Project Toolkit

Project Manager

Project Manager

The Project Manager role - day-to-day leader of the project, accountable to the Project Board for delivering within agreed tolerances.

Project Manager

The Project Manager runs the project day-to-day. They plan the work, coordinate the team, manage risks and report progress — and they are accountable to the Project Board for delivering the agreed products within agreed tolerances.

Purpose

The Project Manager exists to:

  • Plan and run the work needed to deliver the project’s products
  • Coordinate the team and any third-party suppliers
  • Manage risks, issues, changes and dependencies
  • Report progress honestly to the Project Board
  • Escalate when tolerances are at risk
  • Close the project cleanly and capture lessons learned

Key Responsibilities

Phase Responsibility
Startup Draft the Project Brief; agree appointments with the Executive
Initiation Author the PID; baseline plan, cost, quality and benefits
Stage planning Produce stage plans; agree tolerances with the Board
Delivery Authorise work packages; track progress; manage risks and issues
Reporting Produce highlight, exception and end-of-stage reports
Change Run change control within tolerance; escalate beyond
Closure Confirm acceptance; produce the End Project Report; capture lessons

Authority and Tolerance

The Project Manager makes decisions within the tolerances set by the Project Board. Outside those tolerances, decisions belong to the Board.

flowchart LR A[Issue
or Change] --> B{Within
Tolerance?} B -->|Yes| C[PM
Decides] B -->|No| D[Escalate
to Board] C --> E[Record
and Report] D --> E classDef blue fill:#108BB9,stroke:none,color:#fff class A,B,C,D,E blue

Typical tolerances cover:

Tolerance Example
Cost +/- 10% of stage budget
Time +/- 2 weeks on stage end date
Scope No removal of agreed must-haves
Quality All defined acceptance criteria met
Risk No new red risks without escalation
Benefits No reduction in committed benefits

Tolerances are agreed up front. Treat them as the contract between the Project Manager and the Project Board.

Relationship to Other Roles

Role Relationship What the PM Owes Them
Executive Reports to Honest progress, timely escalation, sound advice
Project Sponsor Engages with Strategic context, removal-of-blocker requests
Senior User Collaborates with Visibility of requirements progress, user impact of changes
Senior Supplier Collaborates with Realistic asks, clarity on commitments
Project team Leads Clear direction, removed blockers, recognition
Stakeholders Communicates with Tailored updates, managed expectations

The Project Manager is not on the Project Board — they report to it. This distinction matters: the PM advises, the Board decides.

Core Skills

Skill Area Examples
Planning Decomposition, estimating, scheduling, dependency mapping
Risk Identification, assessment, response planning
Stakeholder Engagement, influence, communication
Leadership Motivating teams, resolving conflict, building trust
Commercial Vendor management, budget control, contract awareness
Reporting Concise, honest, decision-focused communication
Domain Enough understanding to challenge solutions sensibly

A Week in the Life

The mix varies by stage, but a typical delivery-stage week looks like:

Activity Approx Share
Communication (1:1s, stand-ups, stakeholder updates) 30-40%
Planning and replanning 15-20%
Risk, issue and change management 10-15%
Reporting (highlight reports, board prep) 10-15%
Team support and unblocking 10-15%
Quality, governance, admin 10%

If you’re spending all your time in spreadsheets and none with people, something is wrong.

Common Project Manager Pitfalls

Pitfall Symptom Mitigation
The optimistic PM Status always green until it isn’t Surface risks early; use ranges, not point estimates
The hero PM Holds everything in their head Document; build redundancy; delegate
The admin PM Updates plans but doesn’t lead Spend more time with the team and stakeholders
The hidden escalation Avoids telling the Board bad news Escalate early; the Board hates surprises more than problems
The scope softie Quietly absorbs creep Use change control; show impact every time

What Good Project Managers Do

  • Tell the Board what they need to hear, not what they want to hear
  • Plan honestly — including the buffer they actually believe in
  • Spend time with the team, not just on the team’s outputs
  • Escalate early and small, not late and large
  • Own the outcome, even when the cause is outside their control
  • Make the next person’s job easier — through clean handovers and good documentation
Last updated: 18 May 2026
Themes

Governance

Stakeholder Engagement