18 essential skills for project management!

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This post was last edited by Hasty Passerby on July 22, 2019, at 16:10. 18 essential skills for project management! Project managers may differ in personality and hobbies, but the basic skills and essential qualities required of them are the same. The 18 essential skills in project management are as follows: 1. Contract fulfillment – A project manager should be an expert in fulfilling contracts. In the 1970s, when projects were carried out, there was no such thing as a project manager; instead, people were referred to as foremen of various ranks. During that era of a planned economy, many experts at causing disputes were \"cultivated\". Of course, today we have reached the stage of rational management and scientific management; a project manager should be an expert in contract management, capable of negotiating and drafting contracts, as well as filing claims during the contract’s execution. What is a claim? A claim arises when losses are incurred by the contractor due to reasons not attributable to the contractor himself, and in such cases the contractor has the right to file a claim against the owner. During the previous planning period, we relied on visas; only with visas could we receive payment. Now the client is unwilling to issue visas, and without them, our work goes unrewarded. There are also other factors that are not related to the client, such as natural disasters like earthquakes and storms. However, the project manager must understand that unless it’s the contractor’s fault, a claim must be filed. Now, many of our project managers don’t know how to file claims, nor do they want to or dare to do so; in some cases, our local supervisors even prevent us from filing claims. Do they really think they can demand compensation after having you do the work? This is unfair; it goes against the principle of equivalent exchange. In the past, it wasn’t called contract fulfillment; it was referred to as completing tasks. Is that still the case today? Nowadays, people seek out tasks and sign contracts in order to ensure the survival of their companies, and once a contract is signed, it must be fulfilled. Therefore, project managers need to have the skills necessary to fulfill contracts. 2. The risk control project manager is responsible for managing risks; a building cannot be completed merely through slogans or determination. There are risks during the construction process. There is another fee included in the charges, called the unforeseen costs – that is, fees that cannot be known in advance, which are essentially risk premiums. The project itself involves risks during the construction process. There are several ways to manage risks during the construction process. First, we must acknowledge that risks objectively exist. By acknowledging these risks, we can retain them and bear the consequences. Second is to shift the risk – not bear it oneself, but pass it on to someone else. Leave it to the insurance company to bear the risk. Third is to reduce risks; since the risks are already high, various technical measures are used to minimize them. Now there are insurance and guarantees; insurance is for risk transfer, while guarantees are for risk reduction. Please note that Article 40 of the “Model Text for Construction Project Contracts” issued this year by the **Ministry of Construction** and the **Administration for Industry and Commerce** pertains to insurance, while Article 41 deals with guarantees. 3. Program optimization is what is commonly referred to as schedule control. A good project manager manages projects in an orderly manner; if such a manager lacks systematic skills, it will lead to chaos in the project. Work should be organized following scientific procedures; we can learn from Hua Luogeng’s methods of overall planning and carry out construction in a streamlined manner, which will naturally speed up the project timeline. In the past, to shorten project timelines, people worked hard and tirelessly, extending their working hours – working sixteen hours a day with only five hours of sleep. What if they don’t consider things from a procedural perspective? There is a sequence to all tasks, and one should learn Hua Luogeng’s method of overall planning by identifying the key contradictions; therefore, it’s necessary to determine where those contradictions have the greatest impact on the project timeline. 4. Strategy for recovering overdue project payments: The procedures for dealing with overdue payments vary depending on the project, and it depends on whether the project manager takes action to recover those payments. Not being paid for one’s work is a major “feature” in the field of construction in our country. **Four ministries, including the Ministry of Construction, once issued a joint statement to stop payment delays, but the results were unsatisfactory, and the amount owed continued to increase. Therefore, the project manager needs to know how to collect debts, using emotional tactics for that purpose. This construction payment should not be delayed until a large amount is owed; it should be claimed at any time. Of course, it’s impossible to come up with that amount all at once when there’s a large accumulation; amounts of 100,000 or 200,000 are required, and funds need to be raised gradually. One can’t just expect large sums of money without being willing to accept smaller ones as well. 5. Familiarity with standards: It’s essential to know the standards when working on projects. For example, the author was once the chief engineer at the Ministry of Construction, and now serves as the client in charge of the **Grand Theatre project. When Party A is in charge of the contractor, it is of course necessary to understand the quality of the workers on the construction site. Ten workers from the front line should be selected for inspection according to the production process; if four of them do not know the relevant standards, then those workers must stop working. Of course, it’s not about memorizing the standards word for word, but one must understand the main ideas clearly. 6. Efficient organization is necessary because managing a project isn’t something that can be done by just the project manager alone. It is necessary to lead and organize a team of people for the project; this organization should have a friendly structure, with each person fulfilling their own responsibilities. The size of the project management team is determined based on the scale of the project. Too many people won’t work, and too few either; everything has to be handled by the project manager, and even that project manager isn’t good enough. With hundreds or even thousands of people working on a project, is it sufficient to turn to the project manager for everything? The project manager needs to be able to organize things, and do so efficiently. 7. When working as a project manager, it involves dealing directly with people. There are various factors in a project such as human resources, finances, and materials, but the most important aspect is still interacting with people. For example, Fan Yushu, a national model worker and project manager at Tianjin Sanjian, went to a small county in Hubei during the Spring Festival to pay New Year greetings to migrant workers from Hubei. Visiting on the first day of the New Year moved the migrant workers working on these projects; they said, “Old Fan can tell us what to do, and we will do it no matter how strictly he demands it.” These migrant workers all voluntarily followed Old Fan to ensure the project was completed well. I also heard about a project where the relevant authorities came to inspect the ISO9000 quality certification; the project team kept all the workers in one place, preventing them from leaving or speaking freely. Using such methods to control people – will the workers do the work well for you? This is utterly heartless. Strict management and lack of compassion are two different concepts; strict management should be carried out with a people-oriented approach. 8. Civilized management of the site during preparation work – this is an area that requires thorough understanding. Just like in a home, some households are neatly organized while others are messy. We cannot imagine that high-quality work can be accomplished on a messy construction site; it’s absolutely impossible for such a site to remain free from safety accidents. There are 12 points regarding project management: “Five small” facilities must be kept tidy; “Five types of stacks” must be organized properly; “Five work areas” must be cleaned daily; “Three treasures and four openings” must meet safety standards; load switches must be properly managed; the “Five prevention” systems must be in place; materials should be stored in appropriate quantities; mechanical operation procedures must be strictly followed; special corrective actions must be implemented; all signs must be clearly visible; behaviors related to spiritual civilization must be standardized; and the functions and funding of the construction site’s organizational structure must be ensured. 9. Environmental harmony: The environment includes both the internal and external environments. The internal environment refers to the relationship between the project manager and the project team; they need to discuss and coordinate with each other to avoid inconsistencies in the project team’s opinions. There are even more external relationships. Today, the construction site serves as a \"window\" through which enterprises engage with society; at the same time, it is necessary to properly manage relationships with the local residents as well as with the relevant regulatory authorities, and these aspects are also part of the competition in a market economy. Some people don’t understand competition well; they think it means a zero-sum struggle, where the big fish eat the small fish, and the small fish eat the shrimps. In fact, in market competition, competitors can sometimes be partners; at other times, collaboration leads to even greater competition. Only through cooperation can one compete more effectively. 10. A technical planning project manager can’t know everything, nor can experts know everything; if they did, they wouldn’t be called experts. Therefore, the project manager must act as an expert; whenever there are difficulties, they should turn to the appropriate experts for solutions. We used to have problems such as \"not letting benefits go to outsiders\" and \"self-sufficiency\". In fact, there are various consulting and planning organizations in society, and it’s worth spending some money to hire an intermediary. 11. Familiarity with materials: Construction projects involve the stacking and combination of materials; therefore, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of them. Differences in quantity, quality, and price of materials are crucial for project managers in their management tasks. The samples of the materials now differ from the actual ones; a steel bar can break into 3 pieces when dropped from a table height of one meter onto the ground, and these are all real occurrences. All the valves at Beijing West Railway Station were replaced due to poor quality, as the material suppliers used counterfeit and substandard products. 12. Computer-operated project managers are not required to develop software, but they need to know how to use it. The inspection of a construction site at Tsinghua University in Beijing had not yet ended when a piece of paper was brought to me; it contained my photo as well as a brief description of the project. It was printed out right away after taking a picture with a digital camera and uploading it to the computer. This is the application of high technology on construction sites. 13. Summarize and distill key points: A project manager must know how to summarize; it is essential to do so, and the summary should be the result of thoughtful reflection. Everyone involved in a project—people, machines, materials, methods, and the environment—must be able to summarize their experiences. Therefore, upon completion of a project, there should be three outcomes: first, a high-quality project; second, a book that summarizes the lessons learned from the project; third, a group of skilled professionals who have been trained through the process. 14. Transformative education requires the ability to resolve contradictions and to educate effectively. One also needs to know how to convey one’s ideas to superiors, and be good at expressing one’s own correct views. Those below also need to be transformed, so that they can serve you. One must know how to assess people properly and make use of their strengths. Be good at turning the people under your leadership into talents, thereby demonstrating your leadership skills. The most incompetent leader is the one who blames the low quality of those under their leadership; in reality, it is their own poor quality that is to blame. 15. Utilize legal tools: Project managers should understand the law, regulations, and rules. If a project manager fails in their role, they end up being either the plaintiff or the defendant; some project managers always end up as defendants, which is related to their lack of knowledge of the law. In project management, there are also the issues of illegal operations, giving orders in violation of regulations, and carrying out work in violation of rules – the so-called \"three violations\". 16. Learning from others’ experiences means drawing on their successful practices to benefit oneself. One project manager said, “All the projects I’ve worked on have achieved excellent results.” Some people say this is bragging, but it isn’t. For a project manager, having all projects turn out well is the same as having none of them meet the standards. Since a project manager works on just one project over several years, if the quality is excellent then every aspect of the project is excellent; if the project fails to meet standards, then every aspect of it fails as well. Because only one project is undertaken, success is the only option – failure is not acceptable. Additionally, one must understand the patterns of construction activities; rainy or windy weather, holidays, etc., are all periods when accidents occur frequently. 17. As for self-improvement, it can be said that no project manager ever stays calm or unfazed during project management. But this is not a skill; one must be good at self-improvement. In projects, integrity and diligence are required. Many problems will arise during the construction process, and the project manager must keep a close eye on them. Secondly, one needs to have a professional attitude and ethical standards, as well as the determination to face challenges and see them through to the end. 18. When working on a project, the marketing strategy project manager should adopt a mindset of aiming for one thing while striving for two more and keeping an eye on three additional aspects.