“What Is an IT Project Manager? Breaking Down This Unique Tech Career on Rasmussen College, January 28, 2021.
“All businesses these days are in the technology business,” says Alan Zucker, founding principal of Project Management Essentials LLC. Zucker explains that pretty much every company needs to build and implement new software applications, hardware systems, or technology platforms to keep up with their competitors. “IT project managers are the people who deliver these solutions.”
In this position, IT project managers become the connection point for all the areas of expertise needed in a given project. They can explain technical constraints to business teams, and they can weave financial, timeline, and company concerns into the technical stages of a project. “The PM’s primary role is to work with people throughout the organization to meet the project’s objectives subject to constraints of time, cost, quality, and risk,” Zucker says.
What is the best thing about working as an IT project manager?
IT project managers typically enjoy a fair amount of ownership in the projects they work on. “Being a project manager is like owning your own small business,” Zucker says. Companies entrust their IT PMs with valuable resources to complete a project that will help the whole business.
“Early in my career, I was asked to take a leadership role in delivering critical projects to my organization,” Zucker recalls. “I had far more responsibility than many of my friends and peers. It was fun and exciting to feel like I was doing important work.”