A member of the pmStudent community contacted me for advice about where she should focus her efforts with the end goal of being a great project manager.  I’ll give my thoughts, and would love to get input for her from the rest of you as well.

“I am wondering if it is better to be a good programmer first, really good specialist (technically) and than become PM, or maybe other way…would be better to gain more experience as a member of IT team as a programmer, then team leader, try to find a job in a big IT company OR to try to gain PM experience in small company with small projects.”

First off, THANK YOU for contacting me with the question!  I applaud your maturity in formulating a plan to reach your career goals!

There are different thoughts on this, and it does depend on the type and size of projects you plan to work on.  I agree with what Bill Duncan has said before here on pmStudent.com:

“Technically skilled and knowledgeable PMs are fine on smaller, simpler projects where they are as apt to be making technical decisions as management decisions. But as their projects get larger and/or more managerially complex, they will be making management decisions, and their technical skills are as likely to be a handicap as a benefit.”

“I’ve seen many, many, more situations where the PM got into trouble because [he or she] did not have the sense to defer to the technical leads on the project.”

One of the most dangerous things on a project can be a technical PM who thinks they know (or really do know) more than the technical leads and takes on technical decisions when they should not.   On small projects this can be fine, but as the project increases in technical complexity and size, there’s an increased risk of bad consequences from having too much power and knowledge in one person.   The PM should know enough to understand what is going on at a high level technically, but not enough that day-to-day technical decisions are being made by a PM.  The PM should be primarily focused on communication and management as much as possible.  Project managers can benefit by earning an MBA online or similar master’s degree.

The key is being able to effectively communicate with the techies and business suits…you need a foot in both worlds for this.  Personally, in your situation I would:

• Continue working as a member of the project team
• Start asking your project manager (and those managing other projects) what you can do to help them out
• Show your interest in what the project managers are doing, and ask them questions.  Most people are very happy to help as long as you are tactful and not too demanding or annoying!
• Be willing to commit your own personal time without pay to gain valuable experience and build relationships with mentors
• Start thinking about the work you and your team are doing from both the technical AND management perspective

Leave a comment below and let’s get a discussion going here!

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Some of you may have noticed that I used to have a link for Method123 and MPMM above the comment box on each post.  I’ve removed them and am no longer recommending them.

I have heard good things about them which is why I chose to put the links up in the first place.  They may have good products too, as I said I’ve heard good things about them.  My reason for not promoting them is that I’ve been hassled lately by their marketing staff…I think they may have been upset that I wasn’t promoting the products on the home page or in a more obvious fashion.

At any rate, I would like to have some kind of similar recommended resource for people who are looking for project management templates and methodology artifacts.  Anyone have a recommendation?

If you are selling it, don’t bother….I’m only looking for recommendations from people who have personal experience with the product as a customer and recommend it.

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Craig over at Better Projects proposed a meme on modeling for his fellow bloggers.  (link)

I’m keen to see what you guys put up – what models are we using and how?

Ishikawa Diagram

The first one I remember using was not as a project manager, but very relevant.  It was a form of an Ishikawa diagram I would use when I was a lead technician and trainer at Gateway computers.  I often used this method and multiple “whys” going back to determine the root cause of an issue or help uncover the real needs of trainees.  After receiving sample hardware or software (probably on a Friday when I was scheduled to start training on Monday, that was typical) I spent some time on the weekend trying my best to break it.

Invariably, I found a finite set of “end states” or errors that would be produced.  Many of these had multiple possible causes, and many of those causes had root causes of their own.  After a little while, I would construct a fish bone diagram with the data I had collected thus far, and then used it as a means of finding more root causes.  Experience with other similar products would lead me to test for potential causes that I had seen before.

Even though I used this modeling technique for troubleshooting hardware or software, it can just as easily be used in project management for determining potential root causes of any kind of project failure.

Relationship Diagram

I don’t really know if this is the proper term, perhaps you can leave a comment and let me know.  The last analysis tool I used this week was a simple diagram displaying entities on my project, functional groups.  I’ve just recently switched to an acting role as the lead project manager for my contract and project, so this is the first time I’ve been extremely concerned about the big picture and how the various teams on this project work together.  We have a rather complex structure, with multiple project managers leading their teams, multiple contracts from the government agency we work for, and multiple government agencies involved.

The important thing for me was better understanding 1) the exchanges between functional groups and 2) the pain points that exist so that I can help resolve them.  It’s still a work in progress, but modeling the situation this way has taken it from an intuitive exercise plagued with a lack of focus to something concrete that can be used to guide day-to-day activity and progress.

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ESI International revealed the 2009 Top 10 project management trends that will impact both private and public sector organizations this year. Identified by a global panel of ESI’s veteran consultants and senior management, these trends point to organizational need for expertise while coping with tighter budgets, fewer financial and human resources, and change. The forecast suggests where project management will focus in 2009 to drive project and organizational success.

The Sandwich Generation: Middle Managers’ Emerging Role in Change

Seventy-five percent of all change management programs fail because of a lack of employee support. Today’s economy will force organizations to confront the important roles middle managers play in the success of change efforts. Middle managers’ roles will shift from simple messenger of directives ‘from above’ to creating a positive environment to enable change, accountability and ownership of change initiatives, achieving the full benefits of change and ensuring return on investment.

Navigating Virtual Teams through Change

As budgets tighten, the role of virtual teams will grow along with the demand for the skill sets to manage them, especially through change. Powerful communication, key management strategies and new rules of engagement will be required to manage virtual teams as organizations seek to effectively shift with the turbulent global economy.

Sharper Distinctions Between Project and Program Management

Many global organizations have managed programs with the same methods used to manage projects, with predictably disappointing results. Programs are not merely “bigger” projects, and program managers aren’t simply professionals who are one step up on the organizational ladder. This year will see an increase in the understanding of the cardinal differences between projects and programs and the utilization of strategies to boost program managers’ effectiveness and increase program success.

Leveraging Communities of Practice To Hone Skills

The number and importance of project management communities of practice will increase significantly in 2009. These informal communities will be highly prized for the lack of bureaucracy that increase the sharing and use of best practices, enabling increased dialogue to overcome challenges and growing future leaders.

Strategic Selling of the Project Management Office

Although the project management office has gained wide acceptance, it still needs buy-in at the senior executive level. 2009 will see an increase in the importance of quantifying the PMO’s value and how to present that data to the CFO to ensure funding in what promises to be highly competitive arena for organizational resources.

Back to Basics for Successful Project Portfolio Management

More than any year in recent history, 2009 will be a critical year for ensuring project success. Project managers will increase their emphasis on the basics, taking a first-things-first approach and address fundamentals such as gaining and sustaining executive commitment, addressing gaps in the alignment of organizational strategy and projects, project selection, and efficient measurement process while leveraging existing resources to increase project success.

Right-sizing Staff with Demand Driven Resource Management

The adoption of Demand Driven Resource Management will increase significantly in 2009. Its ability to right-size internal staff and draw on outside contractors when demand requires will be viewed as an essential cost containment approach leading to greater organizational performance and efficiency.

Improved Requirements Metrics

The economic need to accurately assess and evaluate the organizational and cost impact of project requirements will bring a greater role for requirements management and development. Also known as business analysis, RMD’s ability to provide quality metrics that project and portfolio managers can use to assess the economic, performance and feasibility value of each project component will become essential to organizations successfully maximizing the ROI of their projects.

People Will Come Before Technology

Organizations will increase their demands for smart third-party guidance that ensures technology investments deliver enhanced performance. This will result in greater recognition of the critical role people play, leading to increased recognition that employees need the right skills and knowledge before applying processes for consistency and adding technology to deliver increased efficiencies.

Risk Management for Governance

In 2009, many organizations will say goodbye to the ‘one number’ method for project outcomes and embrace a quantifiable range of potential results on which to base decisions. Recognizing that best governance hinges on the availability of quality information at the project level, education and leadership in risk management and best practices permeate organizations wanting to optimize project forecasting to deliver more effective governance.

While these trends are about doing more with less, they all speak to the concept of less is more. In 2009, more than any time in recent history, empowering people with the right skills, knowledge and tools to pick the right projects, ensure support for change and effectively track progress for smart governance will be key to project success – saving time and money while driving organizational success.

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When I’m reading ads and postings for jobs, what does it mean when PMP certification is mentioned? Or when it’s not mentioned at all? Is it a need, a want, or just fear?

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BRIDGING THE COMMUNICATION GAP THROUGH TECHNICAL AWARENESS

Many project managers are extremely successful in their role by simply managing a project plan and checking off tasks as they become “100% complete”. They’re able to manage teams, create budgets, assess risk… pretty much perform all of the basic and yet complex project manager duties. And more importantly, they’re able to do these things without having to dig too deep into the technical details. They can lean on the technical lead to solve all of the technical issues.

But what would happen if that same project manager took it one step further to truly understand how all of the technical pieces fit together? What if they took the time to understand the technology and how it related to the project that they’re managing? Would that add value to the project as a whole? Would the project team have a new found respect for the project manager? Would managing upper management’s expectations become easier?

Yes, Yes, and Yes! I’m a firm believer that understanding the technology of a project that you’re managing truly elevates you from a task manager status to a “real” project manager. But what does “understanding technology” really mean? Some would argue that you’re not really a “technologist” unless you’ve done your time putting in countless hours of education, cranking out millions of lines of code, or surviving a production outage lasting longer then 30 minutes. Then, and only then, can you call yourself a technologist. In fact, after those battle wounds, you can even run a data center out of your cube or hang an endless supply of network cables as victory medals.

But wait a minute; I’m not trying to be a developer, a technical lead or even a systems architect. I’m simply trying to get a project delivered on time and under budget, so why does being technical add any value to my ability as a project manager?

Ahem…no offense, but have you spoken to a techie lately? It’s like trying to interpret what Chewbacca was saying in all of those Star Wars films. Folks, that may be it… you’ve gotta be able to communicate with the people that you’re managing. Managing a project means managing people and if you’re both speaking two different languages, you’re in for countless hours of frustration and lost productivity.

Of course I’m not implying that all PMs out there should rush to become a “Chewbacca,” I’m simply suggesting that investing the time to understand the project that you’re managing – technically – will be worth your while for the sake of managing and delivering the project. Understand the technical issues and their impacts on each other or the project as a whole. Understand what it means when an application can start on a physical piece of hardware but shows no signs of life on VMware. Know what it means when you start getting error messages or warnings that you need to “increase the file descriptor size” on your Web servers.

If you can take some time to not only understand these technical issues, but also regurgitate them, then you’ve added value. How?

• By improving communication with vendors to escalate the right service requests as needed
• By effectively communicating with the project team to understand status, technical issues and to help prioritize their tasks
• Competently assess risks and determine more accurate mitigation plans
• Proactively arm management with the right information about their current or future infrastructure
• Ask the right questions when screening candidates to work on your projects

Most importantly, you can bridge the gap between what’s perceived as the “task manager” versus a true project manager.

You have to know when to let the technical team troubleshoot an issue or when to lead them to the solution. You have to know when to ask the questions… no matter how stupid you feel. And you have to know that you can only hide behind a project plan or a status report for so long. At some point you have to step up because as the project manager you are responsible.

In the end, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist or rather a techie, to be a good technical project manager. You can spend your life as a PM trying to find the ultimate task tracking tool — or you can plunge into the universe and mingle with the Chewbacca’s… even if it’s a galaxy far, far away!

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