Software Development and Project Management
May 3, 2011While I may be a little biased being a developer myself, I recently came across a tremendous article that basically illustrates what happens when software developers get pitted against project managers and they both feel in the right. The project managers lose their credibility with the engineers and it’s often downhill from there.
While I’d like to cater to my ego and say that developers are the rockstars while project managers are the band managers, I don’t think it’s quite that simple. Of course, each team is different and has different dynamics, so there are no universal truths.
However, with regards to the above article, ultimately, project manager has to have an in-depth understanding of the business rules, business goals and requirements, as well as an accurate understanding of technical practices, methodologies and restrictions.
I say accurate because that’s really what’s important. He or she doesn’t need to know the details of how changing an application to a new framework is a lot of work, just that it is. And when they’re unsure, they ask questions to get that accuracy. It would be perfect for the project manager to have enough of a technical background to be able to have that in-depth technical understanding, but nothing is truly perfect in this world. 🙂
