Related to IT projects, what if you are an expert project manager in your project field and you are doing technical tasks beside your management work. Is this right?
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
I cannot say whether right or wrong [eh' hem' wrong :)], though, as a project manager our responsibility is to see the entire forest, not crawl through the weeds. It is a significant risk to expect the project manager to moonlight as another role.
I would not accept an opportunity that expected such. Saving Changes...
Dinah YoungProject Manager / Software Asset Manager| Prince William CountySpringfield, Va, United States
This happens where I work as well. I walked into one of our Program Managers office the other day and she was setting up a SharePoint team site for someone. I see it happening for one of two reasons. Sometimes the manager came from the technical side and struggles to delegate work that they feel they can quickly do themselves. Other times it is due to constraints put on them. Not enough resources, not enough budget and not enough time. They feel they must jump in and do some work themselves. It definitely takes away from the project manager being able to properly do their jobs. The person mentioned above is very far behind on necessary documentation, is working on projects that have not been signed off of and is constantly feeling overwhelmed. Saving Changes...
Ahmed, often project managers roll up their sleeves and get involved. I recall a large 5000 desktop rollout I managed nearly 20 years ago where we were working throughout the night (while users were not around) and since I was an MCSE (so had technical expertise with Microsoft products, networking, OS etc) I often pitched in to help the team get the work done. If it had been a different kind of project run during the day with a lot more people management, distraction and interaction with stakeholders (ie, meetings), then perhaps I couldn't have done that. But since it was at night and each system was basically the same, me sitting around just getting updated from my team would have been a waste of time/effort.
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1 reply by Ahmed Helmy Mahmoud Omar
Apr 02, 2018 12:33 AM
Ahmed Helmy Mahmoud Omar
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Mr. Sante, the sample you provided is good example to make PM participate with his team, but most of IT projects now not dedicated to on section of IT. it may be group of technologies from different parties like Microsoft and ESRI as our specialty in Geographic Information System (GIS) we are making development for many and different industries like CADASTRAL, Military, and etc... so the main target for the project is to provide IT Services like GIS based application but the team is compined of IT and urban planners as well.
Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
I might have misinterpreted the question. I answered as if it was expected as part of the role when working within a project. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
That is the case where the definition of project manager role inside your organization takes place. Just to comment, the same happen in lot of other countries.The way I have dealt with that is giving visibility inside the project schedule and recording associated risks if apply. Saving Changes...
Ahmed, often project managers roll up their sleeves and get involved. I recall a large 5000 desktop rollout I managed nearly 20 years ago where we were working throughout the night (while users were not around) and since I was an MCSE (so had technical expertise with Microsoft products, networking, OS etc) I often pitched in to help the team get the work done. If it had been a different kind of project run during the day with a lot more people management, distraction and interaction with stakeholders (ie, meetings), then perhaps I couldn't have done that. But since it was at night and each system was basically the same, me sitting around just getting updated from my team would have been a waste of time/effort.
Mr. Sante, the sample you provided is good example to make PM participate with his team, but most of IT projects now not dedicated to on section of IT. it may be group of technologies from different parties like Microsoft and ESRI as our specialty in Geographic Information System (GIS) we are making development for many and different industries like CADASTRAL, Military, and etc... so the main target for the project is to provide IT Services like GIS based application but the team is compined of IT and urban planners as well. Saving Changes...
I'd concur with the general sentiment that a PM wearing multiple hats on any project of moderate to high complexity is marginalizing the value of the PM role and putting the project at risk.
Occasionally rolling up your sleeves to pitch in and help out is a good way to establish credibility and gain social capital with the team but going beyond that masks resource skill or capacity gaps and sets a dangerous precedence for future project teams.
An occasional pitch in even higthens the teams respect for the project manager, and actually is a test to the PM's rappor amongst the team. If it becomes an "ordinary" activity, something was not done well at the onset. Maybe scarce resource allocation, or not the knowledge required on some of the team members.
Jose Saving Changes...
Anish AbrahamPrivacy Program Manager| University of WashingtonAuburn, Wa, United States
I agree with Dinah on this.
As an IT project manager, my role always includes working with technical tasks. Saving Changes...
Rick PascoeIT Project Manager| Toshiba America Inc.Costa Mesa, Ca, United States
I think it also depends on the company and project. I have a technical background and have been on projects where I ended up being the only one with a required skillset (Visio/CAD) so had to participate as a contributor in addition to my PM role. As long as it doesn't negatively impact my PM requirements, I'll sometimes participate in a technical capacity to keep my knowledge fresh plus I enjoy doing so. Just have to be careful to not step on any of my SME's toes. Saving Changes...
