Dean JonesOperations manager| Airbus Defence and SpaceNewport, Wls, United Kingdom
Way too often PMs with little to none technical expertise will get tossed into a technology project and then wriggle around confused or add to the chaos.
I believe that The TPM whom has successfully planned and delivered a technology related project will have experienced the challenges of complicated and relevant projects in the past.
Just my thoughts and would be great for you all to have an input. Saving Changes...
Anton OosthuizenSenior Business Analyst / Project Manager| Self EmployedPretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Dean, typically a TPM would be somebody who has 'grown' into a PM role by virtue of their SME status. More often than not this is a good thing. These individuals are normally worth their weight in gold since they are hands-on and not just a paper pusher, mail forwarder as many PM tend to become. The risk however is that they become too hands-on but it is a risk I'm willing to take and manage. Another important benefit is that they can normally see project issues coming from a mile away. But I've seen the exceptions as well where a TMP would be the most useless resource on a project, but like I said, that is the exception. My opinion.
...
1 reply by Dean Jones
Oct 16, 2018 12:11 PM
Dean Jones
...
Anton,
Thank you for the comments.
This is my take on it also, I am in a very tight circle with regards to what I am expected to deliver and I know I can rely on my TPMs at all phases as they have seen it and done it and got the Tshirt to prove it.
I do in fill with temp contractors if required but this is the exception as we are very bespoke in the requirements and delivery.
Saving Changes...
John A. WilliamsOwner| JAW Consultancy | The PragmaticionerNootdorp, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
In my opinion, there's no such thing as a TPM. I've dealt with this in the past and appointed such a technical specialist as the Technical Team Leader. On a rare occasion, I gave the title TPM for political reasons but the job was that of team leader.
...
1 reply by Dean Jones
Oct 16, 2018 10:54 AM
Dean Jones
...
John,
Thank you for your reply and opinion, I agree somewhat in certain placements a TPM is not required. However when we are faced with a complex delivery and for example a huge network data centre delivery I recommend that a TPM SME is required to tackle the day to day deliveries and keep track without getting the wool pulled by the engineers.
Saving Changes...
Drake SettsuProject Manager / BloggerHi, United States
A TPM does bring good value when working with techs. A TPM can understand where the techs are coming from and can tell when they are exaggerating.
Any good PM should be able to fill in their experience gaps with a good SME on the project.
...
1 reply by Dean Jones
Oct 16, 2018 10:54 AM
Dean Jones
...
Agree this is one way to go but this doubles the resources potentially.
Saving Changes...
Dean JonesOperations manager| Airbus Defence and SpaceNewport, Wls, United Kingdom
Oct 16, 2018 8:15 AM
Replying to John A. Williams
...
In my opinion, there's no such thing as a TPM. I've dealt with this in the past and appointed such a technical specialist as the Technical Team Leader. On a rare occasion, I gave the title TPM for political reasons but the job was that of team leader.
John,
Thank you for your reply and opinion, I agree somewhat in certain placements a TPM is not required. However when we are faced with a complex delivery and for example a huge network data centre delivery I recommend that a TPM SME is required to tackle the day to day deliveries and keep track without getting the wool pulled by the engineers. Saving Changes...
Dean JonesOperations manager| Airbus Defence and SpaceNewport, Wls, United Kingdom
Oct 16, 2018 8:31 AM
Replying to Drake Settsu
...
A TPM does bring good value when working with techs. A TPM can understand where the techs are coming from and can tell when they are exaggerating.
Any good PM should be able to fill in their experience gaps with a good SME on the project.
Agree this is one way to go but this doubles the resources potentially.
...
1 reply by Drake Settsu
Oct 16, 2018 11:18 AM
Drake Settsu
...
Sometimes a PM with no technical experience will ask more questions and be more inquisitive and that can be a good thing.
Saving Changes...
Drake SettsuProject Manager / BloggerHi, United States
Oct 16, 2018 10:54 AM
Replying to Dean Jones
...
Agree this is one way to go but this doubles the resources potentially.
Sometimes a PM with no technical experience will ask more questions and be more inquisitive and that can be a good thing.
...
1 reply by Dean Jones
Oct 16, 2018 12:05 PM
Dean Jones
...
Again not in disagreement totally, however there is a time and place for being inquisitive and another for questions, I assume I am not the only one but I vary rarely have time on deliveries to mess about with all the fluffyness. I require the team to hit the ground running and produce what matters to very tight deadlines.
In many instances, there may be a technical lead/Systems Engineer, who is responsible for the planning, organization and execution of the technical aspects of the project and works hand-in-hand with the PM who has responsibility for more of the business aspects such as obtaining resources, budget, schedule integration, etc. In many others, they may be combined as a single role, but in very large projects both are all consuming jobs. I've managed whole teams of PMs on very large projects due to the scale. It's always helpful to have a PM who has a good knowledge of the technical matter, but it's often not necessary for them to be a SME. Often when leading technical projects, my first job is to rapidly educate myself about the technical matter enough to be effective as a PM but not nearly to the level of the tech experts. Saving Changes...
Dean JonesOperations manager| Airbus Defence and SpaceNewport, Wls, United Kingdom
Oct 16, 2018 11:18 AM
Replying to Drake Settsu
...
Sometimes a PM with no technical experience will ask more questions and be more inquisitive and that can be a good thing.
Again not in disagreement totally, however there is a time and place for being inquisitive and another for questions, I assume I am not the only one but I vary rarely have time on deliveries to mess about with all the fluffyness. I require the team to hit the ground running and produce what matters to very tight deadlines. Saving Changes...
Dean JonesOperations manager| Airbus Defence and SpaceNewport, Wls, United Kingdom
Oct 16, 2018 4:57 AM
Replying to Anton Oosthuizen
...
Dean, typically a TPM would be somebody who has 'grown' into a PM role by virtue of their SME status. More often than not this is a good thing. These individuals are normally worth their weight in gold since they are hands-on and not just a paper pusher, mail forwarder as many PM tend to become. The risk however is that they become too hands-on but it is a risk I'm willing to take and manage. Another important benefit is that they can normally see project issues coming from a mile away. But I've seen the exceptions as well where a TMP would be the most useless resource on a project, but like I said, that is the exception. My opinion.
Anton,
Thank you for the comments.
This is my take on it also, I am in a very tight circle with regards to what I am expected to deliver and I know I can rely on my TPMs at all phases as they have seen it and done it and got the Tshirt to prove it.
I do in fill with temp contractors if required but this is the exception as we are very bespoke in the requirements and delivery. Saving Changes...
Dean JonesOperations manager| Airbus Defence and SpaceNewport, Wls, United Kingdom
Thank you all for the comments and debate, I think I have opened a can of worms :) Its good to see every ones take on this and I can see the benefits for and against. Saving Changes...
