State of the Market

[Drei]

Olympics + Jubilee celebrations made the market pants, no question about it.
Referendum will be minor by comparison and there could be a big surge in contract availability in July and August as budgets get signed off. Probably a trickle though, especially with summer holidays.

That would be great, wouldn't mind taking some time off then get something to Xmas. Might even have some extra breathing room on the trains/tube by that time

[Drei]

There aren't too many agencies that understand how a PM is well qualified for PMO and Programme roles. It's a similar story to Change managers.

Interesting comment about the referendum...

You damn right bout that. A good contractor especially a PM that knows its stuff or comes from a related background could do PM, PMO, BA, Change Management, Programme Management, Service Management, Delivery Management, Product Development, Consulting etc

[LondonManc]

You damn right bout that. A good contractor especially a PM that knows its stuff or comes from a related background could do PM, PMO, BA, Change Management, Programme Management, Service Management, Delivery Management, Product Development, Consulting etc

Rubbish. A good PM wouldn't know the detailed ins and outs of ITIL and other aspects of Service and Delivery Management; they'd have worked with the Service and Delivery Managers to have them sort those things out for them. You'll be selling yourself as a Test Manager next because you've worked with one.

[MrMarkyMark]

Rubbish. A good PM wouldn't know the detailed ins and outs of ITIL and other aspects of Service and Delivery Management; they'd have worked with the Service and Delivery Managers to have them sort those things out for them. You'll be selling yourself as a Test Manager next because you've worked with one.

Sounds like a right Jack of All Trades to me, lol.

[GB9]

Rubbish. A good PM wouldn't know the detailed ins and outs of ITIL and other aspects of Service and Delivery Management; they'd have worked with the Service and Delivery Managers to have them sort those things out for them

+1

Too many people think they are good at too any things. Last client I was at there was a bloke who thought that because he was a pm he should make architecture decisions, presumably because the pm makes decisions!

[CompulsiveArsonist]

Purely anecdotal, the contractor PM on my current gig told me he has been getting a lot of calls for perm roles but nothing contract. I know a PMO who is currently looking for a role, she has started applying for perm roles as she isn't getting anywhere with contracts at the moment.

Speaking purely from my own experience, in my two most recent banking projects the teams have been re-organised getting rid of one extra layer of management. I've also seen less reliance on using BAs which could mean there will be less demand for BA roles in the future. The thinking goes that the developer can sit with the trading desk and find out what needs to be built, so why use a BA to act as a middleman? Another thing that has happened is that teams are getting merged together, so one PM is managing a larger team.

PM/PMO isn't my field of expertise so it would be interesting to hear from someone what changes or trends are happening in that field.

[Drei]

Sounds like a right Jack of All Trades to me, lol.

If you come from a technical background you may well know all of that, specialising in being jack of all trades is nothing wrong. Not sure about you guys but I started building servers and coding in my bedroom when I was 12. At that time it was mainly custom computers and mods for games. Was technology a passion for you? Or was it a simple Y2K boom because everyone did it for the "money"?

I was told by people than when I do a job they can see it is different, not the same mechanical action that every joe blogs does. I like to believe that I put a little bit of my soul in every work/project I do and that's why they last.

I am a PM at core now but come from a heavy tech background. Just didn't enjoy the solitude and change in technology that came with it. I love talking to the clients and being at the front. Advantage is that I can talk to any of the technical teams and know exactly what they say or if they are pulling my leg. Can also be hands on if needed or there is a lack of resources. Plenty of PMs that have no idea whats what and just tick boxes. Lots of project that were successful from a delivery perspective but failed in the long.




Going back to the market question, I have seen over the last few months that clients are trying to fill in perm roles instead of contracts however the big issue I can see is that there are plenty of projects planned or approved but no resources approved. The market has plenty of work but it is currently stagnating.

[rjoe]

Rubbish. A good PM wouldn't know the detailed ins and outs of ITIL and other aspects of Service and Delivery Management; they'd have worked with the Service and Delivery Managers to have them sort those things out for them. You'll be selling yourself as a Test Manager next because you've worked with one.

How about that, I've been all three of those things and that's what should make me a good PM as I've got a great understanding of those areas ...

[rjoe]

+1

Too many people think they are good at too any things. Last client I was at there was a bloke who thought that because he was a pm he should make architecture decisions, presumably because the pm makes decisions!

Well that's different, sounds like an unqualified decision was being made.

How about if the PM put forward an architectural suggestion that was actually a really good idea? You wouldn't discount their advice, simply because it came from a PM would you?

[rjoe]

Speaking purely from my own experience, in my two most recent banking projects the teams have been re-organised getting rid of one extra layer of management. I've also seen less reliance on using BAs which could mean there will be less demand for BA roles in the future. The thinking goes that the developer can sit with the trading desk and find out what needs to be built, so why use a BA to act as a middleman? Another thing that has happened is that teams are getting merged together, so one PM is managing a larger team.
.

I heard similar from contractor I know in banking sector, they are making cuts across all roles...