In this paper, following 20 years of R & D Management Experience (XII) .
First as a project manager
of: Karl E.Wiegers
this day has finally arrived: Your developer was promoted to project manager from a line. Perhaps you have been waiting for, maybe your heart is still uneasy, maybe this is your career choice, maybe you just reluctantly agreed boss "try." In either case, you may not education project and personnel management and leadership training or experience.
Leadership and Management (the two are different) is far from simple and Dilbert's boss runs counter (Note: Dilbert is a cartoon character to "own" a "idiot boss" is known). When do you plan to do project management, consider taking action listed below. Maybe you want to do a lot, but the following suggestions will help you focus on those things that can improve the efficiency (efficiency and effectiveness of your own team) is.
Prioritized
You have to begin the first issue, it is likely that you consciously set up as a priority project manager. Although you may also need a variety of reasons largely involved in the development of software, but other than that, you have some new responsibilities. Many new project managers could not escape the temptation of technologies that help project members to ignore their own seek.
An Effective project managers know that their highest priority is to provide services for project members. These services include: guidance and education, conflict management, provide resources, establish project objectives and priorities, and so on, but also to provide technical guidance as appropriate. I discovered that see themselves as a member of the work, rather than the supervisor is valuable. Whatever you are doing or will do many important things, you come here to seek help project members should have "unmasked interrupt" (Note: non-maskable interrupt is a hardware terms, here meaning the highest priority) priority.
Your second priority is to get your organization's customer satisfaction (Note: In our company, the product can be understood as the client's project). As a project manager, if you do not get involved in front-line product development, maybe you rarely have a direct opportunity to make customer satisfaction. But you have to create an environment for your project members so that they work in this environment, we can most effectively meet customer needs. This is a project manager of important functions.
Your third priority is your own thing. Could be a project-related technical issues (of course, you're interested), it could be your boss wants you to do something. But when these things when the top two high priority conflict, you have to do to prepare snooze.
Your lowest priority are those purely to please your boss things. In a normal tissue (non Dilbet type of organization), if you do the previously mentioned three things more importantly, your boss has been a very pleasant surprise. While not everyone is so lucky to be a "normal" in the organization, but still strive to do these three most important things. Focus on efficiency as much as possible to help subordinates rich - and happy - on, not to please those who are 'above'.
Analyze your skills gap
First as a project manager, you will realize that you usually gaps in leadership and management skills, unless you have already made full preparations for this new position. You have a strong technical background, and perhaps this is one reason you promote technology leadership team, but you also need some additional skills. You need an objective assessment of their strengths and weaknesses, and begin narrowing the gap between themselves.
Do the software people are often considered to lack good communication skills. You need to strengthen your interpersonal capabilities, such as conflict mediation, to persuade others, "sell" themselves. You do not want to deal with the need to deal with some of the scenes, such as criticism of your subordinates, to fight for performance under the "quarrel."
I started with a career manager is listening (Listening) course skills, I felt a great value. In the first-line development, we often have extraordinary effort to express their views of technology. But as a manager, but also a need for an inclusive and listen to the work style and communication. Then, go to "tell" from the position "listening", you need to improve your presentation (Presentation) skills. If you feel discomfort in public speaking, you need to accept some specialized speech training. It's good for your future work.
As a project manager, coordinating the work of others, project planning and tracking, project back and take corrective action, and so are your responsibilities if necessary. If possible, receive training on project management, learning how to set priorities, how to run effective meetings, how unmistakably communicate and so on skills; look at some books and magazines project management and risk management, such as the Project Management Institute Monthly "PM Network". You can also find a lot of useful suggestions about software project management from the SW-CMM (Capability Maturity Model).
The definition of "quality"
Although the vast majority of people are seriously quality, but also want to produce high-quality products; however, the definition of software quality is still very controversial, such as high-quality is "good enough" or a more classic quality point of view - "no defect". To lead your team to success, you need to spend some time with your subordinates, and customers together to clear: For them, what quality means.
Your subordinates and clients are different two groups of people, they may not have the same perception of quality, it tends to have a different purpose. If the customer delivery is very stressed, that he might not have the patience to listen to the programmer to explain why you need the extra time to check every line of code. If the customer value is the reliability of the software, he increased functionality and decrease will probably choose the latter between the Bug. If a customer accustomed to the old version of the keyboard, then he would rarely interested in the new graphical user interface.
In a project I was responsible for, in order to better understand the customer's quality requirements, I gave a seminar open (Open Forum), in addition to project members and customers to participate, I also ask the customer superiors who have gathered to participate discuss. This discussion is valuable because we found that many original ideas are real quality and customer demand contrary. Understanding the difference these ideas so that we can concentrate on customer satisfaction thing, rather than on the make "Developing satisfaction" thing.
Software quality is generally understood to be in line with specifications to meet customer demand, as well as the documentation and code as little as possible defects (Defect) and so on, these are the more "classic" definition. "Six Sigma Quality" (Six-sigma Quality, a quality standard of quality management and corresponding method) for the defect density (Defect Density) and / or failure rate (Frequency of Failure) sets a high standard However, it does not relate to other aspects of quality, such as delivery, availability, and cost performance feature set and so on. Whether we as producers or consumers, we all want quality products in all of these areas are as high as possible, but in fact, we are always where you want to make trade-offs and choices.
We consider the requirements phase, which is important for the quality of customer characteristics, and to list them out (for example, interactive, accuracy, ease of learning, etc.). Then, we got some key customer representatives and ask them to score the quality of these characteristics. In this way, we can grasp what is the most important quality characteristics, which is secondary, so that can be targeted for these quality characteristics and optimize the design.
A software-defined quality more interesting I've heard is that "customers coming back, but the product did not" (the customer comes back, but the product does not) (Note: The meaning is very high customer retention rates, no return) . And your subordinates and customers to define the appropriate quality objectives, once defined, they should spare no effort to achieve these goals. You have to set an example to their own high standards. Remember these words: "imperfect do not fight, does not satisfy the non-Excellence" (Strive for perfection, settle for excellence)
In recognition of progress
Performance recognition and rewards program membership is important incentives. You want to establish a reward system (Recognition Program) a top priority, unless you have the proper incentives. Rewards can be both symbolic awards, certificates, it can be a real prizes and cash. I remember saying, "Thanks for your help," or "Congratulations on completing your ......" when awards. Also remember not to confine the scope of the reward in your internal project team, customer representatives and some people outside the project team to provide special help to you is to be considered.
Incentives not only need a small amount of money you invest, you also need to hyperactivity brains, think of ways reward. And your subordinates more exchanges, to understand what kind of rewards they care about. Reward activities should become part of the team culture. Also, try "invisible" reward, let your staff know that you are really aware of their contributions, and grateful for. (Note: In our company, Honor Awards and honors the lottery is a very good incentive resource has a clown's hat at Microsoft, many of the project team, the Building inspection every day, if someone is a problem we must put the top. hat day.)
A lesson guide for the future
You are responsible for the project is likely to take over halfway, and your predecessor did not how good; or, though new projects, but there are similar projects completed in the past, of course, there are successful, but also a failure. In either case, you, as the person in charge of the project, should take the time to analyze past successes and failures. You have to understand these projects there have been any problems, in order to avoid making the same mistakes yourself. Failure is the mother of success, but you do not have much chance of failure, so you have to learn from others' failures.
Do not wear colored glasses to see the previous item, maybe you do not like a guy well done his project, of course you can put down to luck or a fluke, but if you analyze objectively, perhaps more help your success.
You also need to objectively evaluate some of their own projects completed (if any), to understand how strong their team where weak location. In fact, each project must be completed Project Review (Post-project Review), sometimes this type of project review summary also called "opened autopsy" (Postmortem). Note that the project review is not to hold somebody responsible, identify problems, analyze issues in order to do better in the future. You can take a brainstorming approach, project team members are encouraged to express their views. In addition, this project can be extended to review the project, the review are at the end of each major phase.
In addition, you need to understand is widely recognized software industry's best practices (Best practice). Steve McConnell in the "Rapid Development" (Microsoft Press, 1996) introduces the 27 best practices for software development and 36 "classic" problem. The book won the Jolt Award, is a good starting point for learning. When you want some good methods, tools and processes introduced to your project, others may exclude, oppose, or even resist, and this is precisely your duty, you have to let project members do understand why and ensure that their implementation of the letter. In your internal team, also have some of the best practices, so you have to take some measures to promote exchanges between project members and adopt these practices.
Establish improvement goals
When you review the previous project, and determine the "quality" means, you need to set up some short-term and long-term improvement goals. Whenever possible, these objectives should be quantified, so that you can measure whether or not he was heading these goals through a number of simple indicators. For example, you find that previous projects as demand varied and often delayed, so you can set up a goal six months, and strive to improve the stability of demand of 50%. Such a goal requires you to do the actual work week per month: the number of changes in statistical needs, identify sources and causes of change needs to take measures to control change. This is likely to change the way of communication between you and those who demand change.
Your goals and targets constitutes a part of the software process improvement. Although often accused of process improvement reflects the "bureaucracy", but in fact, every team can find some areas for improvement. If you stay in the way of doing things has always been, you'd better not expect to get better than previous results.
The reason there are generally two process improvement: prevention of errors and correct errors. You want to focus on the threat or possible threat to project success factors; Lead your team to analyze your current practices, strengths and weaknesses, and threats together.
My own team organized a brainstorming exercise in two stages, in order to identify barriers to improve our productivity and quality. In the first phase, participants will write their own obstacles to expect on sticky notes, sticky notes to write each idea; then, coordinator put these cards collected, and classified; so we get a number of broad categories we put these classifications written on a large sheet of white paper. In the second stage, these same participants for obstacles in front of to write, to think of methods to overcome written on sticky notes and paste it into the appropriate category. After further discussion and analysis, we were able to refine these barriers, and to obtain a series of operational methods of coping.
The establishment of measurable, objective could be sought will focus its efforts to improve the process and you pay. You and your team members on a regular basis with the view to improve the results. The purpose of process improvement is to remember that the success of the project and the company, rather than to meet the old rules on the books. The process improvement as a project to operate, has its own schedule, inputs and outputs. Otherwise, process improvement always get the attention it deserves, eventually trivial daily work while submerged.
Do not rush
Some of the practices recommended in this article will help you manage this project novice and your team more successful, with the working pressure you face every day, you might become another "last legs" who, however, you should always you understand a task shouldered by (you may also get the chance of success), that is, the formation of your team culture and a method of doing things, which is a long-term task. You can not all of a sudden want to do are done, you can have a choice according to their own situation, calmly hit the road.
