The project manager is the individual responsible for delivering the project. The individual leads and manages the project team, with authority and responsibility from the project board, to run the project on a day-to-day basis. In the NI public sector, PRojects IN Controlled Environments is the standard project management method and is applicable to all project types.

As well as the formal responsibilities set out in methods such as PRINCE2, the project manager has an important role in interfacing between the project and the business area. This is important for communicating and encouraging the need for transformation and change within the business area in tandem with the delivery of new capabilities from the project. The readiness of the business to exploit the new capability is crucial to success. Without this state of readiness in the business, there are likely to be disruptions and delays in the plan for benefits realisation.

Specific responsibilities of the project manager

The project manager, operating within agreed reporting structures, is responsible for:

designing and applying appropriate project management standards for incorporation in the NI Gateway Review Process

managing the production of the required deliverables

planning and monitoring the project

adopting any delegation and use of project assurance roles within agreed reporting structures

preparing and maintaining project, stage and exception plans as required

managing project risks, including the development of contingency plans

liaison with programme management (if the project is part of a programme) and related projects to ensure that work is neither overlooked nor duplicated

monitoring overall progress and use of resources, initiating corrective action where necessary

applying change control and configuration management processes reporting through agreed lines on project progress through highlight reports and end-stage assessments

liaison with appointed project assurance representatives to assure the overall direction and integrity of the project

maintaining an awareness of potential interdependencies with other projects and their impact

adopting and applying appropriate technical and quality strategies and standards

identifying and obtaining support and advice required for the management, planning and control of the project

managing project administration

conducting a project evaluation review to assess how well the project was managed

preparing any follow-on action recommendation

All projects are carried out under certain constraints – traditionally, they are cost, time and scope. These three factors (commonly called 'the triple constraint') are represented as a triangle (see Figure 1). Each constraint forms the vertices, with quality as the central theme:

Projects must be delivered within cost

Projects must be delivered on time

Projects must meet the agreed scope – no more, no less

Projects must also meet customer quality requirements

Project Management Triple Constraint Diagram

The Triple Constraint

More recently, the triangle has given way to a project management diamond: cost, time, scope, and quality are now the four vertices, with customer expectations as a central theme (see Figure 2). No two customer expectations are the same, so you must ask specific questions about the customer's expectations:

Project Management Diamond Diagram

The Project Management Diamond

1. Cost: All projects have a finite budget; the customer is willing to spend a certain amount of money for delivery of a new product or service. If you reduce the project's cost, you will either have to reduce its scope or increase its time.

2. Time (Schedule): As the saying goes, 'time is money', a commodity that slips away too easily. Projects have a deadline date for delivery. When you reduce the project's time, you will either have to increase its cost or reduce its scope.

3. Scope: Many projects fail on this constraint because the scope of the project is either not fully defined or understood from the start. When you increase a project's scope, you will either have to increase its cost or time.

Once a customer asks you to complete a project, the person will state what is important; for example, the project must cost no more than £50k, be delivered by a particular date, or contain certain features.

The triple constraint is about balancing each constraint to reach a successful conclusion. As the project progresses, the project manager may find that any changes impact one or more of the constrai