedule, over budget, or both.
Project managers know that there are financial constraints they need to work within, and they use their budgeting and financial management skills to deliver winning projects within those limitations.
Expert Tip: We have various cost management training like Cost estimating and Budgeting, cost engineering, Cost training that can set you apart from the park
-
Tracking and monitoring
Project management isn’t just about completing a project — it’s about completing a successful project. That won’t happen if project managers fail to keep their fingers on the pulse.
They need to use their performance tracking and monitoring skills to ensure projects are running according to plan and still supporting the broader business goals. If not? They’ll course-correct when necessary.
Expert Tip: Creating a good document control procedure that helps you track and store your information in a place and in a system that helps in proper retrieval. 2. We can’t afford the garbage in garbage out syndromes that affect software Understanding Project management itself is very vital so it’s easier to interpret and also to fix issues on your project software when tracking your project. Attend the JK Michaels Document control training which helps you create a proper configuration system and also helps in maintaining your document another course is the PMI Scheduling monitoring and evaluation class which takes you through the in-depth understanding of project management and also the software of tracking and measuring Performance.
-
Facilitating Great Meetings
Most businesses hold far too many meetings, with far too many people, that takes far too much time and provide far too little value. Meetings that waste time, drain energy, cause conflict, and hinder progress Great Meetings, on the other hand, eliminate waste, motivate people, and accelerate progress.
Kickoff meetings, status updates, and retrospectives are all part of the typical project process, and the majority of them are led by the project manager.
As a result, a project manager must be skilled at facilitating great meetings, which includes creating an agenda, documenting notes, and following up on action items.
Expert Tips:
Prepare Your Team
Stay Focused
Move Fast
Be Positive
Elicit Participation.
Project manager soft skills
Think these are nothing more than project management resume fluff? Think again. Soft skills really do carry weight.
One 2016 study found that 93% of employers say that soft skills are either an “essential” or “very important” factor in hiring decisions. Let’s look at some must-have soft skills for project managers.
-
Leadership
Project managers are project leaders and, in many cases, team leaders as well. They are in charge of establishing the team’s vision and ensuring that everyone is on board and motivated to see the project through to completion.
This necessitates the support of executives and project team members. These leaders should also provide people with the time, tools, and other resources they require to complete their tasks.
As a project manager, you’re responsible not only for project success, but you also need to be a leader that applies leadership skills to guide and motivate team members to achieve their goals.
Expert Tip: Going beyond leadership is a must know skill for a project manager to cultivate. Project leaders go beyond these tasks by incorporating an overall vision and dedication to the team. The result is that project leaders are more innovative, more passionate, and better able to overcome difficulties and challenges.
Taking the JK Michaels Project Leadership course would give you the right tools to help you feel more confident and assist you in stepping up and doing whatever it takes to become an authentic and impactful project leader.
-
Communication
Communication is one of the most important skills project managers can develop. Effective verbal and written communication is a crucial part of managing a project. Project managers use communication to lead teams, explain goals and responsibilities and discuss business strategies.
Poor communication jeopardizes the success of a project. It is essential to communicate clearly and openly, but it is also important to remember that these exchanges are reciprocal. Top-level leadership’s open and honest communication helps to foster the same communication and trust among all team members.
Transparent project managers will typically have employees who feel more comfortable about opening up to the manager about their concerns, issues and constructive suggestions. Any project management skills list is sure to include communication near the top. This includes written and verbal communication.
Project managers need to ensure that team members and stakeholders are informed about the project plan, timeline, and budget and updated on the project’s latest happenings. Our Business Communication class would be a great choice here.
-
Time management
Every project manager will have numerous demands placed on their time — especially since they’re acting as the point of contact for so many departments and team members.
They must be able to manage their own time and the time and capacity of all of the project’s key players.
- Organization
Deadlines, resources, task dependencies — it’s enough to make anybody’s head spin, but a project manager views it as a fulfilling challenge.
The best project managers are exceptionally organized and able to keep track of all of the moving pieces.
-
Problem solving
As much as you’d like to think that your project will go off without a hitch, unexpected issues are bound to crop up.
Project managers can’t be discouraged by a problem. Instead, they need to develop solutions to keep the project moving forward — even when the best-laid plans fall apart. Apart from problem-solving training, another great skills training is the Value Engineering training course (VE) which would equip you with an explicit set of disciplined procedures designed to seek out optimum value for both initial and long-term investment. Value Engineering training course will enhance you with a creative, organized effort, which analyzes the requirements of a project for achieving the essential functions at the lowest total costs (e.g. capital, staffing, energy, maintenance) over the life of the project.
- Adaptability
Project managers need to be adaptable. While planning is a core skill, they can’t be so rigid with their strategies that everything falls apart the moment something unanticipated happens.
Project managers need to rebound quickly, roll with the punches, and find ways to keep the project moving forward.
How to Develop Key Project Management Skills
If you haven’t mastered all of these skills, don’t worry. The good news is that these skills can be learned. Here’s how:
- Practice, Practice, Practice: Like any new ability, these skills take time to learn. If you’re currently in a project management role, be cognizant of utilizing these “tools” in your day-to-day work. If you’ve yet to break into the project management field, seek out opportunities for hands-on learning that will allow you to harness and refine them.
- Attend Industry Events and Workshops: Attending local and online events will allow you to learn best practices and stay abreast of the latest project management trends. For example, at Northeastern, each campus—including both the Boston and regional locations—is partnered with a local Project Management Institute chapter. The university encourages students to get involved with these local chapters, as doing so will give you a chance to expand your professional network to include other skilled project managers from whom you can learn. Always be on the lookout for other opportunities to get involved in the project management community, as well. Consider joining professional associations, which can be another way to meet and exchange knowledge with industry experts.
Are you ready to meet the demand? Read on to discover the seven essential project management skills you need to succeed, and learn how to refine these skills to stand out among the competition.