Developing a Project Management Team, by Corinne Maddox, CCM, CFM

Staffing may vary from a single experienced project manager to a team of specialists on a very large project with numerous phases and components. A good rule of thumb is to plan for staffing based on about 5% of project costs. One professional project manager should be assigned to lead the project. Because of the large amount of capital is at risk, he or she should be experienced in projects of the same size and type, i.e., it is not a good idea to assign a pipeline project manager to an office building project or a small renovation project manager to a large building project. Support staff may be required, depending on his or her experience and time availability, the complexity of the project, and services available from other corporate groups and consultants. A very large complex project team may include a senior project manager / team leader, an architectural coordinator, an engineering coordinator, a contract administrator, an accountant, a scheduler, construction inspectors, and a document control coordinator.