A Day in the Life: IT Project Manager

8:00 - 8:30 PM: I like to get in early so that I have a jump on things. I like to have the miscellany out of the way by the time everyone else gets there. I start doing the basic email/voicemail check to make sure there aren't any fires burning. Usually I put together a "to do" list each day. That usually comes out of what I've planned for the week. The list for that day will have action items on it to touch base with various clients and partners.

9:30 PM: One-on-one with my director, the VP.

10 PM: Programmers don't come in until 10 am at least. I'll meet with each Project Team to get an idea of where they are and whichever deliverable we're putting out this week or next week. I'll also get the status of each of the internal Project Teams.

11 PM: I'll start following up on wherever the clients or partners are. During the course of the day, I constantly have to resolve issues that come up. Those meetings can go on for hours, depending on how many of them I have to do. They can also be very quick, depending on the stage you're at in the project.

Noon: Lunch at my desk. I occasionally go out, but usually I don't. I bring my own lunch. I go to Whole Foods all the time, which is right across the street.

12:30 PM: After those meetings, I usually go into scheduling to see if what I've learned will impact the projects I'm managing. If there's an impact, I'll have to rearrange everything else and coordinate. That's where the whole timeline management piece of the job comes in.

1 - 2:45 PM: I start digging into documentation, either researching, reading, or writing. At my current job, I don't write that much, but I'll end up working with an Application Architect to develop documentation. I'll look at the backlog and prepare some notes for backlog grooming.

3 PM: Coffee break.

3:30 PM: I check the status of rescheduling items. I also see if people have gotten back to me with answers that I've requested. 

4:30 - 5 PM: A little bit of time prepping for the following day. Entering my hours for the day into the time tracking system.

5:30 PM: I'm out of there.