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Project Managers faces a multiple challenges which varies from one phase of a project to another. We also know that the project is defined as a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service. It is my experience that every project will have its own unique set of challenges and situations. I have never seen an issue that is repeated exactly in two different projects. We can have resource related issue, the schedule slippage or cost overrun but considering the complete scenarios the challenges are unique and completely different.
One of the major challenges that a project manager faces today is not enough knowledge about the subject matter. Although per the PMI guidelines a project manager does not require any sort of knowledge on the subject area and it is true however based on my experience a project manager’s ability to manage and direct the project enhances exponentially with the subject matter knowledge. As a practice, I do not undertake any project for which I do not have any subject knowledge. Client’s expectation and its management is another major challenge. In this era of cost cutting, many clients want to maximize the work done at a minimal cost. As a result, I have noticed that, they keep adding the scope of work without the corresponding increase in the cost. As a project manager, I have faced that situation a number of times and I always managed the expectation by doing the complete impact assessment and politely sharing the cost for additional scope. It is imperative to set the right expectations with the clients.