Project Management

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Topics: Aerospace and Defense, Consulting, Information Technology
Is a project manager also a technical expert or is it better to have project manager and a technical project manager?
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Arif PUNJWANI Cybersecurity Project Manager Consultant| IP3 Consulting Mechelen, Antwerpen, Belgium
Each has their own advantages, so do YOU combine both or work together with a technical expert? Depending on the feedback we all could get a better idea and maybe it depends on the subject area. I look forward to your feedback and thank you in advance!
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Eduard Hernandez
Community Champion
Senior Project Manager| Prothya Biosolutions Amsterdam, Netherlands
By having technical knowledge, the PM is developing two roles in one. Some companies (typically small organizations) tend to pursue this option. Conversely, larger organizations are more inclined in the option highlighted by some peers in the thread: a competent PM practitioner with the ability to learn the jargon/basics of the project/s he/she is managing.
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1 reply by Arif PUNJWANI
Apr 22, 2017 4:59 AM
Arif PUNJWANI
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Hello John, thank you for your input and I think this would describe the tendency of combining the two roles or only PM with the ability to learn the jargon while managing the project. Thank you for sharing.
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Arif PUNJWANI Cybersecurity Project Manager Consultant| IP3 Consulting Mechelen, Antwerpen, Belgium
Apr 18, 2017 7:25 PM
Replying to John Tesdal
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They say the worst patients in a hospital are doctors and nurses themselves, but I contend that being in the know forces resources to perform at optimal. Having a technical background will help when translating IT jargon to non-technical stakeholders. If you can explain the technical 'why' to a non-technical stakeholder (in plain language) without having to say 'uh...I'll get back to you on that', you will be worth your weight in gold. On the flip side, technology staff will be less likely to try and pull the wool over your eyes as well (not that any would, right?). Have you ever heard of anyone going to the mechanic for their car and having an absurd story told to them: "Your taillight fluid is low and your muffler bearings are worn"? If you were a mechanic, they wouldn't pull that baloney. If you are adept at Information Technology, IT staff won't pull anything either.
Hello John, thank you for your feedback. I also share your point of view. Understanding the "technical matter" will help a lot. Thank you for sharing!
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Arif PUNJWANI Cybersecurity Project Manager Consultant| IP3 Consulting Mechelen, Antwerpen, Belgium
Apr 19, 2017 2:43 AM
Replying to Anton Oosthuizen
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Do you need both? No. Is it better to have both? Depends on the project parameters. Is it better to have a single PM with skills? Absolutely since it allows the person to see the bigger picture no matter where they stand.
Hello Anton, thank you for your feedback. I share your feedback and you described in nicely in three shorts points. Thank you for sharing.
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Naomi Caietti Senior Project Manager | ePMO | Higher Education | Healthcare & IT| Linkedin.com/In/NaomiCaietti
Apr 10, 2017 2:24 PM
Replying to Naomi Caietti
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Arif:
You don't mention the size, complexity,industry, contract details of the project but I assume it's a contract for an IT project.

The beauty of the splitting the roles is understanding the roles, focus and deliverables. Certainly, it will save you money to have one person as the PM/Technical Lead/Engineer.

You may wish to consider one of many roles:
Systems Engineer
Enterprise Architect
Data Architect
Network Engineer
Etc.

There are many roles but industry type may change the technical roles you are looking to fill.
Arif:
Well the real answer is it depends, the culture, contract, project, risks or resource constraints will dictate if you need a PM and Technical lead etc. Does a PM need to be technical to lead a project? No but it's beneficial for many strategic/tactical reasons.
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1 reply by Arif PUNJWANI
Apr 20, 2017 6:14 PM
Arif PUNJWANI
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Hello Naomi, thank you for your feedback and for sharing your perspective.
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Arif PUNJWANI Cybersecurity Project Manager Consultant| IP3 Consulting Mechelen, Antwerpen, Belgium
Apr 19, 2017 6:20 PM
Replying to Naomi Caietti
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Arif:
Well the real answer is it depends, the culture, contract, project, risks or resource constraints will dictate if you need a PM and Technical lead etc. Does a PM need to be technical to lead a project? No but it's beneficial for many strategic/tactical reasons.
Hello Naomi, thank you for your feedback and for sharing your perspective.
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Arif PUNJWANI Cybersecurity Project Manager Consultant| IP3 Consulting Mechelen, Antwerpen, Belgium
Apr 19, 2017 7:47 AM
Replying to Eduard Hernandez
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By having technical knowledge, the PM is developing two roles in one. Some companies (typically small organizations) tend to pursue this option. Conversely, larger organizations are more inclined in the option highlighted by some peers in the thread: a competent PM practitioner with the ability to learn the jargon/basics of the project/s he/she is managing.
Hello John, thank you for your input and I think this would describe the tendency of combining the two roles or only PM with the ability to learn the jargon while managing the project. Thank you for sharing.
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Adrian Carlogea Australia
This has already been discussed here and my opinion is that it is impossible to truly manage or lead a group of workers if you are not able to do their work yourself. This I have learned from my own experience.

Project teams can be cross functional and it would be absurd to ask the project manager to be an expert in all the domains. Still if the PM has no subject matter expertise in any domain (except project management and other domains not related to the project) he can't truly manage the team as he/she would be completely excluded from the decision process the team goes through while performing the work.

The technical aspects involved in the project have to be managed too and they can make the difference between success or failure. PMs that are not also SMEs would play absolutely no role in managing the technical aspects and as a result they will lack control over crucial aspects of the project.

PMs that are not also SMEs essentially manage projects in a weak matrix environment and they are limited to manage just some aspects of the projects and many crucial aspects are managed by someone else.

Still I have seen that, at least in IT, many companies prefer to have PMs with no technical background meaning that the project team members, even when are performing work on the project, have to be managed by someone else.

It appears that many companies want their PMs to focus entirely on the process and act as some sort of facilitators between the project stakeholders rather than leading the project teams by giving direction to the team members.
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2 replies by Arif PUNJWANI and John Tieso
Apr 23, 2017 10:05 AM
John Tieso
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Adrian, you make excellent points for the separation of roles, especially in larger projects. i do want to add to your comments in two ways:
1- While projects can be multi-functional, they should not be multi-domain, except in very rate situations where the edge of one overlaps the other and the project might affect both. many of the projects that fail do so because the scope has grown to a multi-domain environment impossible to effectively control and manage.
2- PMs can act as facilitators only where they have at least a minimum of knowledge about the functional domain, and not just their own PM domain. I have worked with too many younger PMs who thought they could 'handle' virtually any project, only to be assigned one where the technical aspects go way over their head, and they observe much more than facilitate.
Apr 24, 2017 4:24 AM
Arif PUNJWANI
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Hello Adrian, thank you very much for your feedback. I can confirm with your point of view that having the technical background you can support the team in difficult matters and were certain performance criteria need to be achieved. Working with SME brings a lot of communications on technical issues. Thank you for your clear point of view and sharing with us.
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John Tieso Author, Lecturer in Business Management| The Catholic University of America, Busch School of Business & Economics Arlington, Va, USA
Apr 22, 2017 4:45 PM
Replying to Adrian Carlogea
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This has already been discussed here and my opinion is that it is impossible to truly manage or lead a group of workers if you are not able to do their work yourself. This I have learned from my own experience.

Project teams can be cross functional and it would be absurd to ask the project manager to be an expert in all the domains. Still if the PM has no subject matter expertise in any domain (except project management and other domains not related to the project) he can't truly manage the team as he/she would be completely excluded from the decision process the team goes through while performing the work.

The technical aspects involved in the project have to be managed too and they can make the difference between success or failure. PMs that are not also SMEs would play absolutely no role in managing the technical aspects and as a result they will lack control over crucial aspects of the project.

PMs that are not also SMEs essentially manage projects in a weak matrix environment and they are limited to manage just some aspects of the projects and many crucial aspects are managed by someone else.

Still I have seen that, at least in IT, many companies prefer to have PMs with no technical background meaning that the project team members, even when are performing work on the project, have to be managed by someone else.

It appears that many companies want their PMs to focus entirely on the process and act as some sort of facilitators between the project stakeholders rather than leading the project teams by giving direction to the team members.
Adrian, you make excellent points for the separation of roles, especially in larger projects. i do want to add to your comments in two ways:
1- While projects can be multi-functional, they should not be multi-domain, except in very rate situations where the edge of one overlaps the other and the project might affect both. many of the projects that fail do so because the scope has grown to a multi-domain environment impossible to effectively control and manage.
2- PMs can act as facilitators only where they have at least a minimum of knowledge about the functional domain, and not just their own PM domain. I have worked with too many younger PMs who thought they could 'handle' virtually any project, only to be assigned one where the technical aspects go way over their head, and they observe much more than facilitate.
avatar
Arif PUNJWANI Cybersecurity Project Manager Consultant| IP3 Consulting Mechelen, Antwerpen, Belgium
Apr 22, 2017 4:45 PM
Replying to Adrian Carlogea
...
This has already been discussed here and my opinion is that it is impossible to truly manage or lead a group of workers if you are not able to do their work yourself. This I have learned from my own experience.

Project teams can be cross functional and it would be absurd to ask the project manager to be an expert in all the domains. Still if the PM has no subject matter expertise in any domain (except project management and other domains not related to the project) he can't truly manage the team as he/she would be completely excluded from the decision process the team goes through while performing the work.

The technical aspects involved in the project have to be managed too and they can make the difference between success or failure. PMs that are not also SMEs would play absolutely no role in managing the technical aspects and as a result they will lack control over crucial aspects of the project.

PMs that are not also SMEs essentially manage projects in a weak matrix environment and they are limited to manage just some aspects of the projects and many crucial aspects are managed by someone else.

Still I have seen that, at least in IT, many companies prefer to have PMs with no technical background meaning that the project team members, even when are performing work on the project, have to be managed by someone else.

It appears that many companies want their PMs to focus entirely on the process and act as some sort of facilitators between the project stakeholders rather than leading the project teams by giving direction to the team members.
Hello Adrian, thank you very much for your feedback. I can confirm with your point of view that having the technical background you can support the team in difficult matters and were certain performance criteria need to be achieved. Working with SME brings a lot of communications on technical issues. Thank you for your clear point of view and sharing with us.
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Lonnie Pacelli Author & President| ProjectManagementAdvisor.com Bellevue, Wa, USA
The larger the project, the more the PM needs to rely upon SME roles who have deep subject matter skills. The worst thing you as the PM could do is try to "fake it" and profess you have deeper skills than you really do. You'll destroy your credibility with the rest of the project team.
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1 reply by Arif PUNJWANI
Apr 25, 2017 3:46 PM
Arif PUNJWANI
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Hello Lonnie, thank you for you input. I agree that the larger the project the more SME will be working on the project and project mananger needs to have some knowlegde in order to communicate with the project team. Lack of some experience, the project manager won't be able to supporting the team, "faking it" will result credability by the project team. Thank you for pointing this out and sharing with us.
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