Is IT Project Management for You?

Changing Careers

Have you ever wondered how your project manager got his or her job? Do you really know what he or she does on a daily basis? Are you curious as to what makes a good IT Project Manager? Read on and discover the basics of the IT Project Management position . . .and whether or not it's right for you.

By Chris Alfe, Thingamajob Staff Writer

The Title Doesn't Say It All

The truth is the title Project Manager can apply to a vast assortment of actual positions and professionals, even within the field of information technology. In some organizations, IT project managers are subject matter experts tasked with overseeing a set project from a technical aspect. In others, they are true managers with formal managerial backgrounds and are tapped specifically for this expertise.

Different organizations may gravitate towards one type or the another, or a combination of the two. If you look carefully enough at any given job description or job posting; you can usually make this distinction.

Investigate:

(1) How deep is the technical knowledge requirement?

Look for qualifying descriptors (e.g. working knowledge of application servers, strong user of telephony equipment, web developer) and quantifying descriptors (6 months, 10 years).

(2) How formal is the project management requirement?

Will you be solely responsible for scheduling and costing? Will the project scope be pre-defined, or will you be developing it? What are the human resources responsibilities?

Where Do IT Project Managers Come From?

Just as the job descriptions of IT Project managers vary among organizations, the career paths differ as well. While there are probably dozens of progressions, for illustrative purposes they can basically be boiled down to just two:

(1) Transitioning Project Managers:

These are the folks who have risen through the ranks of the line workers (e.g. analysts, programmers, and installers). They've usually run through the project cycle multiple times and are the go-to people as problems arise. If given the opportunity to manage, they may have to be trained on the traditional components of true project management, such as scope development, costing, scheduling, and risk assessment.

(2) Traditional Project Managers:

These are the formally trained managers educated expressly in the management of IT projects. They are familiar with the project lifecycle, scheduling, quality assurance and performance appraisal, but will need to be brought up to speed on the technical specifics of any project.

Is IT Project Management for You?

Notwithstanding the differences among IT Project management positions from company to company, and despite the many roads that may ultimately lead you there, there are a few core competencies that are universal among all good IT Project managers:

How do you rate?

(1) Handling Uncertainty:

If projects proceeded flawlessly every time, then project managers wouldn't be necessary at all. The ability to make calm decisions based on the data at hand is probably the single biggest key to project management success. This is especially true in IT, where all the information needed to make a decision is rarely known, and where mistakes can often times not be easily reversed.

(2) Prioritizing Tasks:

Multi-tasking is a way of life for project managers; the good ones are able to sort their decisions and tasks in order of importance (based on their potential impact and time sensitivity) and remain on track. Resources need to be allocated accordingly, and often times some tasks need to be set aside or altered. For these reasons, perfectionists simply cannot succeed in project management.

(3) Picking up Technical Knowledge:

Good IT Project Managers, especially veterans, don't necessarily need to be experts with the various platforms, software or languages with which they'll be working during the scope of their projects. They do need to be able to learn technical skills quickly, and, just as importantly, be able to distinguish critical information from routine details.

Chris Alfe is a staff writer for thingamajob.com.  He has ten years of experience in staffing and human resources and currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland.

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