Tasks of a project manager, project leader and project coordinator

The role of projectmanagement wthin the construction process

Many people have come across the terms "project manager", "project leader" or "project coordinator" at least once in their everyday (working) life. In fact, the term "project coordination" has become almost as overused in German-speaking countries like the term "project management". At first glance, everyone seems to know the definition of these three terms. Or maybe not? Asking for explanation, it turns out that everyone has a different imagination of the correct definition and meaning. While the term "project leader" is still somehow associated with a form of project management, the true meaning of "project coordinator" quickly changes. Nobody knows exactly what it means. This article is intended to help differentiate between the tasks of project management, project leadership and project coordination.

The definition and the difference between project management, project coordination and project management in the construction process

Project management is a term used mainly in Germany for the management of a project on the client's side. The DVP (the German Association for Project Management) defines and differentiates between the terms project management, project coordination and project management within a construction project in its statutes. It divides the task of project management into that of project management and project coordination. Here is the extract from the statutes:   

(1) Project management is the performance of client functions in the realisation of construction and real estate projects from a technical and economic perspective; in some cases also from a legal perspective. Project management can include both project coordination and project management services.  

(2) Project management relates to the performance of client functions in the realisation of construction and real estate projects in an advisory capacity (staff function).  

(3) Project management comprises the performance of client functions in the realisation of construction and real estate projects in the sense of authority to issue instructions and make decisions and, as a rule, responsibility for results (line function).  

When reading these definitions, the distinction between project management, project leadership and project coordination may still not be entirely tangible, so we will now make a hands-on reference to the practice of building commercial and industrial construction projects.

Responsibilities of the project coordinator, project manager and project management

Project coordination in the construction process:

It is exclusively about tasks that have to be performed on the client side; not about tasks that the lead architect has in the scope of the contract. His management tasks are varied and extensive. However, these are not the tasks that project management has to fulfil.

Project management in the construction process:

Every building owner/client is obliged to fulfil the project management. No client can get out of the exercise.

Project Leadership in the construction process:

The client appoints a project manager from their own ranks. Simply because of the associated budget and decision-making responsibility, this is often a member of the management (C-Level); perhaps also somebody of the production management. In any case, hardly anyone below that. This person is now allowed to manage a highly complex project - usually in addition to the "daily business". A tough situation.

Due to this constellation, it usually becomes clear at this point that the project manager cannot fulfil all the tasks at hand alone, especially at the beginning of the project. They often don't even know which tasks need to be completed. And this happens in a phase in which the course is set with regard to costs and deadlines. Latent - and barely perceptible to the project manager - a high cost and deadline risk builds up that can hardly be contained later. This risk can only be countered with professional project management. This means that the project manager should delegate his task to a large extent, for example to an external project manager/ project coordinator.

Conclusion

Project managers and project coordinators actually have to perform the same tasks: the project manager as an internal element of the project management with decision-making authority and the project coordinator as an external element with an advisory function.