In a large company, project management and supervision are separated from technical staff. A project manager does not perform technical work but supervises how others do it and ensures an orderly project flow. Below are five areas of their work, in each of which they exclusively organize and supervise, creating nothing technically.

1. Supervision of separate project stages execution

Why this service: a large project is split into stages, and different teams and subcontractors work on each. Funding for the next stage is released only after the previous one is closed. Subcontractors themselves tend to report readiness too optimistically, in their own favor. Therefore, the company needs an independent person to check if the stage was actually completed before funding and work on the next stage start.

What it includes: monitoring in real time whether separate project stages are executed according to the established plan, timeline and sequence of actions. The project manager identifies delays, organizational anomalies and timeline threats.

What management receives: real-time information on the project execution status.

2. Development and supervision of the project execution process

Why this service: in a large company many people and parties participate in a project. To prevent the project from falling apart, pre-established rules are needed: who is responsible for what, how tasks are accepted, how often and to whom progress is reported, and where to report problems. External audits and inspections also require this order to be documented.

What it includes: establishing organizational rules for project management, particularly the sequence of actions, stage division, info flow rules, participant coordination methods, and supervising whether this order is applied.

What management receives: an orderly model of project management from the organizational side. Less chaos, more predictability.

3. Supervision of quality assurance activities within projects

Why this service: technical verification of the product itself is performed by engineers. This is not the task of a project manager. Their task is different: to monitor whether quality control rules are followed at all in the project, whether stages pass established verifications, and whether there are no deviations from the agreed order. External inspections require proof that such supervision existed and was performed.

What it includes: monitoring whether actions allowing to preserve the required workflow and results quality are taken within the project. Technical tests and code verification remain with engineers, the project manager does not perform them.

What management receives: information on the quality of project work organization, identified anomalies and the need to take organizing or corrective actions.

4. Acquisition of new technological solutions

Why this service: the company is constantly looking for more convenient ways to run projects: which task tracking and reporting software to use, what methods to organize work. Someone is needed to research available options on the market and recommend suitable ones from the perspective of work convenience and order, not technical specifications.

What it includes: identifying and analyzing available solutions: tools, methods, systems or workflows that can improve work coordination, communication, progress monitoring and reporting. The project manager does not create these solutions, does not develop them programmatically, and does not implement them from the technical side, they identify, evaluate and recommend them, while the client implements them.

What management receives: recommendations on what tools and methods make running projects more convenient.

5. Supervision of the workflow and results of project works

Why this service: management needs a clear picture of the project to make decisions: whether the project is going according to plan, whether the next stage yielded the expected result, whether to continue, change something or close the stage.

What it includes: a comprehensive evaluation of whether the project runs according to organizational assumptions and whether its result corresponds to the goal the project is intended to serve. The project manager indicates deviations from the plan and signals where organizational corrections are needed.

What management receives: evaluation of the project workflow and evaluation of the results of project works together with conclusions on further actions.