In the literature there is a common belief that project management is a general theory that is mainly

about techniques and/or tools used for planning, budgeting, and control. This view has lately been

questioned due to the fact that it does not give a complete picture of what a project manager actually

does in their daily work. By including other skills, such as, skills for communication, team building,

and leadership, a more complete picture of the project management role may be provided. Project

management research needs more empirical data from project managers about what their role as project

manager actually means. The purpose of this study is to investigate what it means to work as a project

manager in small and medium sized organizations. Empirical data is planned to be gathered (in the

county of Värmland, Sweden) from May through October 2012, using semi-structured interviews and

participant observations of project managers working in a multi-project management environment.

Three overlapping analyzes techniques will be used to analyze the gathered data: thematic analysis,

grounded theory, and narrative analysis. By using these techniques, hopefully this article will expand the

knowledge and the understanding what a project manager actually does in their daily work.