What does a software project manager do?

A Principal Software Engineer is responsible for the technical aspects of an organization's projects. They diagnose, document, and troubleshoot systems to resolve problems identified through testing, as well as implement strategies to improve integration and efficiency.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a software project manager are more likely to require skills like "project management," "development process," "software project," and "project scope." On the other hand, a job as a principal software engineer requires skills like "python," "software development," "object oriented programming," and "aws." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

A business analyst/project manager is responsible for developing project management procedures, analyzing processes, and ensuring the accuracy and efficiency of project deliverables, following clients' specifications and requirements to meet their highest satisfaction. Business analysts/project managers manage project resources, delegate tasks to project staff, setting deadlines, and coordinating with the clients for regular updates and suggest strategic adjustments as needed. They also mitigate potential risks and manage changes during the project execution, maintaining the quality of the outputs, and balancing costs to meet the clients' budget goals.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that software project manager responsibilities requires skills like "development process," "ui," "software project," and "c++." But a business analyst/project manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "business stakeholders," "business process," "business analysis," and "data analysis."

Project Managers or scrum masters are experienced employees who lead an agile team. They are in charge of managing a specific project in terms of the agile model. They lead the team throughout the planning session, the designing of the project parameters, the development of the processes, the implementation of the project, and the evaluation. They represent the team in meetings with stakeholders. They ensure that the working relationship among all the departments involved is harmonious. They also guide their team members throughout the project.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from software project manager resumes include skills like "project management," "scrum," "development process," and "ui," whereas a project manager/scrum master is more likely to list skills in "sprint planning," "scrum meetings," "agile scrum," and "software development. "

Project Managers are responsible for managing and overseeing the operations of a project from inception to completion. Their duties include defining project scope, developing a project plan, creating work breakdown structures to distribute resources, and communicating responsibilities to all project team members and vendors. They organizie work schedules, set milestones, track project progress, resolve technical issues, articulate roadblocks to project sponsors, propose risk mitigation strategies, and maintain project documentation. Project Managers also handle file submission for project closure, conduct post-project evaluations, supervise project communications, act as chairman in project status meetings, develop project governance structures and liaise with system security managers to coordinate system security activities.