Anzor MisabishviliProject Manager| TD BankCherry Hill, Nj, United States
It seems like IT Project Management is the most in demand type of Project Management these days. I've worked on several IT projects, however I don't think my experience of coordinating IT projects was representative of what it takes to manage/coordinate IT projects.
So I have a few questions for dedicated IT PMs:
1) How did you get into IT Project Management?
2) How important is it to know some programming languages/being able to code to be a successful IT Project Manager?
3) What technical knowledge is required to be a successful IT Project Manager?
Thank you in advance. Saving Changes...
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Markus KopkoAI Enabler for Project & Program Mgmt | Founder PMotion.ai / The PM
AI Coach| PMotion.aiHamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Hello Anzor,
1) I learned and started working as a bank clerk. Than i decided to do something new and chenged within the companie to the IT Department, starting from scratch there ...
2) Since i didn't know any programming language (only a bit web programmingf, but i guess this doesn't count really) it seems not to be THAT important i guess
3) Well, you should have a fundamental knowledge about IT specific topics like networks, Client and Server computing and so on ... but from my expereince it is more important to have a good knowledge about business processes, ITIL and such things .... but it depends on the company as well, i would say ...
As a good PM you should have not that big problems to step in IT branche. BUt you should be willing to learn new stuff on a continuus basis ... trust me ... ;)
Regards,
Markus
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arlene trimbleAssistant IT Director| Local GovernmentAlamo, Ca, United States
1. I was an IT super-user which got me promoted to an IT Program Management role.
2. I am not a software developer.
3. First, you need to work on high quality projects that will deliver value to the organization and you will need to optimally manage the project's cost, scope, and time. Saving Changes...
I agree that it seems IT Project Management is in demand. It is because IT ptojects are many and are everywhere. If you look closely, these IT projects are not all that capital intensive. In comparison construction and infrastructure projects may be fewer in number than IT but they have the lion's share of national investment. Coming back to your questions, I being a Civil Engineer myself converted to IT project management back in 80s when IT was in full swing. I learnt all major programming languages and applied to various IT projects and even to construction automation. This helped me get my required grooming fot system analysis, business analysis and ultimately organizational project management. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Let me say: IT Project Manger does not exists. What exists is project management that you will apply on different fields. One of them is IT or software. So, the only thing you have to do, is to apply all you know as project management to the new field. The problem is that companies really do not search for a project manager. The companies are searching for a subject matter expert who will work as project manager. In fact, who will work as a project leader or project coordinator. As for any other fields no technical knowledge is needed if you will work as project manager. Project Manager is not a techinical role. But, once again, if you are really consider project manager role. Saving Changes...
Anzor MisabishviliProject Manager| TD BankCherry Hill, Nj, United States
Thank you, all, for your responses. It was great to hear from individuals who have extensive background in managing IT projects, and to understand your backgrounds and skill sets.
While I would agree that an "IT Project Manager" does not need to possess technical IT skills (e.g. coding), in my opinion it would be pretty helpful. Obviously, in order to be a successful project manager, one needs to have at least a general understanding of what each project team member is working on and how it fits in the overall picture. I feel like IT is one of those fields that is more or less "closed off" to people who don't have IT background. For example, in most of the other fields (e.g. medical, construction, legal) a layperson who is not closely familiar with the field can have a general understanding of what is being done and how. However, in case of IT, the understanding is complicated due to technical and abstract nature of the work.
I know I'm simplifying things a little in case of other fields, but I hope my point is clear.
So I've decided to take some online coding classes, however, I was glad to read that knowing or being good at coding is not an obstacle to managing successful IT projects. Saving Changes...
Anzor, I beg to differ with your comment in your last post. How is it possible that an IT PM does not have IT technical skills. We are not talking about any PM here, an IT PM would require by default to be proficient in IT as well as have PM skills. Rest everything you wrote, I agree with it. Saving Changes...
