Rosana IavelbergImplementation Manager | HH Global LATAMTel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel
Hi everyone!
I'm Rosana, PM originally from Brazil but now living in Israel.
Am I wrong, or we are facing changes in the World regarding Project Management?
I recently moved to Israel and based on my feelings to relocate myself in the Israeli job Market, actually working as a Project Manager in a startup, I could see a big change concerning reduced opportunities for Project Managers and a higher quantity of Product Management positions.
Is this happening due to a higher "Agile" influence? Should we start learning Product Management to add value in my Carreer?
Product management is a very different skill set than project management. While many of the soft skills are similar (e.g. negotiation, influence), product management is a strategic business role requiring significant product domain expertise coupled with broad, healthy stakeholder relationships. Product managers often play the (very) long game whereas PMs by definition need to focus on temporary initiatives.
I do know of many PMs who have successfully transitioned to Product Management roles, but that did require them to develop significant knowledge within their product domain and establish credibility as having good judgment with regards to those products before they moved into those roles.
Kiron Saving Changes...
DORA LUZ MejiaCEO| IT ExploreEnvigado, Antioquia, Colombia
I get your same impresion in some markets and industries, I guess that Israel is highly influenced by entreprenurial models and in this case the traditional Project management approach maybe is not highly valued and they address more as a product management and business model process. Maybe you can review different industries , but in general I have seen as well in other countries that Project management is not valued in the traditional focus if you are talking about entreprenurial and business models scenarios. Saving Changes...
DORA LUZ MejiaCEO| IT ExploreEnvigado, Antioquia, Colombia
Sep 01, 2019 7:48 AM
Replying to Rosana Iavelberg
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Here in Israel they mainly use Project Managers in big companies and most part of them should be very technical people (code experience for example). By the other hand, Product Management is really busy but I dont see them using Project management practices such as scheduling, reporting the way we do in Brazil or Canada, US for example.
sure. if you are seeing the Project management as a time, cost and scope it is not the view that now companies in agile world are moving on Saving Changes...
Maybe we should view it as a Product Owner. In that case, the PO manage a series of projects to improve the project through it is life cycle. Saving Changes...
I find that project management and product management are nearly identical except for a change in perspective. In the science of systems engineering, the organizational structure is classically broken down as the SE side (product), and the PM side (project). The fascinating part to me, and why I have such an interest in PM is that it is SE applied at the organizational level rather than the product level. Looking at how the PMBOK is organized, I'm fairly sure it was laid out by systems engineers.
You have a purpose: Execute projects that make business sense
You have a physical architecture: The organization
You have a functional architecture: What the organization accomplishes
You have a logical architecture: How the organization works
You have requirements: The parameters you must work within
You have a system of performance measurement: EVM
Those are the fundamental building blocks of SE as a science.
In a start-up, all the same things still apply, but the focus is more on developing a viable product that will make money, before you develop a repeatable process with predicable results. When I do PD work both as an engineer, and as a PM, my focus is simply tailored to the minimum set of requirements to be effective. The job of the PM is literally engineering the amount of PM formality you need to meet the goal. Saving Changes...
I feel you have a great opportunity to introduce some of the excellent concepts of Project Management to the organization which is going to get a lot of benefits in due course!.
Initially, it might be a little painful, but once the organisation realizes, you will be in driver's seat! Saving Changes...
Priya PatraDelivery Director| Capgemini India Technology Services LtdMumbai, India
Sep 01, 2019 6:20 AM
Replying to Thomas Walenta
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Rosana,
as you are from Brazil, I looked up Hofstede's cultural comparison and found that Israel and Brazil differ most on 'power distance'. Think this might be one reason why you perceive them as being more interested in results than processes, informal and hands-on, which is not what a project manager might prefer.
Hofstede says: "With an egalitarian mindset the Israelis believe in independency, equal rights, accessible superiors and that management facilitates and empowers. Power is decentralized and managers count on the experience of their team members. Respect among the Israelis is something, which you earn by proving your hands-on expertise. Workplaces have an informal atmosphere with direct and involving communication and on a first name basis. Employees expect to be consulted. "
Cool Thomas. The culture aspect definitely helps.
Rosanna, I work for a service organization, every project that I execute contributes to a product. I feel they may not be naming it as project management, but underlying principles remain the same. Even in startups where Agile is the way ahead, we still have project managers. Saving Changes...
