What is the difference between the role of a project manager and a project leader?
the new project leader "shin-yonetaro" was selected as the project leader the other day.
what kind of troubles do you consult your seniors today?
taro: sempay! may i have time now? i have something to ask you today.
senior: oh, taro, you're here today too!?
Taro: Actually, I'm thinking of creating a structure for the project from now on. So, I suddenly thought, what is the difference between the roles of a project manager (PM) and a project leader (PL)? I've been wondering.
i understand that pl is the role of this time, but it is the role to do "activities and management to achieve the purpose of the project", as i learned last time, right?
THEN, WHAT WOULD THE PM BE THE PERSON WHO MANAGES THE PROJECT? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN YOUR ROLE WITH YOURSELF (PL)?
Today, I thought that you would like to tell us about the difference between the roles of PM and PL in project management.
Seniors: Well, I want to know the difference between pm and PL roles. Certainly, if you are going to create a system diagram from now on, it is important to understand the specific roles and authority of each.
Seniors: Okay, let's talk about the roles of project manager (PM) and project leader (PL) today.
taro: yes, thank you again today!
make project team members understand their role
seniors: first of all, let's talk from the basic project team's way of thinking.
taro: yes.
seniors: for example, when developing a product, multiple engineers come together to build up a team and work as a project.
taro: yes.
seniors: engineers on teams often have different ways of thinking and skills.
if such people do not understand their roles, authority, and responsibilities, and each activity (development) as they like, the specifications (quality) will fall apart, and if they can not cooperate, they may make the same thing.
in addition, i don't think we can control the schedule (delivery date) and budget (cost) that are important in project activities. in other words, if you don't decide on the role of each member in the project team, it will be very inefficient and it will be difficult to make the project successful.
taro: yes, i think so, too.
seniors: therefore, it is important for the project team to clarify the roles of the participating members, to properly determine the instruction and instruction system, and to understand (make) the responsibilities and authority of each role.
and people who control, direct, and order this project team, as well as those who plan and execute projects to make them successful, are often referred to as "project leaders (pl)."
Taro: Yes, I have that kind of image. However, what role does PM play when that happens? That's what it is.
Senior: That's right. So, what kind of roles do PM and PL specifically share? Let's go back to Taro's question.
taro: yes, thank you.
PM, PL, DON'T BE DECEIVED BY THE NAME, UNDERSTAND THE ESSENCE
Senior: By the way, do you know which is more great, PM or PL?
Taro: Eh? That's 、、、PM is more great, isn't it?
senior: yes, i see, you think so, don't you?
taro: eh? what? isn't that different? because in our company, most of them are related, right?
Senior: Well, that's right. So I wouldn't say it's a mistake. Actually, it is so. First of all, as a Japanese culture, there are many ideas like PM ≈ great person (person in charge), PL ≈ project manager, in other words, PM ≈ manager, PL ≈ section chief.
the point is how to divide with an awareness of the "position". in the case of this idea, the role of the pm is to take responsibility for the entire project, and it is unlikely that it will be concretely even in the field of project management. in extreme terms, if you don't put a person with a title in pm (project manager) in the project structure, it's not a little bit that you're putting only your name because it's not good in appearance.
in such a case, i think that pl is doing all the management of the project. or is there someone who plays an equivalent role under a different name from pm or pl?
Taro: Do you just have a name? PM to actually do nothing?
Senior: Yes, it's an extreme example, but that's how you think about it. I don't want you to get me wrong, but even a PM in this case doesn't do anything, so it's something that plays a different role.
I'M NOT WORKING AS A PROJECT MANAGER (PM) I'M GOING TO EXPLAIN, BUT IT'S AN EXAMPLE TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S SOMETIMES CALLED A PM.
Taro: Oh, that's what it is. Just because it's called a PM doesn't necessarily mean that you're doing project management, it's sometimes called a PM in another role.
Senior: That's right. It is also true that many companies in Japan have decided pm and PL in a positional way of thinking, and from that idea, I think that the relationship between PM (great) > PL is not wrong.
also, it is common for the way we call it different depending on the rules and culture of the company. some people call it group leader (gl) or team leader (tl).
that's why it's important to understand the original role of pm and pl, and who will play that role in carrying out the project.
Taro: That's what you mean, even if you call a person who doesn't aim for project management itself a PM, it's important for people who are responsible for the original PM work and those who are responsible for PL work to carry out the project, apart from the name.
senior: that's what it is.
PROJECT MANAGER (PM) AND PROJECT LEADER (PL) ROLES
Seniors: Now that you understand that you won't be deceived by how to call them, we'll move on to the role of the original PM and PL.
first, simply put,
✔ PROJECT MANAGER (PM): WHO MANAGES THE PROJECT
✔ PROJECT LEADER (PL): A PERSON WHO EXECUTES THE PROJECT AS PLANNED AND LEADS TO THE GOAL
it can be said that it is a role sharing.
I SOMETIMES CALL THE ROLE OF PM "PROJECT MANAGER" AND PL ROLE AS "PROJECT EXECUTION PERSON".
taro: yes, yes, it's the role you call it.
Seniors: I'd like you to think about the japanese culture and the idea of job title, but do you not know that PM and PL are actually just different roles, and which is totally unrelated to being great?
Taro: I see! Somehow, there may have been a stereotype that PM is a senior manager and PL is a subordinate. Certainly, the role in charge is only different, and it is not related to the top and bottom here.
senior: that's what it is.
for example, in about three years of employment, there are people who have no programming skills at all, but there are people who are good at management skills (for pm), such as scheduling, adjusting resources, or progressing according to plan, and legendary super programmers with 15 years of experience, who have a lot of business knowledge and charisma (for pl), people are not good at schedule management and cost management. if you are in charge of each specialty in the right place, you can proceed with the project efficiently.
taro: isn't it a position or which is more great, but rather the idea of each role? cool!
senior: So, Cool! The specific role of a project manager (PM) is basically to work with project members, mainly to manage the project budget, schedule management, adjust and procure resources, manage risk, etc., and always check whether the project is proceeding as planned, and if there is a problem, take some action.
it's not your role to sit greatly.
is it easy to imagine when you think of a figure that always glaies with the schedule and is worried about adjustments that it is not ah or not like that?
on the other hand, the specific role of a project leader (pl) is to bring together the members of the project team, give accurate instructions, explain, persuade, and make proposals to various stakeholders. in fact, you may not actually produce deliverables, but your main role is to get the desired results while getting team members to do what they need to do. in order to do so, business knowledge will also be necessary, and various ingenuity, efforts, communication skills, etc. are required to observe the plan and achieve results. if anything, there are many cases where action and leadership are required rather than management skills.
Taro: When you ask specifically about the division of roles like this, it sounds more difficult for a project leader (PL) than a project manager (PM), but does that suit you?
senior: well, i can't say that in general. because the nature of the work is different in the first place.
since the work of pm management itself requires various skills, i think that there is no doubt that excellent pms are really few valuable human resources. however, since there are some areas where management know-how itself has been established to some extent, it is also a feature of pm business that you can use outsourced vendors who provide management services such as those specialized in management regardless of the content of the project.
Taro: Well, there's a way to hire a PM from outside the company! ? Didn't know.
Seniors: On the other hand, this is not the case with project leaders (PL).
in order to lead a project to the goal, it is necessary to have deep business knowledge, proposal skills, design skills, program skills, etc., and it is necessary to clear constantly changing problems, give appropriate instructions to members, and carry out the project as planned. in order to do so, you may make adjustments involving internal stakeholders, or you may make awareness decisions as a company on behalf of the manager. in the work closely related to such internal adjustments, it will be difficult for people outside the company to do it from a standpoint.
my idea is that it is very important to develop project leaders (pl) who can only be procured in-house. taro stood at the entrance.
taro: guo, suddenly there's a lot of pressure...
Taro: I have some understanding of the roles of PM and PL.
by the way, i understand the division of roles, but in fact, in our company, pl is doing schedule management, resource management, and cost management, right? is this the culture of our company? i'm a pl, right? but you have to do management (management) at the same time, which should be pm's work, right? how do i understand this?
senior: well, don't be impatient.
the role sharing between pm and pl, which i just talked about, was explained on the premise of "pm for the person who manages the project" and "pl for the person who executes the project as planned and leads to the goal". in actual work, it is not possible to divide the role such beautifully. in the case of a large-scale project, as explained, there is a pm that specializes in management work, and there is also the case that an organization called pmo (project management office) is assigned to support it third-party. there are also multiple sub-pl's placed under pl.
on the other hand, in a small-scale project, such a management person etc. cannot be placed costly. so even if the name is pl, the work you are doing may be when you work alone in pm work and pl work. the important thing is that there is always a person in charge who is responsible for both management and execution work. and in order not to confuse the instruction system, it is important that the top leader (supervisor) is alone.
Taro: Hmmm, that means I'm a PM and PL, isn't it?
senior: well, don't be impatient. don't be impatient. listen to the end.
seniors: another important thing is that each company has its own rules. taking our company as an example, the following rules are applied in project management.
【project personnel composition】
EACH PROJECT SHALL CONSIST OF ONE PROJECT MANAGER (PM), ONE OR MORE PROJECT LEADERS (PL), AND PROJECT MEMBERS.
・ PM SHALL BE CONDUCTED BY A PERSON IN CHARGE OF MANAGERIAL OR PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS OR MORE.
[MISSION OF PM]
・ manage the entire project in the entire process of planning proposal, up-and-running, planning, execution, monitoring control, and termination of the project.
・ to complete the project by meeting the requirements, quality, cost (budget) and delivery date for the planned software product.
[PL MISSION]
・ FOLLOW THE PM'S INSTRUCTIONS TO CONTROL THE ENTIRE PROJECT. (SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT, PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT, COST MANAGEMENT, RISK MANAGEMENT, OUTSOURCING MANAGEMENT, ETC.)
・ formulation, implementation and promotion of project plans
・ to complete the project by meeting the requirements, quality, cost (budget) and delivery date for the planned software product.
taro : oh, my god! that there was such a rule!
Seniors: In addition to the above rules, pl also deals with the planning and management of projects to be done. For instance
development man-hours estimate of the entire project
personnel plan including outsourcing
・ clarification of the scope of division of work for individual members
・ creation of execution budget and calculation of target profit
create development schedules and manage them so that projects can be completed within the time period
progress management and measures as necessary
・ management of project members (progress grasping, health grasp, morale improvement, etc.)
budget control (complete projects within budget)
- Quality control (quality control is carried out in order to make the deliverables as high as possible)
- REPORT (PL MUST REPORT THE STATUS OF THE PROJECT TO THE PM)
it is a role.
THAT'S WHY IN OUR COMPANY, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE PM, BASICALLY PL IS SUPPOSED TO PLAN AND CARRY OUT PROJECT MANAGEMENT.
do you understand?
Taro: Well, after understanding the role of PM and PL as a general rule, you assume the role and responsibility according to the company's management rules (rules).
i understood my own role in this project.
senior: finally, i'll teach you one more important thing.
taro: yes, please.
seniors: that means understanding the importance of reporting.
taro:is it a "report", yes.
Seniors: There's no problem with reporting when things are going well, but there's a PL that "reports lies" to the PM, even though the project has been delayed or a major problem has occurred. This is something you should never do. As for the psychology of PL, I don't know that I don't want to be offended by PM, I don't know that I want to be angry with PM, I'm still okay (optimism), so I don't want to report a lie.
You can't hide it. Pm is not an enemy for PL, so it is very important to report the situation properly, share the situation, not shoulder responsibility alone, consult the PM and ask for instructions. The PM side can also say that it is an important role to create a healthy environment where PL reports properly.
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