Concisely describe how the five phases of a typical water resource project might

Question

Concisely describe how the five phases of a typical water resource project might unfold for a project to replace the existing culvert and low water crossing on Sycamore creek in Fort Worth with a larger capacity culvert or bridge to reduce the risk of future loss of life. If you were the project manager, List the several professional and technical disciplines you envision would be represented by your project team members - some team members may work on a single phase of the project, while some may work on all five phases.

Explanation / Answer

The professional and technical disciplines for a project manager should be as follows:

1. Communication-Communication is a broad topic, so it’s difficult to approach it from an all-encompassing angle. A good place to start is by improving your presentation skills, which translates into everything from a kickoff meeting to a pitch to clients and stakeholders.

2. Leadership-Leadership is the current buzzword in the project management industry, and with good reason: If you can lead, you can deliver. But most importantly, leadership is often what is missing in the project manager’s arsenal of highly developed technical skills. If you’re a project manager, I can guarantee you have felt the need to improve yourself as a leader at some point.

3. Team management-Besides leading a team from a strategic perspective, project managers also need to manage from an operational point of view. An effective team manager excels at administering and coordinating groups of individuals by promoting teamwork, delegating tasks, resolving conflict, setting goals, and evaluating performance. Leadership is about inspiring others to walk with you; team management makes sure your team has the right shoes.

4. Negotiation-Going back to the communication skill—a lot of this communication has to do with negotiating the use of resources, budgets, schedules, scope creep, and a variety of other compromises that are unavoidable. Knowing how to negotiate well so that all parties are satisfied is a key skill for the successful project manager.

5. Personal organization-Have you ever heard that you cannot give what you do not have? How can you get things done and organize work for other people if your own personal life and projects are disorganized and going nowhere? Get organized personally, and you will immediately improve as a project manager.

6. Risk management-During my “Project Management for You” podcast series, I interviewed top-notch project managers and asked them about their go-to project management tool or technique. I was surprised to see them suggesting risk management. They are absolutely right: If you can predict and create solutions to issues before they arise, you increase your chances of delivering projects successfully. Risks by definition are not urgent; as a result, many project managers fail to consider risks as seriously as they should.

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