A few years ago I was a risk-averse project manager with a pretty big team of developers and responsibility for the company's cash-cow product. This product was similar to many software cash-cows - a large number of globally distributed users; a growing list of features being used in all kinds of ways we never intended; and a complex legacy codebase. There were other product teams at this company, but there wasn't much integration between our products at that stage. Getting two of our products to run on the same machine was considered an interesting but academic exercise, and we were all mildly impressed whenever one of the QA or Support guys actually managed it. My care factor for the products I wasn't managing was, on average, close to zero.
Now as a program manager I find myself on the other side of the fence, responsible for coaxing risk-averse project managers to integrate a bunch of shared features in their products to improve interoperability across our product suite. I know what we're asking them to do will add complexity to their code, will require effort to maintain, and is development time that could be spent on cool and unique product-specific features. If someone was asking me to do this five years ago, I would have quickly come up with 100 reasons not to take on the extra work, and may have spent more than one drive home from the office wishing that annoying program-y person would spot a piano falling from the sky and patiently wait under it.
So it's pretty weird to be looking at it from over here. I am really excited about the benefits of the cross-product features - a more consistent experience for our users, more code reuse and standardisation, more communication and idea-sharing between product teams. But I still feel for the project managers, and I would like to publicly thank them for not telling me to go stand under a falling piano. Well not out loud anyway. Thanks guys :-)
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I find the role of program manager who tries to coordinate a number of projects crucial to success of a company as a whole. Situation you describe, when project manager cares about success of her project and barely sees anything else is pretty common since that's how project managers goals are set: deliver your project on time, on budget and on scope.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think that decision makers be live that good cooperation between project managers will appear somehow. Magically or something.
On the other hand when there's a senior person over all these projects who is reasonable and has authority to resolve most of conflicts in minutes setting up priorities or even forcing some additional work to do it pushes the company ahead since everyone runs in the same direction.
After all it doesn't matter how fast one can run but how fast whole team is able to move (in the same direction).
Absolutely! I agree with Pawel's last sentence completely. It goes along with the advice I've been giving my client but that has been difficult for them to hear. Optimize at the program level, not at the project level. That goes back to the basic principles of Lean and Systems Thinking.
ReplyDelete-- bab
Makes a lot of sense. I find the lack of that sort of strategic direction disconcerting. In addition when it is done without someone responsible for that particular responsibility you will have one divisional manager trying to drive that sort of program with the obvious bias that comes along with it.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a nice dream to have all your products talk to each other with ease performance and efficiency and have each product team joining hands singing Kumbiyah. However, without having this program manager in place, it becomes almost an impossible dream as different products are driven by differing requirements and sometimes incompatible client demands.
For new product development projects, conceptual design of the operation of the final product may be performed concurrent with the project planning activities, and may help to inform the planning team when identifying deliverables and planning activities.
ReplyDeleteThat is the perfect thing u got achive any thing ok. thn try to uyor best in project and finded your self.
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