State of the Market

[rjoe]

You're preaching a lot of what I believe myself.
However, I will state again I do not believe you can do all those role excellently, or at least to my expectations.

These guys did alright...

Robert Hooke: mathematician, astronomer, architect, palaeontologist, horologist
Eastwood: Actor, director, producer, composer, musician, businessman, politician
Schwarzenegger: Bodybuilder, Actor , Politician, Businessman
Churchill: Member of Parliament, statesman, soldier, journalist, historian, author, painter
Prince: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, bass synth, singing bass, Fuzz bass, electric piano, acoustic piano, mini-Moog, poly-Moog, Arp string ensemble, Arp Pro Soloist, Oberheim four-voice, clavinet, drums, syndrums, water drums, slapsticks, bongos, congas, finger cymbals, wind chimes, orchestral bells, woodblocks, brush trap, tree bell, hand claps and finger snaps
Kravitz & Wonder similar to above...

[northernladuk]

These guys did alright...

Robert Hooke: mathematician, astronomer, architect, palaeontologist, horologist
Eastwood: Actor, director, producer, composer, musician, businessman, politician
Schwarzenegger: Bodybuilder, Actor , Politician, Businessman
Churchill: Member of Parliament, statesman, soldier, journalist, historian, author, painter
Prince: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, bass synth, singing bass, Fuzz bass, electric piano, acoustic piano, mini-Moog, poly-Moog, Arp string ensemble, Arp Pro Soloist, Oberheim four-voice, clavinet, drums, syndrums, water drums, slapsticks, bongos, congas, finger cymbals, wind chimes, orchestral bells, woodblocks, brush trap, tree bell, hand claps and finger snaps
Kravitz & Wonder similar to above...

Not a very good argument that. Hope you didn't put too much effort in to it.

[Flibble]

I think the sticking point here is how good is "good enough".

I can still code, badly. I can manage projects to a much higher standard.
I could fudge my way through a service transition, badly. I could manage the testing to a higher standard, but not as well as I could do the project management.

And so on.

So, although I qualified in ITIL and have worked in teams which ultimately handed over to operations (or, these days, DevOps), would I claim to be a Service Delivery Manager? No chance. I can't even remember half of ITIL without having to take the book off the shelf. However, neither can half the people who do call themselves Service Delivery Managers ... so how good is good enough?

[jamesbrown]

so how good is good enough?

Well, if you're in the public sector this time next year, "can you breath?"

[rjoe]

I think the sticking point here is how good is "good enough".

I can still code, badly. I can manage projects to a much higher standard.
I could fudge my way through a service transition, badly. I could manage the testing to a higher standard, but not as well as I could do the project management.

And so on.

So, although I qualified in ITIL and have worked in teams which ultimately handed over to operations (or, these days, DevOps), would I claim to be a Service Delivery Manager? No chance. I can't even remember half of ITIL without having to take the book off the shelf. However, neither can half the people who do call themselves Service Delivery Managers ... so how good is good enough?

Totally, I know people that passed their driving test, but you wouldn't say they were a good driver...
And there are good drivers out there who have yet to qualify...

If I had a background in technical support, ran helpdesks, passed ITIL with a good mark, and lived and breathed ITIL, applying the principles, was a service delivery manager and a change manager for years. I'f I was so inclined I'd be happy and confident in calling myself a Service Delivery Manager or an ITIL Change Manager and specializing in them.

[MrMarkyMark]

My original argument was about this fairly bold statement.

HTH.

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

[DieScum]

I think specialisation is massively overrated for many roles. Obviously that still means there are a great many roles that do require specific niche skills and experience.

A lot of skills/abilities are generic across a range of roles though - good work ethic, good memory, nouse, communication skills, curiosity, resilience, solid technical background.

I've worked with a lot of people who have years of experience in a specific role who weren't very good. I reckon you could parachute in a high performer from a completely different role and they'd do a much better job.

[uk contractor]

Back on topic State Of the Market is dire & not improving much since last summer! EU referendum is having some effect but its more to do with companies just do not want to hire unless they have no choice so a lot of projects are being parked for now!

[oliverson]

Back on topic State Of the Market is dire & not improving much since last summer! EU referendum is having some effect but its more to do with companies just do not want to hire unless they have no choice so a lot of projects are being parked for now!

It's terrible for sure but that only really matters if you're on the bench and/or desperate to land something. Personally I'm not particularly happy where I am for one reason or another, and it's an annoyance that I can't just move on to something more suitable (I don't usually jump ship but I can make an exception for this place), so I'll bide my time and hopefully it is the referendum that's holding things up. We'll know soon enough anyhow.

[AnthonyQuinn]

I suppose they are employers, just not his employer!

Yes they are. You also 'employ' your suppliers.