Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Aug 16, 2016 7:51 PM
Replying to Stéphane Parent
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Thomas, the talent triangle has the Strategic and Business Development competency which is defined as " Knowledge of and expertise in the industry or organization that enhances performance and better delivers business outcomes."
Stephane, though you are correct, I personally experienced going into new industries without previous knowledge and doing a good job in saving or running projects. I saw justice ministry, investment banking, manufacturing, insurance and they all doubted if I was the right PM at first but were suffering enough to try it. I had to learn quickly what I need, and get the right skills on board the project. Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Aug 16, 2016 7:51 PM
Replying to Stéphane Parent
...
Thomas, the talent triangle has the Strategic and Business Development competency which is defined as " Knowledge of and expertise in the industry or organization that enhances performance and better delivers business outcomes."
And Stephane, to come back to the talent triangle, one PMI flyer states that the strategy & business domain contains these 10 areas:
1. benefits mgmt and realization
2. business acumen
3. business models & structures (*)
4. competitive analysis
5. customer relationships & satisfaction
6. industry knowledge & standards
7. legal & regulatory compliance (*)
8. market awareness & conditions
9. operations functions (e.g. finance, marketing)
10. strategic planning, analysis, alignment (*)
# 6,7,8 might be related to the specific industry, but the majority is industry agnostic
The items with (*) also are part of IPMA's perspective domain. Saving Changes...
All the PMs that I have worked with so far didn't know the technical details of their projects. Almost all of them didn't even have technical background.
I know that some people may not agree with me when I am saying this but a PM that is not also a very good technical expert will never going to be perceived as a true leader by his/her project team. I am telling this from my own experience.
For a worker the leader is the one that gives him guidance in his work and most PMs don't do this as this is not their responsibility.
I've learned about project management and the value that it brings to organizations so I have grown some respect for this profession but many technical experts than know very little about project management will consider the PMs to be just some sort of administrative assistants that can't be taken seriously.
In a book about project management written by Harold R. Kerzner the difference between strong and weak matrix organizations is begin described in the relation to project management. And guess what the author says that the main difference between the two is give by where the command of technology resides. If the PM is also a very good technical expert then a strong matrix will result otherwise a weak variant.
So according to the above author if the PM does not know the technical details of his/her project then he/she works in a weak matrix meaning that he/she is just a coordinator or facilitator.
A PM that does not understand the technical details will mainly ask questions to the team members while a PM who is also a technical expert will be able to also give direction to the team. Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
I, like you Thomas, have been thrusted on projects without industry or organization knowledge. The reason you and I can do this is that we will learn what is missing and needed to do our job effectively.
The technical and leadership competencies of the talent triangle are the "foundation" competencies and the strategic and business development competency is the "differential" competency. Saving Changes...
I personally feel project manager need to aware of environment and technology trends but need not be an expert. PM supposed to have good collaboration skills and need to know how to get help from people and motivate them. If any one has good technical knowledge then that really added value. However, PM need approach project with open mind by focusing on schedule, budget, Scope, risks and other aspects of Project Management Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Aug 16, 2016 9:58 AM
Replying to Rolf Dieter Zschau
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Sergio, I agree, that one can be a PM in several domains and change domains. But I think that depends on "distance" of these domains. To change as PM from electrical engineering domain to IT domain (or vice versa) is much easier than from IT domain to building domain. Because there is more than business terms, it's also about procedures, planning guidelines etc. So BA alone won't help, if you aren't sure about which of the SMEs on your team you can trust. I switched from within software development between several domains/industries to automotive ECU development / integration and OEM R&D. These domains are close enough that you can transfer so much of your technical knowledge that you can ask the right questions and interpret answers. I'm sure, that I won't be a PM for building a bridge without some studies about bridge building (studies means more than BA in bridge building).
Please let me say I disagree about "distance" of domains. In fact, besides it was my personal work life experience, I know lot of people who do that. The key is to make abstraction and doing something missing for lot of project managers: each time PM is assigned to a new initiative the PM must perform elicitation activities to understand key topics. In my case I use the Zachman Framework row 1 and 2 as the guide to understand all needed before starting on the intiative and tools like PESTLE, Porter Five Forces, SPIN Selling, etc. Today, you have all needed information available. In fact, I do the shift you stated from IT to building construction. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Aug 16, 2016 5:08 PM
Replying to Thomas Walenta
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Rolf Dieter, Sergio, agree that technical knowlegde is not required and can be damaging to the project and the PM. Even same is true from my own personal experience for industry knowledge. Talent triangle does not mention technical or industry skills either.
For me, talent triangle is one of the most useless things the PMI has created. Saving Changes...
Anton OosthuizenSenior Business Analyst / Project Manager| Self EmployedPretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
You don't NEED the expert knowledge but it will help for sure. It has always been something I've done - upskill myself to a level where I can have a meaningful conversation about the tech involved. Am I always an expert? Probably only in my own mind :) But I don't NEED to be, I only need to know enough to allow me to ask the right questions and understand when the answer makes sense. Saving Changes...
