n the broadest sense, project managers (PMs) are responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the completion of specific projects for an organization while ensuring these projects are on time, on budget, and within scope.
By overseeing complex projects from inception to completion, project managers have the potential to shape an organization’s trajectory, helping to reduce costs, maximize company efficiencies, and increase revenue.
The exact duties of a project manager will depend on their industry, organization, and the types of projects that a PM is tasked with overseeing. But across the board, all project managers share responsibilities across what’s commonly referred to as the “project life cycle,” which consists of five phases (or processes):
- Initiating
- Planning
- Executing
- Monitoring and Controlling
- Closing
