Project Roles

Table of contents

• Project Manager
• Work package Manager
• Project worker
• Project Management Office
• Roles according to Belbin

There are different roles in a project. In addition to the roles according to Belbin and the technical roles, a distinction is first made between role responsibilities.

The project manager:

The project manager is usually appointed by the management or the client. He manages and leads the project team, which in some cases he puts together himself, and leads the project to success. He coordinates the dialogue with all project participants and also ensures communication with the PMO (Project Management Office) and the project manager.

The project manager must always be informed about the progress of the project and document it in detail.

His responsibilities and main tasks include:

• The operational success of the project
• The implementation of PM methods and techniques
• The creation and controlling of a detailed communication plan.
• Conducting negotiations with external parties
• Controlling of all project activities and implementation of own project steps
• Delegating and assigning project activities and appointing work package owners
• Supporting the project team
• Regular status updates to the management, the PMO and the project manager

The work package manager:

A work package manager is a member of the project team who has been given responsibility for one or more work packages. As a rule, this responsibility has been delegated to him/her by the project management. He or she must document all partial progress and milestones and submit regular status reports to the project management.

His responsibilities and main tasks include

• Developing the project sub-goals (arbitration packages).
• Reporting emerging problems to the project management as soon as possible
• Establishing open and clear communication within the team and with the project management.
• Regular status reports to the project management
• Supporting the project management and the project team

The project worker:

Project staff are all persons actively working on a project. They carry out the project activities assigned to them and report regularly to their direct supervisor. In this role, too, everyone must document their own work progress. The project team member supports the project management and the work package manager in their activities, as well as other staff members by working together in teams.

The Project Management Office (PMO):

The PMO is a central organizational unit that oversees the management of projects and programs in their entirety. It provides an overview of all strategic initiatives and aligns all PMO projects with the overall corporate strategy. The PMO has an overview of programs progress and creates a sense of urgency in the necessary areas. With its activities, it supports the project manager and the management. However, it does not take on any project management implementation tasks or other functional project activities.

His responsibilities and main tasks include:

• Managing the PMO project portfolio
• Ensuring the flow of information between all managers and projects
• Coordinating all PMO projects
• Controlling progress, budget and results
• Prioritizing and dealing with conflicts and risks
• Providing administrative project assistants
• Advising and supporting project managers on PM issues

Roles according to Belbin:

In addition to roles according to hierarchy, every employee automatically adopts certain behaviors that correspond to one or more roles according to Belbin. To find out which type you are, you can take a test. You fill out a questionnaire, which then individually evaluates the characteristics of the individual roles.

The following roles are defined:

• Action-oriented roles
  • maker, implementer, perfectionist
• Communication-oriented roles
  • Coordinator, team worker, pioneer
• Knowledge-oriented roles
  • Inventor, observer, specialist

The ideal team composition in a project combines a heterogeneous mass of different role types.