Selva VijaiBusiness Manager | IBMBangalore, Karnataka, India
I come across situation where project managers are challenged for technical details knowledge by technical team members. I think the title draws to the conclusion of many that project managers should be equally technical as engineers. What are your thoughts? How much of T is required for a project manager to add value to the team? Saving Changes...
Selva the more technical knowledge a PM has is the better so he can discuss well with the team and guide them on trouble shooting, or at least the PM knows what the team are talking about technically, so with the PMI Talent triangle I would say 34% technical, 33% leadership, 33% strategic & business with 5% minus/plus for each domain. Saving Changes...
Steven WarburtonCommissioning Manager| OMNI OffshoreSingapore, Singapore
Selva,
I believe the PM should have some technical knowledge of the project, they don't need to be as detail orientated as the engineers though. Saving Changes...
Steven, if the PM is an engineer as well that's very plus point and if not then he or she should have enough technical know how so that the team can not bullsh**ing the PM Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
The project manager must have knowledge but she/he must not be a subject matter expert. One of the mostly forgotten activity is to take knowledge of all related to domain (you can use row one of Zachman Framework as a guide), all related to stakeholders into the domain (key roles, needs, concerns. You can use Solution Selling selling method as a guide). Is impossible to interact with people is you do not know the basic to talk with them and to understand them. Saving Changes...
That would depend on the project requirements and resource availability. Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
I agree with Sergio's sediments. The PM is to be the project manager, not the SME. It is important he/she know's enough to understand the decision points, have the ability to facilitate conversations, and ask pertinent questions. The project team should be made up of the expertise that is required to complete the effort. The PM cannot be that/those individuals.
For example, on a project I had taken over, the PM was seen as the expert, while those on the project team were overshadowed and left without the client having a good sense of what they had to offer. It also set the wrong expectation at the team level that they looked to the PM for technical direction.
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1 reply by Selva Vijai
May 17, 2018 11:20 PM
Selva Vijai
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I agree... we should use the knowledge of the technical team members than PM playing that role himself.
Depends on.
On small projects - very hard to be PM without pretty good 'T' back.
When projects bigger - 'T' requires much less.
I can't say, that it can be not needed, but when u'r working with team over hundreds of ppl, u must communicate and control high lvl more than detailed info, that need technical background.
But anyway technical can be usefull, but not necessary. Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
I share the views of Andrew and Sante. Also Mikhail has a point. On small projects (e.g. less than 8 team fulltime members), a project manager will not be fulltime busy with PM tasks and - if he has the skills - could take another role ontop, e.g. chief engineer. A rule of thumb is 10-15% of all project effort could be for PM tasks. For larger projects though, the PM should try to get the right SME's on the team and refrain from trying to be his own best expert in anything. Not all PM's are experts in this type of delegation though. As to the term 'technical project management', it does not at all mean any technical engineering expertise, if solely refers to PM processes, techniques and artifacts, this is hard enough to master. The best place to put technical expertise on the talent triangle is the business and strategy corner. Saving Changes...
Kavitha GunasekaranProject Manager| Aerospace & Defence OrganisationChennai, Tamil Nadu, India
As a project manager, being of sound technical background helps but not always necessary to the extent of being an SME or the one who always provides guidance and direction technically to the entire team. Team composition and size also matters and it is the members who need to be experts, if not we need to rope in SMEs or Technical consultants to the project.
Though a PM being a strong 'T' has pros, a major con of a PM being an expert would be micro-management which may become counter-productive.
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1 reply by Selva Vijai
May 17, 2018 11:22 PM
Selva Vijai
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Yes, At times PMs estimate the task for the team..
Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Kavitha, agree, I personally have done 30+ years of projects without being a technical SME on any. Seldom CEOs know what the hackers do (or they run a startup) Saving Changes...
