sandeep KharbandaSales manager| Vanderlande IndustriesPune, Maharashtra, India
I have observed recruiter often looking for project manager from same industry irrespective project management skills.
In my view, it doesnt matter the project manage handling IT projects or construction project as long as he is well versed in process of project management.
whats your view? Saving Changes...
Khai Ng.IT PMO | IT Project Manager| TTGROUPHanoi, Viet Nam
The first and the most problem is the set of Terminologies that Non-IT Project Manager could not be able to understand. IT project manager play many roles such as BA, Architect, QA, DB Analysis, Test Manager... They must understand the terms and the Processes applied in IT industry. If you can not understand the terms, how do you communicate with your team members and stakeholders? So it is very risky to assign non-IT project manager to manage IT project. Never do stupid thing like that. Saving Changes...
The techies tend to respect and work better with those they perceive to 'get it'. So a risk is that the non IT project manager may not give them that perception and you need to take that into account Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Just for fun
Have you noticed most of the IT people making it sounds like IT are the most difficult project on earth? Also other people cannot manage IT projects? Hehe
It is usually the other way around folks
Let you give you an example - personal but apply to all people with similar background.
I am a civil engineer but worked only a few years in this field before shifting to PM after a MS in Engineering & Construction Management. I worked in petrochemical industry. What do you think that included - managing civil projects?
No a petrochemical plant (new or upgrade) include civil, electrical, mechanical, chemical and many other disciplines, including IT. Do you know how petrochemical plants works? Yes with people but with so much automation. Even 20 years ago - we had so much instrumentations and control systems (technology) installed and we MANAGED them.
To most people from my industry, managing a tech project is a piece of cake - ASSUMING the organization is mature to accept that the PM role to PM (manage) and not do technical work.
Moving from Tech to Construction is the opposite story (see my earlier comment). Saving Changes...
My common sense tells me that the project manager should be a subject matter expert being able to do the work of the team members or at least the work of some of them.
Working in IT however I have discovered that my common sense has nothing to do with reality and the project managers who I have worked with had very little understanding of IT, at least from a technical point of view.
I am not sure about other industries but I find no problem for a project manager from a non-IT industry to come and "manage" an IT project as he/she will typically not be involved in the decision process that the project team goes through to get the job done.
Nonetheless a project manager which has already managed IT projects (even if he/she has no actual IT knowledge) is definitely in a better position than one that has never worked in IT.
The bottom line: taking into account the expectations that most employers from the IT industry have for project managers I think there are no risks for project managers from other industries to move to IT. Saving Changes...
Sajan ThomasFunctional Manager| SunTec Business SolutionsTrivandrum, Kerala, India
I think it also depends on the size, complexity and budget of the project as well. If the role is demands 100% project management and only that, no-IT Project Manager will suffice. However, I believe a Project Manager from the same industry will have bit more probability to success and is lesser risk for the project. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
I fully agree with you: IT DOES NOT MATTER. But, if and only if, the project manager you are hiring really understand the project manager role and IF AND ONLY IF the organization really understand the project manager role. What I wrote is not academic only is based on my personal experience and a lot of others experience.
In theory, both Sandeep and Sergio are correct - it does not matter. However, the real world is practical and not often theoretical. Therefore, it does matter. In the end, it is the perception of the hiring manager that prevails. Saving Changes...
Sameer ParabSenior Program Manager| AmazonGlen Allen, Va, United States
Take a example of planning process. Both project managers, from IT and Construction, knows what it means by planning for a project in terms of theoretical definition as explained under project management processes. But, when it comes to the actual planning process to be followed, data to be collected, assessment to be done, output to be generated, there is a vast difference in the procedure for a IT PM and Construction PM. One cannot perform the task of other purely based on the knowledge of process definition alone. A PM would need to have experience of working or operating in a industry before he starts planning for a project in that industry. IT PM would need to understand the IT Concepts and SDLC Processes whereas a Construction PM would need to understand the processes around civil construction and associated activities. Hence, the PMs cannot be interchanged.
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1 reply by Khai Ng.
Mar 05, 2016 1:18 AM
Khai Ng.
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I totally agree with you. If PM does not understand IT terminologies, how does he or she communicate with team member? 90% of PM time is to communicate, and communicate by both using PM terms and Tech terms.
Saving Changes...
Khai Ng.IT PMO | IT Project Manager| TTGROUPHanoi, Viet Nam
Mar 05, 2016 12:56 AM
Replying to Sameer Parab
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Take a example of planning process. Both project managers, from IT and Construction, knows what it means by planning for a project in terms of theoretical definition as explained under project management processes. But, when it comes to the actual planning process to be followed, data to be collected, assessment to be done, output to be generated, there is a vast difference in the procedure for a IT PM and Construction PM. One cannot perform the task of other purely based on the knowledge of process definition alone. A PM would need to have experience of working or operating in a industry before he starts planning for a project in that industry. IT PM would need to understand the IT Concepts and SDLC Processes whereas a Construction PM would need to understand the processes around civil construction and associated activities. Hence, the PMs cannot be interchanged.
I totally agree with you. If PM does not understand IT terminologies, how does he or she communicate with team member? 90% of PM time is to communicate, and communicate by both using PM terms and Tech terms. Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Mar 05, 2016 12:56 AM
Replying to Sameer Parab
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Take a example of planning process. Both project managers, from IT and Construction, knows what it means by planning for a project in terms of theoretical definition as explained under project management processes. But, when it comes to the actual planning process to be followed, data to be collected, assessment to be done, output to be generated, there is a vast difference in the procedure for a IT PM and Construction PM. One cannot perform the task of other purely based on the knowledge of process definition alone. A PM would need to have experience of working or operating in a industry before he starts planning for a project in that industry. IT PM would need to understand the IT Concepts and SDLC Processes whereas a Construction PM would need to understand the processes around civil construction and associated activities. Hence, the PMs cannot be interchanged.
Sorry Sameer but your post is a good example of why IT people cannot do construction projects - here is why:
1. In "Construction Projects" the PM does not do the planning, the PMT (Project Management Team) do the PM related activities and the Technical Team do the technical activities ----- supervised by the PM
2. A PM in "Construction Projects" is NOT a subject matter expert in the technical domains since a typical project in this domain include civil, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, control systems, hydraulics, and many other disciplines. A PM is not technically competent to do this work.
3. On the other side, in IT, especially with most small to medium size projects - the PM is really a technical lead, doing some management planning activities but not all.
Finally, I used quotations for "Construction Projects" because in theory there is no construction or IT projects. There are BUSINESS projects with IT or Construction components.
In other words,
A software project for HR is an HR project - require HR and other resources to work on it, including IT people but the IT people are mostly involved in the development aspects.
A construction project is a business project that goes through various stages before it reach construction. Meaning, the actual construction is only a stage with many stages that come before it and at least 2 stages come after it.
Unfortunately, PMI and PMBOK Guide has made project management seem uniform and generic "most projects - most of the time". The reality is different. We need to segment project management.
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1 reply by Adrian Carlogea
Mar 05, 2016 7:16 AM
Adrian Carlogea
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Hi Mounir,
While I don't have a statistic and I may be wrong I think it is quite rare in the IT industry to find a project manager that is really a technical lead.
I can't generalize my own experiences but I haven't seen yet a technical lead project manager; well the majority of project managers who I have worked with not only that they are not technical leads they are not technical at all.
I think technical lead project managers exist mainly in small IT companies that can't afford paying someone just to manage projects without doing productive work.
I've seen quite a few IT companies that hire entry level project managers in the same way they hire for example entry level business analysts or entry level software engineers.
It's obvious however that if you start your career in IT project management as a fresh graduate with no prior working experience you will never be a technical lead and you will never manage the technical aspects involved in an IT project.
