What is project management and what does a project manager do?

Question

Accepted Answer

**Project management** is the discipline of delivering a defined piece of work **on time, within scope, and within budget**. Where a product manager focuses on *what and why*, a **project manager (PM/PgM)** focuses on *how and when* — turning a plan into a coordinated, tracked execution.

## Core responsibilities

```text
✓ PLANNING → break work into tasks, sequence them, set a timeline
✓ COORDINATION → make sure the right people are doing the right work
✓ TRACKING → monitor progress, surface slippage early
✓ RISK → spot what could go wrong and plan for it
✓ COMMUNICATION → keep stakeholders informed with honest status
✓ REMOVING BLOCKERS → clear obstacles so the team keeps moving
```

## A concrete example

A company is migrating to a new payment provider by quarter-end. The project manager lists every task (integration, testing, compliance sign-off, rollout), figures out which must happen before which, assigns owners, and tracks the dates. When the compliance review slips a week, they replan and tell stakeholders before it becomes a surprise.

## The triple constraint

Projects are governed by **scope, time, and cost** (with quality in the middle). Change one and the others usually shift — adding scope without more time or people puts quality or the deadline at risk.

## Why it matters

Without someone owning delivery, work drifts: tasks fall through cracks, dependencies surprise everyone, and deadlines slip silently.

A good project manager makes execution predictable and removes friction, so the team can focus on building instead of chasing status.