Week 2 Problems/Exercises: Chapters 3 & 4
Michael LaBarge
DeVry University

Chapter 3
2. List and describe the common skills and activities of a project manager. Which skill do you think is most important? Why? Common skills of a project manager include: interpersonal skills, leadership skills and technical skills. Interpersonal skills include the skills needed to effectively communicate with others what needs to be done and the process that should be taken to get it done. Leadership skills are important because as the project manager is in charge of the project, they must be able to successfully lead their team from initiation to completion of the project as efficiently as possible. Technical skills are the skills needed to understand all aspects of the system that is to be created or modified and what it takes to make that happen. Common activities of a project manager include: leadership, management, customer relations, technical problem solving, conflict management, team management and risk and change management. I believe that the most important skill that a project manager must possess is leadership. I think that with the right team, the PM can get assistance on the interpersonal and technical aspects of the project. However without the proper leadership, even the best team will ultimately fail, or at least have many difficulties. Also, many of the activities that a project manager must do are leader/management based.
4. Describe the activities performed by the project manager during project planning. The activities performed by a project manager during project planning are: describing the project scope, feasibility and alternatives, dividing the project into manageable tasks, estimating resources and creating a resource plan, developing a preliminary schedule, developing a communication plan, determining project standards and processes,