Are you a project manager?

There is much evidence across job boards, blog posts, and conference presentations that many think that project management’s time is over (in software, at least). That couldn’t be further from the truth. While many approaches seek to rename the role, the role remains the same, and the skill remains important within other related roles. Overall, the discipline has retained its value.

You’re Still a Project Manager

It’s common nowadays, in certain sectors (software), to drag project management through the mud as a dying discipline. It’s equally common to see positions being hired with names such as Scrum Master, Product Owner, and even Product Manager, where the role description outlines the role of a Project Manager. Additionally, many Product Manager role descriptions include components that amount to project management, and many organizations trying to move to a product focus just can’t dispense with projectized work and come up with amalgam titles such as Agile Project Manager. In all cases, however, one thing is quite clear: the announcement of the death of project management in software is anything but correct. The need for the expertise remains strong.

As software has matured as a discipline there have certainly been product-focused approaches that have proved superior to project management for the purposes those approaches focus on (agile software engineering delivery, for example). But organizations are complex. While software engineering teams can generate great value from a product focus, many associated disciplines can reach large benefits by maintaining a projectized focus and working to make use of the same project-driven approaches that have generated success for so many across history - including in software.

Continued Relevance of the Discipline

Whatever your perspective, project management remains important. Even in high product-focus areas such as SaaS, implementation, major re-designs, and even certain high-risk release plans can find value from projectizing the approach. Consultants, no matter how they might try to organize around agile approaches to delivery, are invariably tied to projectized contracts and there still remains a strong impetus to coordinate short-term between organizations using the project concept.

Why Does This Matter?

Project management, like any other professional discipline, requires that you learn some background, gain and improve skills, while gaining experience in the role of a project manager. Continue watching this space to learn more about modern project management in the software industry.