Breaking Down the Role of a Project Manager in Software Development
Successful software development requires continuous monitoring and looking at the bigger picture. For a team of developers working constantly on projects, it may be tough to align every bit of progress made firsthand with that of the client requirements. That’s when the need for effective project management surfaces that can peer into each software development pipeline, even more now when businesses across the world are moving to be digital.
Project management begins with addressing every scope of the business model and therefore, there’s no one-size-fits-all. Most people often misunderstand software development as being agile, but there are several methodologies like Scrum that can be the key to the scope of successful software development as well as that of a project manager.
However, before we get into the details of everything that falls under the scope of a project manager let’s have a closer look into the lifecycle of software development projects. So, let’s get on with it, shall we?
Software Development: What It Really Means?
On the surface, it may appear that software development is just limited to developing, but there’s so much more to that. The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) obviously comprises the coding process, it also culminates in the features, cost-benefits, optimization, and how it caters to market demands. Tech and business management has always been in the same family, and for software development, these are definitely cousins, often led by two or more people covering all grounds of time, budget, resources – from testing, updating, maintenance, to the final product, and beyond that with customer feedback and further changes.
Irrespective of the many SDLC methodologies, the consistent SDLC phases include:
- Collating essentials: Interpolate and extrapolate the requirements of the project based on the points put across the customer proposal. Documented for better information journaling.
- Market Research and Analysis: Analyze the problem from the customers’ policies and identify the need (if there’s any) for a new system for catering to the market needs better.
- Planning & Design: Brings together the analysis done from the previous stages and compares it to the customer proposal. Creating a layout based on solid specifications for developers.
- Building: Programming the code and construction of the back end.
- Testing: Keeping an eye out for any bugs or loopholes in the code in a testing environment, conducted under a specific environment of variables. It’s generally a multi-step process that also involves resolving errors found.
- Deployment: Once the errors are all resolved, the asset is now set to go into production before deploying.
- Maintenance: The asset, once deployed, needs to be under constant checks and updates (till its lifetime) to perform at its optimal.
Role of a Project Manager in an SDLC
A project manager is responsible for the overall success of the project – meeting the targets and quality standards, allocating resources, and removing any bottlenecks within all restraints. These professionals are the go-to’s for everyday development work, under all market compliances while ensuring maximum customer engagement and satisfaction.
Among the many motions of everyday work of a project manager in an SDLC, some of these include:
Phase Planning
The project manager needs to have a vision of the bigger picture of the project at hand, especially within the given technology expertise and resources. They need to come up with elaborate drag and drop timelines, allocate tasks and other elements in a project plan.
Delegate Resources
Working in a team requires things to be streamlined throughout the project lifecycle, to reduce any possibilities of under or overwork. Assigning time limits on specific projects can not only provide your team with sufficient time to work on multiple projects but also give them the control to work as per their flexibility and enhance their engagement.
Progress Tracking
In the development lifecycle, each step of the way needs to be monitored closely to analyse any issues in their early stage to limit risks, expenses, delays, workloads, etc. The project manager is responsible for coming up with detailed reports of each day’s development and sharing them with designated teams for higher clarity.
Risk Management
Almost all SDLCs come with sufficient scope for unprecedented risks. The project manager curates and works out their own risk reduction techniques to spot, discern, and eliminate any potential risks during all phases of the SDLC.
Additional Planning
Be it configuration management or quality assurance – the project manager needs to actively diagnose any potential obstacle and work on resolving these immediately for best results.
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Final Word
Across all scales of businesses and industries, in these times of continuously evolving technology and environment, the need for project managers is inherent. On the other hand, the efficiency of the organization may depend upon the expertise and finesse through which the project manager carries out each process. Successful PMs are generally individuals with keen eyes to details, resourcefulness, and vision. If you’re a software expert, passionate about leading projects and everything that goes into it, here are some of our recommendations:
Globant, Pune
They’re one of the industry leaders known for their innovative, compelling technology services and solutions across digital and cognitive domains. Currently looking for a project manager to join their team at Pune, they can be just the place for you.
EY, Delhi
They’re a digital platform for professionals and students to find just the right opportunities for you across the world. Seeking project manager for Business Consulting Performance Improvement, they can be ideal for experienced individuals looking to work sustainably in retail, eCommerce, export and pricing, etc.
CodeClouds, Kolkata
Folks here are globally renowned for their target-driven solutions for hundreds of brands from a team of 450+ experts. They are on the lookout for passionate professionals. If you’re someone looking for project manager jobs in Kolkata, they can be an excellent place to grow your career.