WHAT DOES A PROJECT DO?

Published: Nov 25, 2025 - The Project Professional is responsible for leading and managing projects from initiation through completion, ensuring that all objectives are delivered on time, within scope, and within budget. This role involves defining project plans, coordinating cross-functional teams, managing resources, and addressing potential risks and issues to maintain project momentum. The individual also ensures effective communication with stakeholders, tracks performance metrics, and supports continuous improvement initiatives to enhance future project outcomes.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Project

1. Project Accountant Overview

  • Financial Management: Manage the revenue recognition process for all clients.
  • SAP Project Setup: Set up projects in the SAP accounting system and adjust them based on updated contract information.
  • Billing Categorization: Properly categorize billings and costs throughout the lifecycle of the project.
  • Job Financial Monitoring: Monitor financial results of jobs in progress and at completion.
  • Cross-Team Collaboration: Work with the Account and Production teams to ensure financial accuracy.
  • Revenue Documentation: Ensure that all documentation for revenue recognition is complete and accurately processed.
  • Project Invoicing: Work with the shared services department to invoice projects, including the final invoice process.
  • Timesheet Management: Ensure that all timesheets have been submitted and run utilization reports.
  • Compliance Tracking: Track timesheet compliance.
  • Forecast Updating: Update job details, especially during the forecast process.
  • Expense Analysis: Manage the new business expense analysis for the month-end close.
  • Audit Support: Assist with audit requests.
  • Data Reporting: Run reports and provide data analysis.

2. Project Administrator Details and Accountabilities

  • Data Management: Update, maintain and retrieve data from internal systems, databases, spreadsheets, and documentation.
  • Report Coordination: Collate and distribute various reports relating to HR, H&S, MI and statistics.
  • Diary Management: Manage the team and wider office diaries and calendars, including coordinating meetings and appointments.
  • Documentation Support: Assist with the maintenance of project documentation and plans, including printing, scanning, copying and data entry.
  • Meeting Participation: Attend project-related meetings.
  • Document Preparation: Create, format and type documents, meeting minutes and correspondence.
  • Newsletter Assistance: Assist with the production of newsletters.
  • Call Handling: Answer incoming calls, take messages and update systems.
  • Internal Communication: Deal with various internal contacts within the business.
  • Filing Management: Responsible for electronic and paper filing, indexing, retrieval and archiving.
  • Financial Processing: Responsible for cash handling, banking and invoicing.

3. Project Business Analyst Functions

  • Requirements Gathering: Work with business partners to elicit high-level requirements and collect business needs.
  • Problem Definition: Help to define the business problem and primary objectives of new projects.
  • Requirements Documentation: Clearly articulate and document business requirements in detail, following the prescribed project methodology.
  • Risk Assessment: Assess the risks of various solutions and prioritize contending business demands.
  • Stakeholder Management: Lead ongoing relationships with business partners to drive satisfaction with operations and technology.
  • Project Coordination: Coordinate project delivery by participating in design reviews and walk-throughs to communicate system designs and validate proposed solutions.
  • Architecture Alignment: Obtain key inputs from enterprise architecture teams and identify solution interdependencies.
  • User Experience Integration: Engage with Domain Experts to incorporate usability and user interface needs when designing or purchasing systems.
  • Issue Resolution: Proactively resolve customer satisfaction issues.
  • Vendor Management: Participate in and support contract negotiation, maintain relationships, and monitor vendor performance against SLAs.
  • Testing Development: Develop test plans and scripts, traceability matrices.

4. Project Architect Duties

  • Team Collaboration: Work closely, on a day-to-day basis, with the project designer, project manager, and other team members.
  • Document Development: Develop project documents during the design, bidding, and construction phases.
  • Design Coordination: Coordinate the drawing work of the design team.
  • Consultant Coordination: Coordinate the efforts of the specialized consultant.
  • Client Communication: Communicate the project-related issues and decisions to the client.
  • Presentation Support: Assist with project presentations to the client.
  • Budget Schedule Management: Meet established project budgets and schedules.
  • Quality Control: Implement the project quality control measures.
  • Construction Coordination: Coordinate with the construction team on a day-to-day basis during the construction phase of the project.
  • Software Proficiency: Effectively utilize technical software and graphic tools, with required proficiency in Revit, some knowledge of SketchUp and AutoCAD, and competence in Adobe Creative Suite applications.

5. Project Assistant Key Accountabilities

  • SAP Data Management: Create and maintain project data in SAP R/3.
  • Contract Review: Participate in the review of contracts and their implementation.
  • Order Processing: Create order confirmations and invoicing of projects after technical completion.
  • Report Preparation: Create and prepare evaluations, statistics and presentations.
  • Documentation Compilation: Compile the respective technical system documentation.
  • Transport Coordination: Ensure timely realization of transports to national and international customers (obtaining offers, disposition, orders, monitoring of order confirmations, checking proof of delivery, clarification of invoices).
  • Customs Documentation: Prepare all necessary customs and shipping documents (certificates of origin, customs declarations, etc.)
  • Credit Process Handling: Take charge of the process of letters of credit (third country area) or supplier declarations within the European Union.
  • Customer Communication: Communicate with customers and logistics companies domestically, in Europe, and across the global Nordson organization.
  • Warranty Handling: Responsible for handling warranty claims for spare parts within the project phase.

6. Project Associate Tasks

  • Specification Architecture: Complete the basic architecture of the brief specification prior to the project manager's sign-off.
  • Specification Detailing: Add details to a brief specification based on the client information.
  • Order Accuracy Correction: Correct inaccuracies or inconsistencies in the client’s order details (e.g., wrong subject).
  • Instalment Adjustment: Add instalments for orders based on word counts.
  • Deadline Modification: Change academic deadlines, e.g., if they automatically fall on a weekend or have already passed.
  • Document Cleaning: Clean documents, sorting and attaching relevant files to an order.
  • Plagiarism Scanning: Scan for plagiarism (either as part of the QC process, complaints process, or publications process).
  • Document Comparison: Compare documents using the document compare function.
  • Delegation Support: Assist the project manager in delegating a brief to the correct mentor.
  • Batch Emailing: Batch email Academics when requested by the project manager to generate interest.
  • Academic Communication: Respond to Academic questions about orders (general questions, not subject-specific).

7. Project Consultant Junior Additional Details

  • Infrastructure Coordination: Manage all planning, coordination, reporting, and implementation for network and telecommunications infrastructure change requests.
  • Change Management: Help to define change requirements, coordinate design documents, and oversee and track the implementation of tasks to complete changes or updates, plan definitions, task management, overall deliverables, and status tracking for the systems.
  • Schedule Management: Manage schedules and prepare status reports.
  • Process Tailoring: Assist in tailoring the development process to meet project needs.
  • Technical Problem Solving: Provide solutions to a variety of technical problems of moderate scope and complexity.
  • Deadline Estimation: Accurately estimate deadlines and readjust duties.
  • Status Communication: Keep manager and team members informed.
  • Team Participation: Participate actively within the team by sharing information.
  • Stakeholder Interaction: Interact closely with managers, colleagues, and customers.
  • Document Structuring: Be in charge of structuring logical documents and writing sections that require only minor editing.

8. Project Control Analyst Details

  • EVM Implementation: Implement all aspects of an earned value management system, which consists of developing a fully integrated resource-loaded schedule.
  • Resource Requirement Support: Assist technical management in developing resource requirements to support the development of the project cost estimate.
  • Schedule Development: Develop the resource-loaded schedule using Primavera P6 software.
  • Schedule Analysis: Analyse the project schedule using critical path methodology and project metrics.
  • Baseline Management: Manage and implement changes to the schedule or baseline.
  • Performance Reporting: Generate performance measurement monthly reports for the management team.
  • Data Presentation: Analyze and report or present project data at meetings or external reviews.
  • Performance Advisory: Advise project managers or control account managers on the project performance of their projects or schedules.
  • Proposal Support: Support proposal preparation, procedure development, and Project Management.
  • CAM Training: Responsible for training or coaching of CAMs.

9. Project Controls Manager General Responsibilities

  • Precontract Support: Lead pre-contract project controls support, method statements, structures, tools and schedules.
  • Cost Change Risk: Liaise with the commercial function for cost, change and risk analysis pre-contract and on projects.
  • Controls Setup: Facilitate the project team's setup of the proper project controls structures, systems and tools.
  • Schedule Development: Develop pre-contract and project schedules.
  • Quality Assurance: Ensure quality and consistency of work being performed or produced.
  • Process Compliance: Ensure adherence to company practices, processes and policies.
  • Stakeholder Integration: Ensure integration of all stakeholder schedules, progress, reporting and forecasting methods.
  • Team Management: Develop and manage the assigned Project Controls team to be efficient and effective.
  • Risk Mitigation: Assist in developing plans to mitigate risk and manage optimizations.
  • Claims Management: Assist in developing claims or change management.
  • Report Preparation: Ensure timely preparation of regular project and corporate reports.
  • Data Integration: Ensure project controls data is integrated with other project systems.
  • Project Mobility: Responsible for being prepared to work on projects located abroad, should the project require it.

10. Project Controller Duties and Roles

  • PM Support: Give excellent support to PM/SDM.
  • Project Accounting: Ensure that the project accounting is correct and on time.
  • Monthend Activities: Perform month-end activities.
  • Financial KPI Reporting: Govern and report project financial KPIs.
  • Risk Analysis: Make risk analysis and reports of projects (financials).
  • Financial Advisory: Advise PMs/SDMs on financial topics.
  • Project Setup Review: Perform, review and quality ensure project setup.
  • ERP Training: Train PM/SDM in ERP system, time registration, internal financial processes, project master data and CARMR.
  • Deviation Escalation: Escalate deviations to the Global Head of Project Control or Finance Partners.
  • Process Compliance: Ensure that the business follows and understands policies, processes, routines and regulations.
  • CARMR Governance: Take charge of CARMR governance.

11. Project Coordinator Key Accountabilities

  • Stakeholder Collaboration: Collaborate with stakeholders to determine project scope, objectives, and priority.
  • Project Planning: Develop and implement project plans and estimate project release dates.
  • Meeting Facilitation: Organize and facilitate meetings, prepare presentation materials, document and follow up on actions.
  • Work Distribution: Distribute project work across technical and business teams.
  • Decision Tracking: Track and communicate project decisions and changes and collaboratively define solutions.
  • Retrospective Review: Conduct retrospective reviews and improve project approaches from lessons learned.
  • Plan Alignment: Collaborate with program managers to ensure quarterly and annual plans reflect project timelines.
  • Strategy Documentation: Document project strategies and approaches and contribute to the definition and evolution of the project management framework.
  • Partner Guidance: Collaborate with program managers, guiding business partners in the identification and prioritization of their immediate and long-term needs.
  • Needs Documentation: Ensure partners' needs are documented using appropriate tools and templates.
  • Project Triage: Collaborate with program managers to triage projects into annual and quarterly plans.

12. Project Design Engineer Essential Functions

  • Objective Documentation: Be in charge of documenting project objectives.
  • Project Leadership: Lead designated projects and liaise directly with customers' representatives.
  • Team Organization: Be responsible for organising the team working on a project.
  • Subcontractor Management: Be responsible for the engagement and monitoring of subcontractors.
  • Risk Assessment: Be responsible for risk assessment.
  • Goal Achievement: Make sure that all the aims of the project are met.
  • Quality Assurance: Make sure the quality standards are met.
  • Timeline Delivery: Deliver projects to agreed timescales.
  • Cost Record Management: Maintain project cost records.
  • Specification Preparation: Prepare specifications and process documentation.
  • Production Preparation: Create part numbers, bills of materials, and process routes prior to introduction to regular production.

13. Project Developer Job Summary

  • Site Identification: Locate suitable locations and customers independently.
  • Relationship Strengthening: Strengthen and further existing relationships.
  • Permit Management: Deal with the preparation and management of permit applications.
  • Stakeholder Mapping: Map and deal directly with relevant stakeholders, municipalities, landowners, etc.
  • Project Tracking: Track progression and risk analysis of projects.
  • Business Case Development: Work with both commercial and engineering teams to produce an optimum business case for every project.
  • Customer Coaching: Coach customers in best practices.
  • Process Development: Help develop internal software processes.
  • Requirement Documentation: Write requirement documents at the beginning of projects as well as knowledge transfer documentation during hand-off.

14. Project Engineer Functions

  • Documentation Preparation: Work directly with the Project Manager to prepare and distribute the weekly project documentation (Submittal, RFI and Change Order Logs) for each of the projects they are associated with.
  • Submittal Management: Identify all required submittals and manage the submittal process (including all documentation).
  • Meeting Attendance: Attend weekly Owner, Architect and Contractors meetings, and take accurate meeting notes.
  • Drawing Review: Review and understand the project drawings.
  • Impact Identification: Work with the PM to identify any cost or schedule impacts associated with client, architect, consultant, or subcontractor requests.
  • Closeout Documentation: Request, track and finalize all close-out documentation per project requirements.
  • Field Support: Assist the field personnel with any required documentation or information.
  • Change Order Processing: Process and distribute subcontractor change orders.
  • Billing Coordination: Create the billing schedule and request or track monthly subcontractor invoices.

15. Project Estimator Details and Accountabilities

  • Quote Proposal Development: Generate comprehensive quote proposals, including price estimates, layout drawings and acoustical calculations using customer-provided and internally generated information, including architectural prints and specifications, conceptual design sketches, or just dimensions and needs information.
  • Plan Review: Review the architect’s plans and project specifications to ensure conformance with the product.
  • Takeoff Verification: Perform and verify take-offs and effectively communicate the details to the project manager and customers.
  • Estimate Preparation: Prepare estimates utilizing current estimating software and the ERP system.
  • AutoCAD Drawing: Prepare drawings using AutoCAD.
  • Visual Aid Creation: Prepare visual aids in SketchUp or comparable design software.
  • Pipeline Maintenance: Maintain an accurate project pipeline in the current CRM system.
  • High-speed Performance: Perform in a fast-paced environment while maintaining accuracy and organization.

16. Project Executive Role Purpose

  • Document Assistance: Assist the project team in issuing internal documents.
  • Proposal Development: Develop, prepare, coordinate and execute proposals to existing and new clients.
  • Resource Sourcing: Assist in sourcing resources (corporate gift).
  • Brainstorm Participation: Attend a meeting with the team on brainstorming.
  • Relationship Management: Build and manage long-term relationships and partnerships with key target clients.
  • Schedule Coordination: Arrange schedules and assist in daily operation if required by the Director.
  • Defect Management: Prepare the defect list and defect schedule to confirm with the customer.
  • Submission Reporting: Be responsible for the authority submission wrap-up report.
  • Certification Preparation: Complete certification to be submitted for customer acknowledgement.
  • Ad hoc Support: Attend ad hoc tasks from the company.

17. ERP Implementation Project Manager Overview

  • Requirement Understanding: Understand client requirements.
  • Strategy Design: Design a comprehensive strategy for achieving a successful outcome of the project.
  • Budget Management: Calculate the budget, track the ongoing costs and deliver the project within budget.
  • Resource Calculation: Calculate the resources required to deliver the project on time and on budget.
  • Project Planning: Design the project plan, define all tasks, task timings and assign all task owners.
  • Client Relationship: Develop a good relationship with the client and communicate the client's project responsibility.
  • Plan Control: Monitor and control the project plan, identifying the critical path, constraints and risks.
  • Status Reporting: Report the project status to the client, project sponsors and senior management.
  • GoLive Delivery: Deliver a successful go-live and project handover to the highest level of customer satisfaction.
  • Financial Outcome Assurance: Ensure the project financial outcome meets both client and company expectations.

18. Project Leader Key Accountabilities

  • Workflow Management: Lead, own, and manage workflow and timing to implement processes and create work plans.
  • Status Updating: Provide real-time status updates on scope, timing, costs, and next steps.
  • Open Communication: Use job alerts, emails, and status meetings to communicate openly with the client and team.
  • Resource Coordination: Coordinate with capacity management on the allocation of resources.
  • Schedule Creation: Create job schedules based on the scope of work outlined.
  • System Scheduling: Use system tools to build schedules and assign work to-dos.
  • Team Collaboration: Be responsible for engaging, communicating, and collaborating with diverse teams (internal and external) and all levels of management while owning and leading projects.
  • Alignment Facilitation: Coordinate and facilitate internal project alignment meetings.
  • Cross-functional Collaboration: Collaborate with cross-functional team members and present to small and medium-sized groups.
  • Process Improvement: Be responsible for identifying process improvements and proactively recommending solutions.

19. Project Manager Roles

  • Goal Setting: Set project goals and come up with plans to meet those goals.
  • Timeframe Maintenance: Maintain project timeframes, budgeting estimates and status reports.
  • Resource Management: Manage resources for projects, such as computer equipment, employees and 3rd party partners.
  • Team Coordination: Coordinate project team members and develop schedules and individual responsibilities.
  • Project Delivery: Manage and deliver projects on schedule and within budget.
  • Performance Tracking: Use project management tools to track project performance and schedule adherence.
  • Risk Assessment: Conduct risk assessments for projects.
  • Meeting Organization: Organize meetings to discuss project goals and progress.
  • Change Management: Prepare and execute change management or organizational transition management plans.

20. Project Quality Engineer Job Description

  • Process Definition: Define the manufacturing process and define the manufacturing route in the system.
  • Delivery Accuracy: Ensure an accurate delivery date is set in ERP correctly for each project to meet or exceed customer expectations.
  • Status Communication: Communicate with Global Project Managers for fabrication status and communicate the delivery and quality specifications of the project.
  • Inspection Management: Collect the vendor inspection reports and perform the final inspection of the project.
  • Fabrication Coordination: Coordinate the fabrication and the 3rd party inspection activities to ensure products and systems conform to engineering design and customer specifications.
  • Quality Issue Identification: Identify quality issues, such as welding, rubber and painting issues.
  • NCR Reporting: Use NCR to report non-conformance and work with the QA department to track corrective action.
  • Production Interface: Interface with Purchasing and Production to ensure that products being manufactured meet the schedule and budgeted cost.
  • Drawing Review: Review detailed fabrication drawings with the fabricators, and communicate drawing or manufacturing issues between the fabricator and Tucson Engineering.
  • Cost Variance Review: Check the close-out cost of the project or product and report the variance.
  • Shipment Planning: Pre-plan the packing list of the project and manage the loading plan of the shipment.

21. Project Quality Manager Functions

  • Test Design: Set up and design testing and measuring tasks for internal and external customers.
  • Fault Analysis: Perform fault analysis with cause identification and corrective measures.
  • Report Preparation: Prepare test reports for internal and external customers.
  • Program Creation: Create measuring programmes for an automated 3D measuring cell.
  • Result Presentation: Display and present measurement and test results.
  • Equipment Management: Organise and implement test equipment management.
  • Standard Evaluation: Evaluate and implement metrological standard requirements in practice.
  • Standards Participation: Participate in standards committees or RLS working groups on metrology.
  • Procedure Development: Develop, implement and verify new measurement procedures.
  • Uncertainty Evaluation: Evaluate measurement uncertainties and test equipment capabilities.
  • Lab Certification Preparation: Prepare the measurement laboratory for certification according to DIN EN ISO 17025, Accredited Test Laboratory.

22. Project Specialist Job Summary

  • Meeting Participation: Participate in project kickoff, in-process, status, final deliverable and other project-related meetings with cross-functional teams.
  • Report Creation: Create custom reports that highlight program results.
  • Resource Prioritization: Make key decisions to prioritize resources for project delivery.
  • Agenda Management: Drive the agenda and produce the minutes for internal and external project team meetings.
  • Timeline Coordination: Be responsible for coordinating multi-departmental timelines, analyzing data and providing input to Project Managers on an ongoing basis.
  • Client Report Design: Design custom reports for client delivery and review.
  • Data Administration: Assist with data entry and the administration of database management.
  • Vendor Oversight: Oversee call center activities and manage other vendor relationships and deliverables.
  • Quality Review: Perform quality control review of project deliverables and provide appropriate feedback, ensuring adherence to customer contracts and requests.
  • Recruitment Material Creation: Assist in the creation of recruitment materials, including concept creation, translation process management, regulatory approvals, printing and delivery.
  • Digital Media Collaboration: Collaborate in digital media creation and oversee the delivery process.

23. Project Surveyor Accountabilities

  • Tender Compilation: Assist with the compilation of tender packages.
  • Client Liaison: Liaise with Clients to ensure their specific requirements have been met.
  • Team Contribution: Work as part of a project team to deliver business goals.
  • Payment Application: Provide accurate payment applications and gain payment in full.
  • Risk Mitigation: Highlight and mitigate risks to Health and Safety, Quality, and Customer Satisfaction.
  • Surveyor Coordination: Liaise with all Project Surveyors to ensure learning is maintained across the business.
  • Payment Verification: Verify payments against applications and provide the debtor's position to the Commercial team.
  • Variation Negotiation: Accurately price, negotiate and agree on Contractual Variations with the Client.
  • Site Support: Assist with poorly performing sites and work to regain their required performance levels.
  • Subcontractor Payment: Ensure timely payment of Sub-Contractors and Suppliers.
  • Performance Reporting: Complete monthly business performance reports.

24. Project Technician Responsibilities and Key Tasks

  • Competent Operations: Act as a Competent Person on non-routine operations.
  • Permit Acceptance: Accept forms of authority and permits to work.
  • Procedure Planning: Assist with planning non-routine operation procedures and associated on-site work.
  • G17 Support: Support the G17 process for the upcoming project work.
  • Technical Guidance: Provide technical support and guidance to the wider EM Teams.
  • Pressure Equipment Maintenance: Inspect, supervise, maintain and repair pressure reduction equipment, including regulators, pipework and ancillary equipment at storage and pressure reducing installations up to 75barg.
  • Preheating Management: Be in charge of pre-heating, including steam boilers, water bath heaters and modular package pre-heater systems.
  • Pipeline Equipment Handling: Take charge of pipeline equipment, including valves and pig traps.
  • Civils Support: Assist with supporting any associated Civils work and take responsibility for pipeline sleeve monitoring work.
  • Site Delivery Oversight: Be responsible for site deliveries and off-loading whilst working at unsupervised locations.
  • Data Capture: Be responsible for data capture work.
  • CAPEX Support: Prepare and support CAPEX workloads to achieve business targets for RIIO1 and moving into RIIO2.
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