Top 10 Project Manager Skills

In Agile methodology, Project Management plays a vital role as it includes different kinds of tough tasks that would be combined in one job. Project Management comprises different tasks, including project initiation, strategy planning, its controlling and execution, and lastly, winding up the project. A Project Manager should have the necessary skills to keep the team and projects on track and let them go hand in hand. If you want to know what else you can achieve with the help of Project Management skills in the Agile framework, you are at the right place.

Before we discuss the skills a Project Manager should have, we need to understand how Project Management is essential for Agile.

How Can You Benefit from Project Management in Agile?

When you adopt Project Management in an Agile Framework, it offers you many benefits like sponsors, project teams, project customers, project leaders, and many more. You can find out the other benefits of Project Management right below.

Maximize Project Control

Adopting Project Management in Agile brings optimal project control by implementing Jira usage, transparency, and Sprint meetings. Moreover, it maintains a superior level of flexibility in project operations and just incurs a minimal cost. When the project control is increased, it builds planning, feedback, and continuous improvement loops into the system and lets the company adjust to the changing requirements and environments as well.

Offers Superior Product Quality

Project Management even provides you with a higher-quality product as testing is integrated during the process of regular checkups of a developing product so that the Product Owner can make alterations if required.

Reduces Risks

With Project Management, you can reduce the risk of absolute project failure in Agile methodology. Project Management allows you to work on products right from the very first Sprint till the end to completely avoid failure of the project.

Ensures Higher Customer Satisfaction

While developing a product, the Product Owner is very involved in testing it repeatedly while keeping the customer's needs in mind. This task comes under Project Management, which also includes demonstrating working functions to customers and thereby ensuring customer satisfaction.

Now that we have understood why Project Management is essential while working on an Agile product or service, we are going to look at the Top 10 skills a Project Manager should possess.

Top Skills of Project Manager in Agile Methodology

Planning

Planning is very important to start any project; therefore Project Managers should have excellent planning skills to reach the goal of the company. A Project Manager should look forward to adopting certain actionable steps to bring the project to the point of success. Moreover, if the project is started with a little planning, it can protect you against regression in the very end. As per the survey, more than 92% of companies are away from success due to a lack of planning skills as one can only grab the success by pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of your company and working on it to make the operations of the company much better than ever.

Leadership

A Project Manager should have leadership skills in Agile methodology as he or she has to manage and guide the people to develop a product and release the right product in the end. In the Project Management process, the Project Manager's focus should be on the company's goal and find out how to achieve it with the Agile team. Therefore, the Project Manager should have a clear vision by getting a solid strategy and road map ready to achieve the organization's objective. Everyone does not have the leadership skills, and to become a Project Manager, he or she should necessarily have this quality to take the project further in the right way.

Risk Management

Without a doubt, risks would be involved in every project. Therefore, a Project Manager should have the potential to identify the issues involved in the project and adopt a strategy to eliminate the risks. Besides, a Project Manager should also have the skills to question the team smartly to conduct meetings and timelines to make quality decisions with the Agile team. Moreover, they are equipped with professional risk management tools and know-how to use them to recognize risks involved in the project and create risk mitigation strategies.

Time Management

According to a survey conducted by Timezy, a Project Manager wastes around 3 hours of time by constantly nagging the team members. Therefore, every project should involve proper time management so that a Project Manager can execute things and ask questions to the team based on their priorities.

As a Project Manager, you need to divide the time in each aspect of the project so that you can meet the deadlines on time. Time never stops for anyone; therefore, you should walk along with the time for the project's success. Also, it allows the Project Manager to get enough time to deal with unexpected things. Time management should include various elements such as making to-do lists, setting deadlines, getting organized, and delegating tasks so that you would not miss the deadline of the project completion. 

Cost Management

Cost management is another crucial skill that a Project Manager should have to plan and control the entire project cost. A Project Manager should keep the overall cost of the project within the company's affordable range so that the project can be completed on time without any delays. Cost management skills are equally important as time management skills when it comes to Agile Project Management.

Good Communication Skills

Communication skills play a crucial role in all walks of life. When it comes to developing or managing a project, the importance of communication skills becomes double. All the positive and negative sides should be discussed with the team, and of course, it is the responsibility of a Project Manager. Good communication with the team members would help you reach the project’s success soon as it even encourages them to collaborate effectively. People with better communication skills are appointed to the position of Project Manager in Agile.

Negotiation

A Project Manager should have the potential to negotiate as it is very important when it comes to dealing with executives, employees, clients, and teams. Lack of negotiation skills can put a Project Manager into a predicament as the deal with clients or companies boils down to negotiating the price for the service. To get the help and cooperation of other clients or employees, negotiation skill is a must in Agile Project Management.

Problem Solving Skills

While working on a big project, there might be a clash due to the stress level and environmental changes, but a Project Manager should be able to resolve the issues and maintain harmony among the team members. A Project Manager should keep the working environment stress-free by implementing a strategy to avoid conflicts and distractions while working on the project. The goal of an ideal Project Manager should be to provide the best possible product while ensuring smooth working within the team and as such the people aspiring to become a Project Manager should be able to solve problems while keeping their cool.

Adaptability

No matter what kind of problems arises during the project development, a Project Manager should know how to face challenges and adapt to that particular situation. While doing a huge project, many challenges can come across, but the Project Manager should not panic and have the potential to face the problems with courage and intelligence. As the systems are evolving tremendously, you can experience a change anytime; thus, you should be ready to adjust to any of the changing systems, people, or environment.

Expertise

A Project Manager is selected based on expertise skills to finish the project successfully. It is all about a set of abilities that a Project Manager should have to perceive the scope of the project and deal with it in different fields along with the Agile team. Without having specialized skills, it is simply impossible to tackle the problems that arise during the project development and reach a conclusion effectively. A project manager is a head, and he or she should master this skill to produce successful results. 

Conclusion:

The job of Project Management is not as easy as one thinks. Keeping the project stable requires a lot of effort and basic skills. It is true that planning, organizing, executing, decision-making, etc., are essential to complete the project successfully, but certain efficient skills are very important for the Project Manager to deal with the project development in a challenging and stressful environment. Of course, a project manager should have the power to encourage the team and update them on timely changes in the project. 

Moreover, they should have the ability to properly communicate with the team so that the team can understand the vision and goal of the company much better. Managing time and cost should be the top skills of a Project Manager as time and cost play an important role in everyone’s life, especially while developing the project. Furthermore, a project manager should be equipped with planning skills as planning different elements is the very first step before getting into the project. Also, negotiation is an essential factor if you want to convince employees or clients to collaborate with you in the project development. Above all, one of the most effective skills of a Project Manager is leadership, where he or she should know to control and guide the team with proper instructions. 
Simpliaxis recognizes the importance of equipping project managers with these skills and offers comprehensive project management courses. Our courses empower professionals with the knowledge and expertise needed to navigate complex projects and achieve success in their roles. Explore our website to learn more about how our project management courses can help you advance your career and effectively manage projects.