Programmer, are you suitable to be a project manager?
Project manager, from an enviable position in the past to the current bad street, all walks of life, all kinds of people, etc., we can see the figure of the project manager. For building houses and construction, general contractors are subcontracted, and there are countless project managers of various sizes; for new house decoration, project managers bring a few younger brothers out to mix, and in the software industry, project managers are even more popular. Of course, compared to the project manager, there are countless younger brothers who work in detail below. Therefore, for more technical engineers, the first choice for promotion is the project manager. Why? In fact, the answers are almost the same: you can’t do technology for a lifetime, and you won’t be able to do it when you get older; after all, the project manager has a higher position and has more contacts; the project manager can manage and be the boss; the salary is higher, and so on. These are normal reasons, and understandable, but is a project manager really for everyone? Is every developer suitable to be a project manager?
Why is a co-worker on the development team, someone else was promoted to a project manager, and you continue to write those hideous code?
First of all, do you know the relevant domain knowledge of project management? Do you know the nine knowledge areas of the PMP? Do you know the requirements of CMMI and ISO for project process control? If you answered yes, then congratulations, you are 20% on the way to the project manager. The knowledge field of project management is getting wider and wider, such as project planning, time management, resource management, cost control, risk management, quality management and even supplier management. Participate in hands-on experience. You must be wondering why such an important content only accounts for 20%. That's right, even if you have a solid grasp of project management knowledge, that's only a 20% bonus. Because, these knowledge are only the content of the book, and everyone can master it through learning; even if they can't remember it all in their minds, they can work on the project while following the process described in the book. If each project can be successfully completed by following the process step by step, then what should the project manager do? Therefore, in addition to knowledge, the other 80% of the things are the focus.
Coordination! This is the ability that a qualified project manager must have
What is coordination ability? It's the ability to deal with people of all kinds. The position of project manager, in many foreign companies, actually does not have the power of administrative management, that is, there is no power to manage the members of the project, and most of the time, the job is to be a project coordinator. After a project is started, the members of the project may be temporarily transferred from various departments. As the project manager, it is necessary to coordinate the time limit of each member's participation in the project with people from various departments. The project manager needs to arrange work with each project member. Everyone is an individual with various personalities. How to deal with people with different personalities is not something that can be learned in a short time. The project manager also needs to coordinate with the upper-level leaders. When the project is delayed, how to explain the reason to the leader, how to apply for more funds and resources to the leader, and how to persuade the leader to support the project more are all manifestations of coordination ability. In addition, the project manager also needs to coordinate with the customer, how to limit the demands of the customer, how to deal with the various demands of the customer, and how to reduce the customer's complaints when the final product is submitted to the customer , as soon as possible to sign, these require the project manager to have a very strong ability to settle all stakeholders related to the project. This point should account for 40%, that is to say, if you reach the above two items, you can be a qualified project manager. But this is still far from enough.
Writing!
Project managers can hardly write code, but more work is to write documents and reports. This takes up almost half of the project manager's work time.
From contracts to project plans to project reports, project managers need strong writing skills. Clarity and clarity are the basic requirements of documents. More often, project managers need to analyze the same problem from different angles, so that people can get different results. Of course, if you can write the dead as living, and the black as white, then congratulations, you can get full marks for this 20%.
Communication skills!
Not only language communication ability, but also the ability to observe the color. The project manager does not necessarily need to be eloquent, but the words must be clearly understood; at the same time, they must also understand the other party's inner thoughts through facial expressions, movements and other body language. This is really difficult, and some people may not learn to communicate with others in their lifetime. So, it just depends on your talent. This should be 10%.
The last 10% is the ability to withstand pressure
As a project manager, you must be able to withstand enormous pressure that ordinary people cannot bear. Especially when the project encounters problems and the progress is not smooth, when the cost rises and the deadline is approaching, how to bear and relieve the pressure is not everyone can do. If you are unhappy and unable to let go of something, then under the weight of the project, it will be a double torture to your spirit and body.
The above is my understanding of project managers. If you want to be a project manager in the future, please compare yourself to see if you meet the above requirements and give yourself a score. Of course, all kinds of abilities can be learned, not necessarily all innate, but for some people, they can be used with ease, while others are just so unnatural. In fact, a project manager is not an easy position. It is really not easy to do well. There are too many things to learn. Don’t worry, there is no perfect person or perfect project manager in this world. Work hard to improve yourself. , will be one step closer to the position of project manager!
http://developer.51cto.com/art/201211/364725.htm