What does project management mean for your company?  Do you have multiple layers of PM?  We’ve been discussing if project management has any value, and what is that value?  It’s a question that all service companies have to deal with now and again.  There is no right or wrong answer on how any PM must get done, projects just have to be completed well and ontime.

If you’re building the Burj Dubai you need to have multi levels of managers overseeing each specific area and job on the site.  Overseers are then checking their work and double checking it and the King oversees everyone.

Or, if you own a casino in Vegas you have a mulit level of project managers handling the gaming areas of the hotel.

Even if you’re a plumber or painter you have to project mange and generally it’s the person doing the actual work.  This allows for a clean line of communication between the service provider and the client.

Within FTS when we have a web design or search engine marketing project, we’ve used a project manager to handle general communication between clients and designers.  Their job was to also handle creating To-Do’s, Milestones and Q&A.  This did cause a problem though.  The PM had to speak with the client and then the designer, then the client again. This ends up becoming a difficult game of telephone.  Our designers always work hand in hand with our clients through Basecamp.  Having the PM work between the designer and the client creates a level of complication we find unnecessary.

How have you handled project management within your company?