Haris NeophytouFounder, CEO & Research Director| InterFusion Services LtdLimassol, Cyprus
These three different job functions can become interwoven at some point during the project lifecycle. How do you define each role in terms of responsibilities. Saving Changes...
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Lucy O'NeillProject Manager| Wellington, New ZealandWellington, New Zealand
Hey there! I may not be of much help as I am fairly new to project management; however, I was in a project admin/coordinator role for 14 months, and have just leaped into a PM role... I would say that the main differences are:
Admin- more of a reactive role, following guidance and direction of the PM for the majority of the time
Coordinator- elements of reactive and proactive activities. The role requires a 'think outside the box' approach to improving and setting up of new processes and assisting the PM with, and managing tasks such as accounts, resourcing, risks&issues.
PM- PROACTIVE!! Taking the initiative at all times, and directing all of your team members.
Hope this is of some use! Saving Changes...
Haris NeophytouFounder, CEO & Research Director| InterFusion Services LtdLimassol, Cyprus
Thank you Lucy!
Congrats by the way :) Saving Changes...
George JucanManaging Partner| Organizational Perfomance Enablers NetworkWoodbridge, Ontario, Canada
Hi Haris,
Please take a look at the series "Defining Roles for IT Governance", http://www.gantthead.com/content/articles/231020.cfm. While I do not presume to have the ultimate word in defining the project management roles, the collection of definitions is based on investigating many companies of all sizes, hundreds of job postings etc. from US and Canada. Saving Changes...
Eugenia SchwalmEducator/Trainer| Lighthouse Consulting PartnersFraser, Mi, United States
Haris;
From previous experiences and consulting in this area over many years I have found it necessary to clearly define these roles because the rates you charge as a consultant vary by the perceived value that you bring to your customer and the core competencies that are needed to bring this value. So here are some core competencies (my short list) which adds on to what Lucy mentions. But keep in mind that in many cases these three roles tend to be all rolled up under the Project Manager title and expectations have to be managed as far as who truley picks up these roles:
Project Manager - facilitation (such as status meetings, solution assessments), managing expectations, conflict management, problem management, motivating resources, negotiating (such as contracts and slas with vendors), influencing through presentation of information and questioning. Ability to communicate as easily with executive management as with team members.
Project Administrator - organized document specialist (libararian), tool specialist (such as MS Project), excellent listener (scribe and note taker) and writer. Usually works under the direction of the PM.
Project Coordinator - process specialist, methodologist, knows internal processes (reporting time, adding new resources, getting needed facilities), helps with the escalation processes and getting to the right people in the organizations. Usually works across multiple projects and may work within a governance process.
Note that the Project Manager role is more focused on the soft skills and the need for a high emotional intelligence IQ while the other roles are focused on completable and very measurable tasks.
