Who is the IT project manager and what does he do?

Who exactly is the IT project manager?

An IT project manager is a person who manages IT projects and is responsible for cybersecurity management, operating systems, operating efficiency, monitoring the internet, and software updates. Project planning, implementing and controlling ICT systems implemented in the organization are just a handful of responsibilities of a technical project manager. This person’s duty is also to raise the awareness of the HR (human resources) department in the field of IT data security.

One of the most important people in the organization

A person holding this position has to plan the budget allocated to actions that fall within their area of responsibility. This job includes recruiting people to join the IT team, managing the team’s working time and the way the project is implemented. It is increasingly important for IT project managers to assign the right skill sets to their respective teams. The success of the project depends largely on this.

What’s the main goal of an IT project manager?

Thanks to the IT project manager, team members work in a coordinated and integrated way. It eliminates hindrances and problems with the implementation of the project. A technical project manager communicates with team members in order to know needs, contexts, and capabilities of the organization. All of this to accomplish the organization’s goals as well as possible.

What does it take to become a professional IT project manager?

Let’s start with the fact that a technical project manager should have at least a bachelor’s degree in IT, computer science, or a related field. IT project managers have to know how to manage IT projects involving implementing a network, developing software, and upgrading a business’s IT system. In practice, it means that IT project managers must know software, hardware, infrastructure, networking, data, and network security.

Popular project management software that technical project managers use includes Jira, Microsoft Project, and Trello. Let us not forget that a technical project manager has to be familiar with project management methodologies, such as Agile.

IT project managers keep an eye on the budgets and deadlines

A person responsible for managing IT projects has to be able to finish tasks on time and within budget. This type of project manager needs a proven record of end-to-end technical project delivery. They should try not to allow cost overruns and missed deliverable due dates. An IT project manager needs to have leadership and project management skills. It’s interesting that the same applies to the project manager.

Managerial and leadership skills are required, too

IT project manager positions require a mix of soft and technical skills. The overall duties of each type of project manager are the same, but for some reason, businesses created the jobs of project manager, IT project manager, marketing project manager and many more. Below, we explain the main differences between IT project manager and project manager.

What’s the difference between an IT project manager and a project manager?

The main difference between a project manager and an IT project manager is that the former is generally responsible for the implementation of the project. Project managers have to analyze the project and plan the process of the project’s implementation. They need to reflect on the available resources, indicate the direction of action, create schedules for the project etc.

IT project managers, in turn, are responsible for helping organizations achieve their IT goals. For this purpose, technical project managers plan and execute projects. Knowing the product the whole team is working on is absolutely fundamental for an IT project manager. We can, therefore, conclude that the biggest difference between an IT project manager and project manager is the breadth and depth of IT knowledge. It would be impossible for an IT project manager to manage projects without adequate technical expertise. In light of the above, a technical project manager is the person that a project manager can depend on, especially when it comes to IT-related aspects of the project.

What does a typical workday of an IT project manager look like?

First of all, we should stress that each day’s different. IT project managers have to be “flexible” because a to-do-list can change a lot during a day if some unforeseen problems arise. A technical project manager has to stay up-to-date with emails, facilitate communication between the project team members, attend project management meetings, and update team tasks when necessary.

All things considered, an IT project manager needs to make sure that the project is currently within budget, the team members meet the project delivery date, and that the project remains within its planned scope.

Why is the IT project manager role essential for your business?

This role is definitely gaining more and more significance and recognition, taking into account that the world is delving into Tech. That’s why we can see strong growth for IT project manager jobs. IT project managers scale IT processes. Sometimes they switch cloud providers for a company. They are able to effectively manage the IT sector in any project. IT project managers can collaborate with technology firms, health care facilities, universities and many more types of organizations.

We should also mention that businesses transfer to the Internet whenever they can. IT is now one of the most important branches of the company. Just a few of the companies can afford to have an in-house IT team. However, there is nothing preventing them from using IT management services.

Without IT project management in organizations, it’s really hard to:

• begin and complete tasks,
• create and manage project budgets,
• manage risk,
• project milestones and completion plans,
• be able to react in difficult situations,
• collect, analyze, store, and report IT metrics,
• do effective marketing, tracking and retargeting.

Summary

The importance of IT project managers to modern organizations is no longer a doubt. It’s worth using IT management services because professionals can help to accomplish all the organization’s goals. Nobody can manage risks, create project budgets and benefit from impressively wide knowledge about IT better than an IT project manager!