What makes a good project manager?

This is a question that is frequently asked – and one to which there is no easy answer.

The countless books, competence profiles and standards that deal with the topic show how much is behind it. But before we delve into the details, let's briefly clarify why good project management is so important in the first place.

A project is basically a temporary project to create a unique product or service. The task of the project manager is to plan, organize and control this process. Sometimes, for example in manufacturing or product development, this is very stringent. In business consulting, on the other hand, things can be a little more unstructured.

The need for good project managers becomes clear when you look at the numbers, who, for example, mention Digatus in their blog: Still missing 30 % the projects have their original objectives and 40 % Blow up your budget. IT projects in particular perform poorly here – they are on average 27 % above the planned budget. Worse still: One in six IT projects will become a ‘black swan’, i.e. a project involving 200 % Expensive and 70 % It will be completed more slowly than planned.

A small bright spot is that the focus on project management pays off.

Success rates have steadily improved in recent years. An essential reason for this is that we better combine findings from theory and practice. Organizations such as this Project Management Institute (PMI) whose focus is clearly on theory, IPMA with comparable approaches but more practice (also focused in the exams) would be the most well-known. Providers such as PRINCE2 (popular in the English-speaking area) by Axelos/PeopleCert, which you probably know in IT more because of ITIL or also the ISO-21500 summarize these findings into standards, train yourself and award certifications, which form an important basis and guide for good project management.

When it comes to what a project manager should be able to do, these standards have long since ceased to focus solely on purely technical or methodological competencies. Rather, they divide the skills into three categories. According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) need good project managers in addition to technical Project management know-how also Leadership skills and knowledge in Strategy and business management. But what exactly do these points mean and how important are they?

The three pillars of successful project management

1. Technical project management

This is the absolute foundation, the tools that every project manager must master in order to be successful. It includes the Knowledge of tools, techniques and approaches. This is about: goals to define, structured plans to create and the budget Keep an eye on it. In an increasingly complex and competitive world, technical project management is the basis. No more than the base.
Whether you switch with the magic triangle, square or between linear and agile, you are always on the same hybrid route, because the project requires this, if you will, is only your personal toolbox. It is becoming increasingly important that you, as a project manager, also have other skills.

2. Leadership skills

Neudeutsch Leadership is the ability to lead, motivate and direct. Behind them are important Soft skills, how Negotiability, clear communication, empathy The ability to solve problems. This is not surprising, because project management is much more than just numbers, tables and charts.
One of the main tasks is to make people motivate and cooperation on promote. You need to know how to deal with stakeholders and make clear to your team instructions You don't have to go into micro-management. A good project manager ownership and delegation, but still keep it overview.

An example from practice: Imagine that you have a team in which everyone wants to do their tasks as undisturbed as possible. A good project manager ensures that there are only a few, short and well-structured meetings that really add value. He listens, mediates in conflicts and creates a working environment in which everyone feels safe and supported. Instead of panicking, he remains calm and serene even under pressure.

3. Strategy and business management

The third, but no less important, pillar is understanding the strategy and business model of the project or client. A good project manager not only masters the basics and is a leader, he also has the The Big Whole in view. He can classify events in the project and knows how they affect the long-term goals. This knowledge is often referred to as Domain expertise denoted.

An example from practice: You lead an IT project to introduce new software. A good project manager not only asks about the technical requirements, but also how this software contributes to the customer's business model. He understands that it's not just about functionality, it's also about how the new system increases productivity, reduces costs, or opens up new business opportunities.

Let's go a few steps further. How can tools and methods help us achieve this?

The Magic Triangle in Project Management

The Magic Triangle, also known as the Project Triangle or Iron Triangle, is a Basic concept in project management. It visualizes the three most important restrictions (Dimensions) that determine each project: extent, time and Cost/budget. Each of these dimensions is interconnected, and a change in one inevitably affects the other.

The three dimensions

Scope: Defines the exact features, functions and tasks that need to be done in the project.
Time (time): Specifies the timeframe available to complete the project.
Cost/Budget (Cost/Budget): Refers to all the resources needed, including financial resources, labor and materials.

The meaning and application

The model helps project managers understand and control the competing requirements of a project. For example, if the extent If a project is to be expanded, either more time and/or a higher budget Planned to successfully complete the project. If the time If it is shortened, either the extent Reduced or this budget increased to finance additional resources.

The main task of any project manager is to find a healthy balance between these three dimensions. The model serves as a visual reminder that decisions can never be made in isolation. Effective use of the magic triangle requires clear communication with all stakeholders, setting realistic deadlines and monitoring project progress so that adjustments can be made early if necessary.

The magic triangle can extend to other dimensions such as quality or risks be expanded to provide a more comprehensive picture of the actual project limitations. This is then also known as the magic square, the devil’s square or, for pragmatists, the ‘practical square’.

Project Key Figures (KPIs) in Project Management

We have yes Yesterday in the article about MSR Taking a closer look at best practices, today we are also taking a closer look at it from this point of view for management, especially when it comes to ‘regulating appropriately’.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are critical to measuring and controlling the success, performance, and progress of a project. They serve both the project manager for operational control and the project controller for assessing resource efficiency and profitability.

Important areas and key figures

The key figures can be divided into different areas, each highlighting different aspects of the project:

Scope and duration of the project:
- Scope: Measures such as Budget (Planned Value, PV), ressources and Team size.
- Duration: Measuring the planned and actual project duration in days, weeks or months. Important key figures are Completion dates (FEZ, SEZ) and milestones.
Deviations and progress:
- Deviation from the schedule (Schedule Variance, SV): Compares the progress with the planned schedule. A positive deviation means that the project is ahead of schedule.
- Cost Variance (CV): Compares the actual costs with the planned ones.
- Degree of completion: Percentage completion of the project.
- Performance Index (CPI/SPI): Key figures such as the Schedule Performance Index (SPI = EV/PV) or the Cost Performance Index (CPI = EV/AC) provide information on efficiency in terms of time and costs.
Project control:
- Extent control: Monitoring of Change requests and the Team utilization rate, in order to avoid an extension of the scope of the project (scope creep).
- Risk management: Key figures such as the Probability value or the Risk value help assess risks and predict their impact.
- Complexity and size: By means of matrices, they can Complexity (ComplexityScore) and the size systematic evaluation of a project (e.g. classification A, B, C).
Results and team performance:
- Project results: Measuring success through metrics such as Return on Investment (ROI), satisfaction or the Usage rate of the solution.
- Team performance: Review of the On-time delivery, Error frequency and Fluctuation rate the team.
Project objectives:
- Measuring the achievement of goals through concrete Deliverables (e.g. prototypes, documents, physical products) and Performance targets (e.g. sales increase, cost reduction, improved customer satisfaction).

Budget methods and best practices in project management

Often, however, you have no or at least not enough exact numbers to work with in advance. This can have different reasons, but in the end it always comes down to an ‘educated best guess’. This most effective estimate of the project budget is crucial for the success of the project. There are different techniques that can be applied depending on the project phase and available information.

5 Techniques for Estimating the Project Budget

Top-down estimate:
- Method: You start with a predetermined total budget and divide it from top to bottom into the individual phases and tasks of the project.
- Benefits: Very fast, useful in early project phases to check the feasibility of a customer budget.
- Disadvantages: Very inaccurate, as the estimate is not based on detailed task analyses.
Analogue estimate:
- Method: Estimate the budget based on the cost of similar projects already completed.
- Benefits: Fast and easy, requires limited project information.
- Disadvantages: Imprecise, because projects are rarely exactly the same. The method is highly dependent on the quality and relevance of the historical data.
Parametric estimate:
- Method: Uses data from previous projects and statistical relationships between variables (e.g. unit costs) to extrapolate the budget for the current project.
- Benefits: More accurate than the analog estimate, as it uses quantitative data.
- Disadvantages: Requires well-defined measurement points and reliable historical data, which are often difficult to find in digital projects.
Three-point estimate:
- Method: Calculates the average from three scenarios: Best case, Worst case and Most likely case.
- Formula: (Best case + Worst case + Most likely case) / 3 = Expected estimate.
- Benefits: Reduces risk by taking into account uncertainties and provides a more realistic estimate.
- Disadvantages: More time-consuming than simpler estimation methods.
Bottom-up estimate (from bottom to top):
- Method: The project is broken down into its smallest tasks (often using a project structure plan), each task is estimated individually and the sums are added up to get the total budget.
- Benefits: Very accurate and detailed, allows robust monitoring of project progress and budget.
- Disadvantages: Time-consuming, can only be applied if all project details are known, and can lead to higher cost estimates.

Choosing the right method depends heavily on the project phase. While Top down and Analogous estimates are ideal for the initial phases to gain a quick overview, are suitable Three-point and Bottom-up estimates better for the detailed planning phase, which is about accuracy.

Where we are already with methods, of course, an overview of the common established PM methods must not be missing. Whether classic, agile or hybrid - the choice of approach can also be decisive for success, depending on the project.

Comparison of some project management methods

Project management methods are tools and approaches to achieve project goals. They can be divided into three main categories: classical, agiles and Hybrid project management. Choosing the right method depends heavily on project requirements, complexity, and team skills.

Classical methods

These methods are linear and strongly planning-oriented. The focus is on detailed pre-planning, with the entire project planned from start to finish. They are particularly suitable for projects with stable requirements and high planning reliability.

method	description	Strengths	Suitable for
waterfall	Linear, sequential processing of project phases (as in a cascade). A phase does not begin until the previous one is completed.	High planning reliability, clear structure.	Projects with constant tasks where the requirements are stable.
V model	Linear as the waterfall model, but with accompanying test phases for each development phase to detect errors at an early stage.	Reduces errors through rigorous testing phases, simple structure.	Software development and projects with high quality requirements (e.g. medical technology).
SixSigma	Uses statistical methods for process optimization and error reduction to increase quality.	Improves the quality measurably.	Large companies in industries where measurable results and high quality are critical.
Milestone trend analysis	Monitors the progress of the project by regularly reviewing milestones in order to detect deviations in time at an early stage.	Easy to identify and control delays in the schedule.	Projects with low complexity and predictable, sequential processes.
Critical Path/Critical Chain	Focuses on scheduling tasks, time and resources to create realistic schedules and increase productivity.	Increases efficiency and productivity, identifies critical bottlenecks.	Less complex projects with medium-sized teams that want to increase their efficiency.

Agile methods

Agile approaches are flexible, iterative and responsive. They are ideal for projects with frequently changing requirements and high complexity as they work step by step towards the final goal.

method	description	Strengths	Suitable for
Scrum	Iterative development in short cycles (sprints). Goals are reassessed and adjusted after each sprint. A Scrum Master leads the team.	High flexibility and adaptability. Encourages creativity and teamwork.	Projects with unknown parameters and frequent changes, e.g. in product development.
Kanban	Visualisation of tasks on a board with columns such as ‘To-Do’, ‘Doing’ and ‘Done’. Promotes transparency and self-responsibility.	High transparency, increases productivity and enables quick reactions.	Teams that work independently and want to visually track their progress.
lean	Focuses on creating customer added value with minimal wastage of resources (time, money, material).	High efficiency, resource-saving, leads to lean project management.	Projects where efficiency and economical use of resources are paramount.
XP (Extreme Programming)	Focuses on quickly solving programming tasks through open communication and fast feedback.	Very fast, adaptable to customer needs.	Individual projects where speed is important, especially in software development.
Design thinking	A creative, user-oriented approach to solving complex problems. The process includes understanding, observing, defining perspective, finding ideas, developing prototypes and testing.	Promotes innovation and creativity, high user orientation, solves complex and unclear problems.	Projects that focus on the development of new products, services or business models and the needs of users.

Hybrid project management

These approaches combine elements from classic and agile methods to use the respective strengths. They are ideal for complex projects that require both planning security and flexibility. Examples of this are: Scrumban (combination of Scrum and Kanban), the combination of Lean and SixSigma or the integration of agile sprints into a classic waterfall framework. (Water Scrum case)
At Personio You can also look at the individual methods presented (and more) in detail. Who wants to know more about hybrid models It's best to stop by here.

By the way, you will also find more details/tools on pages such as the blog of Laos GmbH or also at projectfacts.de. Special consideration should always be on the budget, here helps you e.g. a page like thedigitalprojectmanager.com.

The consistent use and analysis by these tools, key figures and experience makes it possible to continuously measure the course of the project, thereby making informed decisions to steer, to adjust if necessary and thus to ensure the success of the project. They provide an objective basis for the evaluation and management of the project and also help to better plan and accompany future projects.

Personally, I am a great friend of classic project management, but I do not want to be misunderstood, because even with a classic approach you can quickly find yourself in a hybrid environment, because even there you have to adapt to changed specifications or adaptive planning, follow up and be able to adjust iteratively again and again in order to achieve the ‘big picture’ as a goal.

With all the technical and tools or methods, as already mentioned above, there is the other area, but I will look at it in detail next week: In project management, your Soft skills especially appreciated. Why?
Quite simply: A project often involves people who only work together temporarily. Teamwork is crucial here. Projects achieve their goals when employees can successfully communicate with each other, support each other, motivate each other and overcome conflicts together.
Tools/methods and hard skills ensure expertise and correctness in the project. Soft skills ensure that everything runs smoothly. This is just one of many examples that show why more and more people and companies are realizing that soft skills are critical to success.

conclusion

Expertise and methodological competence are of course the basis for successfully managing projects. Toolkits such as MSR, KPI or the Magic Triangle help you make the right decisions based on well-founded data.

But what distinguishes a really good project manager are, above all, the soft skills such as his Management skills and Leadership qualities. This definitely includes a certain serenity, Self-assurance The ability to communicate clearly and openly. Also an Empathetic mediator It's good to be there because you're constantly moving between the chairs. Now, let's get back to the last point: The final opponent is self-reflection and the ability Learning from your own mistakes.

This package is not placed in the cradle of anyone. It develops through experience, training and the willingness to become a little better every day. Hello KVP ⁇