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Re:Common Mistakes of New Engineering Managers by sanderjd on Wednesday March 17, 2021 @09:28AM (#26490909)
I think this is about right, but one sticking point I've found is: what kind of employee is the project manager? Who do you hire, what is the career trajectory? There is a temptation to have them be a manager, because hey, manager is in the name! But having gotten over that, there is a version of the job that is essentially entry level work; what you describe of managing the tickets and all the stuff is just not very high level work relative to what the rest of the team is doing. But then what is the progression? What are they trying to do after they've put in their years wrangling tickets? I think this can actually lead to a lot of unnecessary complexity. If you have a smart and ambitious person doing this job, they're going to naturally look for ways to make it more meaty. But it doesn't really need to be, so you're in a bit of a bind.

I think this is where the impulse to let the managers handle this as a small part of their job comes from. It's already clear who the managers are and what their career progression is, and handling stuff the team needs to unblock, which doesn't fit well into any particular box is already part of their job.

Re:Common Mistakes of New Engineering Managers by ghaff on Wednesday March 17, 2021 @02:39PM (#26495187)
Project/program management is probably one type of position that almost has to lead to people management at some point. Basically operational roles that have project/program management (folks) among others reporting to them. In other words, having overall responsibility for projects of smaller or larger size.
Re:Common Mistakes of New Engineering Managers by sanderjd on Wednesday March 17, 2021 @08:06PM (#26498351)
Yep, agreed, which is once again why you get managers doing the project management; a lot of them cut their teeth there.
Re:Common Mistakes of New Engineering Managers by TheColorYellow on Wednesday March 17, 2021 @10:30PM (#26499183)
Agree with this point completely.

Ideally it seems as if you'd want someone with administrative capabilities and focus but with enough understanding of the tech and business side that they're able to understand context and conversation.

Problem is, although its easy to find administratively capable resources who you can pay a decent salary to retain, the minute you require them to understand broader context the incentive structure changes as this is inherently more work.

To me that is why Product Managers who's focus is a single product should also take over administrative tasks on that project. It gives them an opportunity for "field time" as stated by another poster as well.

Re:Common Mistakes of New Engineering Managers by sanderjd on Thursday March 18, 2021 @09:11PM (#26509282)
Oof, I really don't think that's a good use of a product manager's time. I want them out talking to customers, or evaluating similar products from other companies, or using their own product to understand its capabilities and gaps, or looking at metrics, or just writing and debating product proposals. I honestly think there is already way too much work that is way too valuable for them to be doing, for them to take on project management duties. It's a much closer fit for an eng. people manager if a dedicated resource can't be found or hasn't worked out. At least their job is already interrupt driven and focused on knocking down blockers for their team.