My contract is finally ending YAY!

[Lost It]

I'd be interested in why a project that was running just fine suddenly needed a PM.

Nepotism usually cocks everything up.
I'm in a different trade as you all know, but it happens over here too. I have a labourer, from Zimbawe, nothing is too much trouble for him, he's done some really tulipe stuff whilst he's been here because, well that's what the job needs. Had to show him how to use a Kango but that's part of being a manager.

And my boss wants to sack him and bring his fat useless son in as labourer. Because why? I've already been told all he wants to do is lay on his bed playing video games, he will kill this job. It will turn into a tulipehawk's nest again.

And I'll leave for pastures new if he does it. Lots of building work out there. I've warned him.

[vetran]

You already have - worse you are running away from it rather than fixing the issues.

I have a phrase for this when its obvious its out of my hands. You have shown them best practices, possible savings highlighted risks and still they persist. I only say it in my head but it helps.

I can't fix stupid.

When that happens too often I go get a better job. If you stay it drags you down.

[vetran]

You have a PM now, should make your life easier. For each deliverable get a SoW or similar. For every change to this get the PM to raise a CR. You then have a clear documented route from original spec to what was delivered and all changes in between.

Even easier if you're under Agile as each sprint becomes it's own SoW (kind of) ... so deliver the sprint as required.

Problems start when it all goes 'us' vs 'them', PM vs techies ..... really doesn't need to be like that. Let the PM do the boring, stakeholder management, paperwork cr@p, and they can free you up to the what you are paid to do.

Techies who try to be PMs too rarely turns out well (and vice-versa of course)

That would require a competent PM, they tend to be rare. The one he is describing seems out of their depth.

Plenty of ex techies who are PMs, of course the ones who actually study the techniques and enjoy the interactions tend to do better than others.

[Whorty]

You have a PM now, should make your life easier. For each deliverable get a SoW or similar. For every change to this get the PM to raise a CR. You then have a clear documented route from original spec to what was delivered and all changes in between.

Even easier if you're under Agile as each sprint becomes it's own SoW (kind of) ... so deliver the sprint as required.

Problems start when it all goes 'us' vs 'them', PM vs techies ..... really doesn't need to be like that. Let the PM do the boring, stakeholder management, paperwork cr@p, and they can free you up to the what you are paid to do.

Techies who try to be PMs too rarely turns out well (and vice-versa of course)

[Paralytic]

I don't have the possibility of removing the PM and I can't revert time.

It sounds like the client is treating you like an employee (are you inside IR35?) and you're accepting it as such. If you truly thought of yourself as a supplier, you'd be speaking to your client about the issues being put in your way that are not allowing you to deliver the service they're paying for.

I get that running away from such challenges is the easier option for some, however.

[lorakeen]

You already have - worse you are running away from it rather than fixing the issues.

I don't have the possibility of removing the PM and I can't revert time.

[GJABS]

finally you got it

I don't want a failed project in my portfolio.

It isn't a failed project. You need to spin the description of the project and its outcome to define "success" to mean success at doing what the client wants you to get done, within the constraints that it imposes, irrespective of whether that ends up benefiting the client.

[eek]

I don't want a failed project in my portfolio.

You already have - worse you are running away from it rather than fixing the issues.

[lorakeen]

Exactly.

OP, you are caring about the welfare of the client far beyond your responsibilities to it as a contractor. Your job is to deliver your IT services to the best of your ability, not to try to correct this project manager's contributions to the project. You don't and didn't control the management processes that put her in position.
i.e. if she does things that massively reduce the productivity of your team it is important that the project fails. So that management unambiguously learns the lesson that they made a mistake in hiring her. If you help her out and the project is a success, then she might be promoted further and make an even bigger hash of her next project.

I don't want a failed project in my portfolio.

[northernladuk]

For a company supposedly penny-pinching, the PM must have been brought in for a reason. I wonder what that reason was.

Poor developers with bad attitudes?