Project Manager: When, how and why

Whether consciously or not, people organize parts of their lives into projects. Using a general definition, a project is a temporary effort made to create a unique result. This broad concept encompasses everything from fulfilling a personal need, like planning a trip or buying a vehicle, to more complex operations such as starting a business.

It's clear that if a holiday trip doesn't go as planned, the outcome is relatively unimportant, with the consequences possibly amounting to just an unpleasant memory. However, in the case of a business project, the situation is quite different. Avoiding failure often involves careful planning of work and finances, and it might be a good idea to seek professional management through a Project Manager. This role, with its strategic vision as a key asset, is essential to ensure optimal and organized results and to minimize risks.

This strategic vision translates into a detailed definition of the schedule, forecasting of financial and human resources, risk assessment, among others. It also brings management skills such as negotiation, conflict and decision-making management, communication and teamwork, and even generates motivation and confidence.

The way you can incorporate a Project Manager into your project could be as an independent professional or as part of the team developing the technical activities. In any case, their role is to represent and primarily look after your interests, but also those of other participants, collaborators, or suppliers, as taking into account all stakeholders is the only way to guarantee the achievement of objectives (the so-called win-win).

When to incorporate them into your project? This point is key and has a clear answer: The sooner, the better. In fact, the ideal moment is on the path from your initial idea to the draft of the project, before any resources are allocated or pivotal decisions are made.