Reply to: Replaced by a Technical PM although I was hired as a PM

[Wanderer]

I'd like to offer my services.
I'm technical.
I can manage projects.
And I'm not a whinging woman who falls back on gender when I don't get my own way.

You're Hired!

[Churchill]

OP, has the TPM been recruited yet? I'd like to offer my services.

I'm technical.

I can manage projects.

And I'm not a whinging woman who falls back on gender when I don't get my own way.

[norrahe]

A lot of that including the BS spotting comes down to people skills.
As for the rest - the (no -tech)PM will need a senior technical person on the team to act as technical lead. Good PM's (IMO) know they are part of the team and that project management is a function within the team.

Would certainly agree with SC on that point. A good PM is a facilitator for the team and is there to mitigate any problems and keep the project going.
As a non tech PM I've managed plenty of dev projects without any problems.

[oracleslave]

That's true. But how do you know who is giving you BS? How do you know which risks are more important than others?

I learnt from Derren Brown. People management has been easy as pie ever since.

[SueEllen]

All PMs need to do is manage the project which in essence boils down to making lists and keeping those lists up to date and good people skills.
The good PM's i've worked with were not technical in any capacity but they worked at keeping those lists updated and accurate. The only way they can achieve that task is by knowing how to interact properly with a diverse team of technical people. Knowing who to listen to, who's views should be backed up with a second opinion and generally when to spot BS. Although ulitimate responsiblity of setting time scales (and the rest) lies with the PM, all he/she is really doing is digesting all the information they are getting from the team.

There lies the problem with some PMs.

[Spacecadet]

That's true. But how do you know who is giving you BS? How do you know which risks are more important than others? How do you know the questions to ask the developers to make sure that they are taking everything into account? I'm not saying that a non-technical person can't do it - I'm just saying that for me having technical knowledge is essential in the way I do my work.

A lot of that including the BS spotting comes down to people skills.
As for the rest - the (no -tech)PM will need a senior technical person on the team to act as technical lead. Good PM's (IMO) know they are part of the team and that project management is a function within the team.

[lje]

All PMs need to do is manage the project which in essence boils down to making lists and keeping those lists up to date and good people skills.
The good PM's i've worked with were not technical in any capacity but they worked at keeping those lists updated and accurate. The only way they can achieve that task is by knowing how to interact properly with a diverse team of technical people. Knowing who to listen to, who's views should be backed up with a second opinion and generally when to spot BS. Although ulitimate responsiblity of setting time scales (and the rest) lies with the PM, all he/she is really doing is digesting all the information they are getting from the team.

That's true. But how do you know who is giving you BS? How do you know which risks are more important than others? How do you know the questions to ask the developers to make sure that they are taking everything into account? I'm not saying that a non-technical person can't do it - I'm just saying that for me having technical knowledge is essential in the way I do my work.

[Spacecadet]

However, there are lots of PMs at my ClientCo who do a good job without this skillset - how they do it is beyond me though!

All PMs need to do is manage the project which in essence boils down to making lists and keeping those lists up to date and good people skills.
The good PM's i've worked with were not technical in any capacity but they worked at keeping those lists updated and accurate. The only way they can achieve that task is by knowing how to interact properly with a diverse team of technical people. Knowing who to listen to, who's views should be backed up with a second opinion and generally when to spot BS. Although ulitimate responsiblity of setting time scales (and the rest) lies with the PM, all he/she is really doing is digesting all the information they are getting from the team.

[lje]

Speaking as a technical PM (and a female one at that...) I couldn't imagine trying to run projects without the knowledge needed to understand the technical solutions and the technical issues which developers are facing. However, there are lots of PMs at my ClientCo who do a good job without this skillset - how they do it is beyond me though!

[jmo21]

WHS. I've worked with a few non-technical PMs who sit quietly in the corner of meetings and then at the end have to ask the senior techy to summarise what was just agreed. Clearly somebody who can keep up and understand technical discussions and issues is a lot more effective.

WHS. with bells on!

I'd say the vast majority of PM's I've worked with are like that.

[VectraMan]

There's obviously shades of grey when it comes to technical and non-technical, but what is the use of a largely non-technical PM on an IT project?

WHS. I've worked with a few non-technical PMs who sit quietly in the corner of meetings and then at the end have to ask the senior techy to summarise what was just agreed. Clearly somebody who can keep up and understand technical discussions and issues is a lot more effective.

[JamJarST]

Agreed, I've worked with some very good women PMs (and a few nasty ones) too.

I didn't mean women PM's, I meant non technical PM's, the genedr is irrelevant.

[SueEllen]

So, kicked off for being female then?

I have known male PMs who have been kicked off projects for not being "technical enough".

In reality they didn't have the personal skills that the client required. Some of it was down to the person while the other was down to the client being an arsehole.

Oh and only one of the project managers I've worked with who was any good had a technical background, the rest had no technical background.

[monobrow]

‪Women: Know Your Limits! Harry Enfield - BBC comedy‬‏ - YouTube

[Wanderer]

So my manager said to me that he will be replacing me with another Project Manager because he wants a Technical Project Manager for the project that I am doing. However I was never hired as a Technical Project Manager. Is there something that I can do to push back on that and get them to pay me till the end of my contract or something?

Read your contract. Is there provision for early termination? Does the client have to give notice? Have they given the proper notice? If they have done everything as per the contract then face the client smile and wave, thank them for the opportunity and tell that you look forward to doing business with them in the future...

Now as a contractor you have to ask if you got binned because you couldn't do the job or if the client wanted a (technical) skill that you didn't have. Was the client aware of this when they hired you or did you bulltulip your way into the job. If they were aware of your skills when they engaged you then it's just that the project turned out to be needing someone different and it's no reflection on you.

It's a tough job and things go wrong for all sorts of reasons. Either way, don't take it personally - chin up and move on. If clients couldn't hire and fire contractors at will then there would be no market for them. Certainly don't go looking to fight back against the client other than what for is clearly written in your contract (eg, notice period).

So, kicked off for being female then?

Sex, race, ethnic origin, skillset, politics, whatever. Clients don't need a reason to kick contractors off so it's a moot point, innit.

The best PM's I have worked with were non-techie. They were able to manage large and very complicated projects that covered the whole range of IT form hardware to infrastructure to software and systems.

Agreed, I've worked with some very good women PMs (and a few nasty ones) too.