BradEgeland.com #agile #devops #pmp #businessintelligence #virtual #databreach #AI #esports #cybersecurity
  • Welcome
  • Expertise
  • This Week in PM
  • Webinars / training / demos
  • Clients
  • Professional Services
  • Blog
  • PM Forum
  • PM Video Series
  • Software Reviews
  • Books
  • Awards/Recognition
  • White Papers
  • Templates & Downloads
  • Past Survey Results
  • Contact

The Background of an IT Project Manager

9/2/2010

0 Comments

 
I originally wrote this article for the PM Tips website.  The original posting appears here.

I am prompted to post this topic by a posting on AllPM that I read a couple of years ago and it came back to me recently.

What type of background, experience, skill set, etc. makes for a good IT Project Manager? Can an individual be say, a successful marketing person and step into the role of IT Project Manager? How about an HR person? An engineer? A customer service rep or manager?

All these positions require a few similar skills as ingredients to success. Communications skills, knowledge of the organization, some type of organization skills, the ability to relate well to individuals inside the company and hopefully outside such as customers. But will they likely be successful Project Managers in an IT organization or in an IT role in the long run? Not likely.

Any of us who have been application developers or work closely with developers (both, in my case) know that they are a different bunch. They must be reined in often. Their priorities are not necessarily your priorities (as the PM). They don’t report to you. You don’t give them their performance reviews or raises, though you may have a say in how they are rated.

You must gain their respect – or at least tolerance – in order to be successful in your role as the IT Project Manager. Without that, they will likely work on their priorities, ignore yours, miss deadlines and you will be cut off at the knees.

Recently, a friend of mine who was a Program/Project Manager for a company I used to work for informed me that he has been out of a job for awhile and is actively looking for PM opportunities. His concern with consulting in a PM role was that he has always been frustrated by a lack of control over the developers on his projects and felt that gave him no confidence in job stability – let alone success in a future consulting role. Well, guess what? He did not have a background in IT before moving into a Project Management role.

Another company I was at required PMs to present their projects to a Technology Council for review at a go/no-go decision point. The PMs with no real IT background before taking over the PM role were repeatedly sent back for more information – and repeatedly frustrated as well.

IMO, it is imperative for success as an IT Project Manager to have some level of IT background in their career path. It has definitely helped me be a more successful Project Manager as well as a better and more respected leader of technical resources on my teams. Developers see through the fluff….but when they realize that you come from a similar background and understand their needs and concerns from a project perspective you often instantly gain new respect and compliance from them.

Keep in mind I’m talking specifically about IT projects only, not all projects in general. Maybe this isn’t an issue at most companies, but it has been an issue in several companies I’ve been involved with. Many characteristics go into making a successful Project Manager beyond just technical knowledge. I’m also certain there have been IT PMs who have succeeded with no previous IT experience. However, as I’ve described above, I have witnessed PM frustrations first-hand at several organizations where the individual was trying desperately to manage technical resources without the development or even general IT background that helps them to better understand the issues being encountered by their technical team members.

One final thought on this subject which affects another critical area of PM responsibility – pricing and estimating. The IT Project Manager who has previously been a developer or played some other technical role will find it easier to ‘ballpark’ prices for customers and estimate change orders for new work required on projects. The first-hand knowledge from their earlier days will help the IT Project Manager estimate and price change orders and ‘sell’ that effort to the customer. I know it has helped me on nearly every project that I have led.



0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Authors:

    Picture

    Brad Egeland


    Brad has over 25 years of professional IT experience as a developer, manager, project manager, consultant and author.  He has written more than 6,000 expert online articles, eBooks, white papers and video articles for clients worldwide.  If you want Brad to write for your site, contact him.

    Picture

    Anna Egeland
    ​

    Anna is a self-professed tech girl and enthusiastic gaming follower, writer, and co-host of a podcast. She attends professional eSports competitions and gaming conferences, allowing her to write with a first hand experience from a female perspective about the Las Vegas gaming scene. Contact her for interviews, product/event reviews and article ideas.

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    March 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    November 2009

    Categories

    All
    5 Reasons Why...
    Ad Agency
    Agile
    Apple
    Applications
    B2b
    Best Practices
    Best Practices
    BI
    Blogging
    Book
    Budget
    Business
    Business Continuity
    Business Intelligence
    Certification
    CES
    Change Management
    Cheap Trick
    Cloud Computing
    Coaching
    Collaboration
    Commentary
    Communication
    Conferences
    Conflict Resolution
    Consulting
    Content Marketing
    Contractors
    Control
    Creative
    Creative Management
    CRM
    Current Events
    Customer Management
    Customer Management
    Customer Service
    Customer Service
    Cybercrime
    Cybersecurity
    Cyber Security
    Data Security
    Decision Making
    Desktop Virtualization
    Disaster Recovery
    Documentation
    Document Management
    EBook
    Enterprise Ppm
    Eppm
    Estimating
    Expense Reporting
    Expense Reports
    Financials
    Forecasting
    Funding
    Government
    Green Pm
    Hackers
    Hacking
    Hosting
    Hvac
    Ipad
    IPhone
    IPhone6
    IPhone 6
    Issue Management
    Kickoff
    Leadership
    Lessons Learned
    Management
    Marketing
    Meetings
    Mentoring
    Methodology
    Milestones
    Music
    Negotiation
    Networking
    News
    Onboarding
    Opinion
    Outsourcing
    Paperless
    Performance
    Performance Management
    Planning
    Pm Career
    Pmo
    Pmo Director
    Pmp
    Pmp Exam
    Pm Roles
    Pm Roles
    Pm Tools
    Portfolio Management
    Ppm
    Presentations
    Pricing
    Productivity
    Project Approval
    Project Budget
    Project Management
    Project Management
    Project Management Office
    Project Manager
    Project Schedule
    Project Sponsor
    Project Team
    Quality
    Remote Project Management
    Reporting
    Requirements
    Resource Management
    Resource Planning
    Review
    Risk
    Risk Management
    Schedule
    Scope Management
    Scrum
    Security
    Small Business
    Smart Pm
    Social Media
    Soft Skills
    Software Development
    Software Review
    Stakeholders
    Startups
    Status Reporting
    Study
    Survey
    Task Management
    Teams
    Technology
    Telecommuting
    Templates
    Testing
    Time Management
    Tools
    Training
    Trends
    Vdi
    Video
    Virtual Desktop
    Virtualization
    Virtual Teams
    WBS
    Webinar
    What Would You Do
    White Paper
    Workflow Management
    Work Management
    Wwyd

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
✕